Combining discourse analyses to enrich theory: The case of local land-use policies in South Eastern France

Local land-use policies are determined by a wide range of considerations that do not always favor open-space preservation. To identify them, a field study was undertaken in South Eastern France via semi-directive interviews with people responsible for municipal land-use policies. We use it to compare a qualitative (Le. manual) discourse analysis with two quantitative (i.e. computer-assisted) analyses and combine them to identify the drivers of land-use policies, especially with regard to urban sprawl. Performing all three analyses allows us to switch back and forth between a local empirical approach and large-scale modeling and methods. This should enrich micro-economic models by clarifying more complex local features, like unbalanced relationships with neighboring municipalities or why ``agriculture'' should be considered as an independent interest group. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.