Canadian Journal of Regional Science, Mar 22, 2004
Resume Cet article consiste en une etude comparative de la redistribution intrametropolitaine de ... more Resume Cet article consiste en une etude comparative de la redistribution intrametropolitaine de l'emploi des services suparieurs dans les quatre plus grandes metropoles canadiennes (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver et Ottawa-Hull) entre 1981 et 1996. Les resultats obtenus nous ont permis de constater que malgre une croissance absolue de ce type d'emploi dens les centres-villes, ces derniers ont tout de meme connu une diminution relative de leur role de principal pourvoyeur d'emplois des services superieurs. Cette baisse relative d'importance des centres-villes canadiens comme lieux de concentration d'emplois superieurs est caused par une croissance plus rapide de ce type d'emploi dans les autres pales d'emploi et/ou dens le reste de la region metropolitaine. Ainsi, la decentralisation est accompagnee d'un processus d'expulsion de certains services du quartier des affaires et par l'appropriation de cette zone par certains services superieurs qui sont a la recherche d'economies d'agglomeration que peuvent leur procurer les CBD. Introduction Les metropoles nord-americaines, ou se concentrent la majorite de la population et les pouvoirs decisionnels politiques et economiques, ont vu au cours des cinquante dernieres annees leur forme, traditionnellement monocentrique, s'alterer. En effet, les processus de decentralisation et d'etalement urbain qui avaient auparavant affecte la classe moyenne aisee, le commerce de detail et les services d'ordre secondaire s'attaquent desormais aux services superieurs. C'est ainsi que dans plusieurs regions metropolitaines americaines les centres-villes traditionnels perdent leur role de principal pourvoyeur d'emplois au profit des banlieues. Certaines de ces banlieues se developpent economiquement si bien qu'elles deviennent pratiquement independantes de leur ville centrale respective. Garreau (1991) les a nommees edge cities. Le phenomene des edge cities et la decentralisation des services superieurs ont ete observes principalement aux Etats-Unis mais cela semble devenir une norme dans la plupart des pays occidentaux. C'est d'ailleurs un des sujets les plus abordes par la litterature urbaine contemporaine. On y retrouve plusieurs etudes methodologiques et empiriques et tous les auteurs semblent s'entendre sur une chose : la decentralisation de l'emploi des services superieurs est desonnais un phenomene commun dans plusieurs grandes regions metropolitaines americaines. La difference reside dans la forme resultante de la localisation et de la relocalisation des emplois. Cette forme urbaine peut etre monocentrique, c'est-a-dire avec une centre-ville fort (modele traditionnel), elle peut etre polycentrique, ou les emplois sont redistribues a, l'interieur de plusieurs poles d'emploi peripheriques, ou subir une dispersion generalisee (scatteration), ou les emplois sont redistribues egalement sur l'ensemble du territoire metropolitain. Mais qu'en est-t-il des metropoles canadiennes? Y a t'il quelque chose de specifique a celles-ci. Plusieurs elements nous laissent croire qu'elles sont relativement differentes des metropoles americaines. En effet, les conditions economiques, sociales et environnementales qui caracterisent les grandes villes canadiennes sont tres distinctes de celles que l'on retrouve aux Etats-Unis. Ces dernieres sont assaillies par des problemes de violence, de crimes, de pollution et de conflits raciaux et leur ville centrale est essentiellement peuplee de tens peu qualifies et peu eduques (Sassen 2000; Bogart 1998; Yeates 1998; Coffey et Shearmur 2001a). Scion Stanback (1991) et Garreau (1991), ces elements jouent un role primordial dans la creation des edge cities. Or les villes centrales canadiennes sont toujours tres accueillantes, autant pour les entreprises que pour les individus. L'objectif de cette recherche est d'evaluer la redistribution intrametropolitaine de l'emploi des services superieurs dans les quatre plus grandes regions metropolitaines de recensement (RMR) canadiennes soit : Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver et Ottawa-Hull entre 1981 et 1996 et de les comparer entre elles. …
Canadian Journal of Regional Science, Mar 22, 2003
God Tricks or Barnes Tricks? Comments on 'What's Wrong with American Regional Science?&... more God Tricks or Barnes Tricks? Comments on 'What's Wrong with American Regional Science?'. by William J. Coffey Let me come right to the point: this essay irritates me enormously. Central to Trevor Barnes' text is the concept of a. ...
