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In the United States, the national and state levels of healthcare politics and policy have been extensively researched, but the metropolitan/local level has been neglected. In "Healthcare Politics: Louisville´s Growth Machine 1947-2007," David Houvenagle reviews past local healthcare politics research and offers fresh insight into local health policy and politics. Working from a urban political economy perspective, Houvenagle explored both the local power structure of healthcare and its policy agenda at salient times of history when there was significant city-wide healthcare decision-making. Then using social network analysis and field interviews Houvenagle explored who recently was in charge, their policy agenda and their decision-making processes. He articulates how the urban political economy theory called the "Growth Machine Thesis" is a substantial, theoretical explanation for both Louisville Kentucky´s local healthcare political power structure and local health policy agenda over the time span of six decades.

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David Houvenagle earned his B.A. from Iowa State University, his M.Div. from Bethel University, and his MSW from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He earned his Ph.D. in Urban and Public Affairs from the University of Louisville with an emphasis in Policy and Administration.

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