Maria Del C Vera

University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Architecture, Faculty Member

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Kurt Kraler

University of Waterloo

Texas A&M University

The University of Auckland

Manfredo Manfredini

The University of Auckland

Julia Hell

University of Michigan

George Steinmetz

University of Michigan

Jon Goodbun

Royal College of Art

Samuel Bassett

Independent Researcher

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"Arbitrage Las Vegas: A Portrait of Urban Games"

by Maria Del C Vera and Susanna Newbury

This article surveys the convergence of real estate development and logics of gaming in Las Vegas... more This article surveys the convergence of real estate development and logics of gaming in Las Vegas, Nevada. Using the key concepts of land arbitrage, gaming economies, and “venture urbanism,” it examines three modes of urban expansion, shrinkage, and stagnation of cities today. The first is the initial demarcation of land to assign market value in open landscapes. The second is the institution of legal mechanisms used to regulate or deregulate land usage, building codes, and taxes. The third is the contemporary substitution of gaming logics for urban planning processes that result in rapidly changing physical, architectural, and economic contexts. Using Las Vegas as its focus, the article points both at historical precedents and contemporary actors reshaping urbanity on a local level with global implications.

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