During the decade of the 1980s, regional science began to devote more and more attention to the i... more During the decade of the 1980s, regional science began to devote more and more attention to the influence of two phenomena upon the structure and functioning of the space-economy: (1) service activities, in general, and producer services, in particular, and (2) flexible production systems. This paper explores the extent to which these two major preoccupations of contemporary regional science can be integrated, and attempts to contribute to the understanding of the growth and location of producer services by examining the manner in which an analytical framework based upon flexible production may be applied to the latter. The exploration begins with a summary and criticism of the flexible production approach. This is followed by a discussion of the growth of producer services and of the trends towards the increasing externalisation of these activities. Next, the appropriateness of employing a flexible production framework in the case of producer services is examined. The significance ...
Producer or intermediate-demand services enhance the efficiency of operation and the value of out... more Producer or intermediate-demand services enhance the efficiency of operation and the value of output at various stages in the production process. All firms, whether specializing in the fabrication of goods or in the provision of services, employ a range of producer services as inputs into their production functions. The more advanced or modern the "value chain" (such as, the production process) of a firm, the more numerous and more complicated will be the links in the chain and the greater will be the importance of service inputs (Porter 1985; 1990). Indeed, a wide range of empirical evidence has demonstrated that producer services occupy a major and expanding role both within firms (Britton 1990; Quinn 1993) and within national, regional and metropolitan economies (Beyers 1989; Coffey 1994). A fundamental decision that each firm (and, indeed, each establishment within a firm) must face concerns whether to "make" or to "buy" a specific producer service input; that is, whether to provide a given service internally by assigning its own personnel to the production of the service or, rather, to contract-out the provision of the service to experts in the employ of external (either affiliated or free-standing) specialized establishments. The decision to internalize or to externalize given service inputs is one of the most important strategic decisions that an establishment must make, as this choice ultimately affects the establishment's cost structure, its modes of operation and organization, and possibly its location (Coffey and Polese 1984; 1986). The "make or buy" decision of individual establishments also has an impact upon the structure of an economy, as measured by official statistics on employment or output by sector of activity. For example, a lawyer hired in-house by a manufacturing establishment will increase the level of employment in the manufacturing sector, whereas the same lawyer working in a law firm, even though performing the same functions for the same manufacturing establishment, will augment employment in the producer services sector. (1) In spite of its wide recognition as a fundamental aspect of "the service economy" and as an important element in both the organization and the functioning of enterprises, the propensity of establishments to make or to buy producer services has rarely been explored in a systematic manner. The purpose of the present study is to increase the understanding of this phenomenon by examining, from both conceptual and empirical perspectives, the make or buy behaviour of establishments across all sectors of activity. Our exploration of this issue begins in the next section with a review of the factors that can influence the decision to internalize or to externalize producer service inputs. After a brief section on definitions and methodology, we then examine empirical evidence drawn from a detailed survey of producer service consumption by establishments in the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). We first present a descriptive analysis of internalization and externalization in the consumption of producer services, then attempt to identify some of the factors that underlie the make or buy decision. Our analysis concludes with some comments linking our empirical results to the producer services literature. The Make or Buy Decision Concern with the internalization and externalization of producer service inputs is by no means recent. This concern pre-dates the development of service industries research as an identifiable scholarly field. Stigler (1951) cited two major factors influencing the make or buy decision: complementarity and economies of scale. Complementarity refers to the extent to which service functions can be produced internally without raising a firm's cost of carrying out other functions. As Stanback et al. (1981) note, complementarity exists if services can be provided as a joint product, enabling better utilization of managerial or other scarce resources. …
L'économie de Montréal a subi une véritable hécatombe au cours des trois dernières décennies,... more L'économie de Montréal a subi une véritable hécatombe au cours des trois dernières décennies, et des centaines de milliers de pertes d'emplois. Amputée de son hinterland économique impérial (canadien), Montréal doit désormais se contenter du rôle de métropole du Québec. Cependant, si les dimensions de l'empire commercial montréalais sont aujourd'hui plus modestes, ses assises sont solides. Montréal n'a pas le profil d'une métropole vouée à un déclin sans fin. Pour situer le «déclin» de Montréal, nous proposons dans un premier temps une discussion des facteurs qui, à des époques différentes, peuvent expliquer le déclin d'une métropole, pour ensuite la comparer à d'autres villes à l'aide d'analyses à caractère empirique.
