This thesis was a study of the effectiveness of a growth management system in a growth corridor community. The problem addressed was whether or not a growth management system was effective in aiding the community. of Schaumburg, Illinois, to shape its growth and development to meet its particular purposes and needs. Growth management was defined as the utilization by government of a variety of traditional and evolving plans, tools, techniques, and activities to purposefully guide local patterns of growth, including the manner, location, rate and nature of development. The basic research methods used in the thesis were the case study and the comparative study. A case study of Schaumburg, a community which grew from a small village to a well-planned regional center, was designed to establish the use of growth management system by a growth corridor community, and then to measure its effectiveness in reaching the community's goals. A comparative study of other growth corridor communities was designed to determine if Shaumburg's growth management system was influential in shaping the community's development, or if similar development outcomes would have occurred without this governmental intervention. Both the case study and the comparative study were primarily concerned with describing the system, its effectiveness (or ineffectiveness), and the underlying reasons, rather than with establishing statistical proof. The conclusions reached were that Schaumburg's growth was unique among the communities in the growth corridor, as was its growth management system, and that this growth management system was effective in shaping the total development of the community. The thesis provides local government decision makers with information on specific actions which might be effective in managing development in growth corridor communities. In addition, it provides generalizations on the usefulness of planning -if implemented -- for any community trying to influence its own development. / Department of Urban Planning