La rapide transformation des metropoles ne saurait se comprendre hors de l'analyse de la redi... more La rapide transformation des metropoles ne saurait se comprendre hors de l'analyse de la redistribution de l'emploi qui rend caducs les rapports traditionnels entre le centre-ville et les banlieues. L'agglomeration d'activites centrales dans des noyaux peripheriques engendre une forme et une dynamique urbaines differentes. Toutefois, des indices de dispersion generalisee de l'emploi invitent a se demander si l'organisation polycentrique est un modele durable d'organisation metropolitaine ou une cristallisation ephemere. Une analyse de la repartition de l'emploi et de son evolution entre 1981 et 1996 permet de tester ces hypotheses pour les metropoles canadiennes, et de reflechir au poids des facteurs politiques et culturels dans l'emergence des nouveaux modeles d'organisation.
There is little consensus on where and how employment is decentralising in metropolitan areas. Ho... more There is little consensus on where and how employment is decentralising in metropolitan areas. However, a number of key processes have been brought to light, and different cities have tended to display different processes: strong CBDs, suburban polynucleation, job dispersal, scattering, edgeless cities and perhaps 'keno capitalism'. This paper explores the distribution and growth of employment at a fine spatial scale. It is shown that, at this scale, there are very dynamic processes of growth and decline throughout metropolitan areas, but that these processes are organised at a wider scale by stable employment centres and by links between these centres. The structures and processes thus revealed suggest that the spatial economy of metropolitan areas should be approached as a chaotic system. From an empirical perspective, this means that, depending on the scale of analysis and the way data are considered, polynucleation, dispersal and chaos are all observed: this may partly e...
Much of the recent urban literature on suburban employment centres has neglected the role of high... more Much of the recent urban literature on suburban employment centres has neglected the role of high-order services, perhaps the principal component of 'edge cities', in the creation of the evolving multinucleated metropolitan structure. This paper specifically explores the role of high-order services in this process. We use employment by place-of-work data at the census-tract level to examine the changing intrametropolitan geography of employment in four finance, insurance and real estate (FIRE) services and eight business services in the Montreal area over the period 1981-96. We find evidence of central business district (CBD) decline in relative, but not absolute, terms. The resulting decentralisation has clearly assumed the form of polycentricity rather than of generalised dispersion. In spite of recent advances in telecommunications technologies, agglomeration economies continue to exert an important impact upon intrametropolitan location.
ABSTRACT Since the late 1980's there has been renewed interest in the study of employment... more ABSTRACT Since the late 1980's there has been renewed interest in the study of employment polynucleation within metropolitan areas, fed in part by the move to suburban locations of high-order service functions. In parallel, a growing body of research has underlined the role which proximity plays in information exchange, innovation and growth. So far there have been only limited attempts to merge these two approaches and investigate the degree to which local agglomeration economies and positive externalities may underpin the creation of suburban employment poles. In this paper a first step is taken in this direction by proposing an approach to systematically investigate the colocation of economic activities within a metropolitan context. It is found that the groups of economic activities which systematically tend to colocate closely mirror those activities which would be grouped together along sectoral lines.
... Longcore, T. and Rees, PW, 1996, Information technology and downtown restructuring: The case ... more ... Longcore, T. and Rees, PW, 1996, Information technology and downtown restructuring: The case of New York City's financial district. ... PN, Moffat, L., and Wood, PA, 1995, Internationalisation of business ser-vices: A methodological critique of foreign-market entry-mode choice. ...
A major theme in the recent urban literature concerns the intrametropolitan distribution of econo... more A major theme in the recent urban literature concerns the intrametropolitan distribution of economic activities. In North American metropolitan areas, the most recent phase of post-World War II employment decentralization has involved high-order services and has culminated in the creation of “suburban downtowns” or “edge cities” that often are direct competitors to the central business district (CBD). In this paper, we examine (1) the extent to which Montreal has undergone a decentralization of employment over the period 1981-1996 and (2) whether the observed decentralization involves a reconcentration in a limited number of employment poles (polycentricity) or a more generalized dispersion (scatteration). Our analysis is based upon place-of-work employment data at the census tract level (n = 613) for total employment, service employment, business services, consumer services, and manufacturing. The results indicate that decentralization is indeed a reality in Montreal, and that it tends to be of a polycentric nature, rather than the more widely dispersed form that appears to be characterizing many United States metropolitan areas. Business services and, somewhat surprisingly, manufacturing play major roles in the process of multinucleation. [Key words: employment decentralization, employment centers, metropolitan structure, multinucleation.]
Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 1979
This research attempt is undertaken in order to accomplish three goals. First, it introduces a ra... more This research attempt is undertaken in order to accomplish three goals. First, it introduces a rather novel approach to the analysis of a metropolitan area. The macroscopic viewpoint employed here is intended as both a complement and an alternative to some of the more conventional methods of metropolitan analysis. Second, this research seeks to introduce some new concepts which may be applied to the study of metropolitan social welfare. Emphasis is placed upon the recognition and interpretation of broad patterns of integration within a metropolis as a means of achieving an understanding of the systems processes that are at once a cause and an effect of differentials in social welfare. And, finally, an attempt is made to examine the Sydney metropolitan area with respect to the above considerations. Integration The concept of integration is used to denote the ability of individuals (and, hence, of metropolitan regions composed of individuals with relatively homogeneous social and economic characteristics) to participate fully and freely in all facets of metropolitan life. Varying degrees of integration may be identified within a metropolis, with the terms sub-integrated, integrated, and supra-integrated being used to describe a generalized gradation in the ability to participate. The usage of the notion 'integration' in this context stems, in part, from some ideas develop ed by Meier (1962, 1968). Cities have evolved primarily for the facilitation of human com-* Doctoral candidate in geography, University of Western Ontaria ** Tutor in geography, Macquarie University, N.S.W.
The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe canadien, 1988
During the past decade, a number of studies conducted in a wide range of industrialized countries... more During the past decade, a number of studies conducted in a wide range of industrialized countries have ex-amined the notion of a major reversal in the traditional patterns of population and economic growth. The rever-sal is termed variously urban-rural or centre-periphery shift, non-...
The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe canadien, 2000
TRNOR J. BARNES Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada V6T... more TRNOR J. BARNES Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1 Z2 (e-rnail: [email protected]) JOHN NH BRITTON Department of Geography, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3G3 (e-mail: britton@ ...
Canadian Journal of Regional Science, Mar 22, 2004
Resume Cet article consiste en une etude comparative de la redistribution intrametropolitaine de ... more Resume Cet article consiste en une etude comparative de la redistribution intrametropolitaine de l'emploi des services suparieurs dans les quatre plus grandes metropoles canadiennes (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver et Ottawa-Hull) entre 1981 et 1996. Les resultats obtenus nous ont permis de constater que malgre une croissance absolue de ce type d'emploi dens les centres-villes, ces derniers ont tout de meme connu une diminution relative de leur role de principal pourvoyeur d'emplois des services superieurs. Cette baisse relative d'importance des centres-villes canadiens comme lieux de concentration d'emplois superieurs est caused par une croissance plus rapide de ce type d'emploi dans les autres pales d'emploi et/ou dens le reste de la region metropolitaine. Ainsi, la decentralisation est accompagnee d'un processus d'expulsion de certains services du quartier des affaires et par l'appropriation de cette zone par certains services superieurs qui sont a la recherche d'economies d'agglomeration que peuvent leur procurer les CBD. Introduction Les metropoles nord-americaines, ou se concentrent la majorite de la population et les pouvoirs decisionnels politiques et economiques, ont vu au cours des cinquante dernieres annees leur forme, traditionnellement monocentrique, s'alterer. En effet, les processus de decentralisation et d'etalement urbain qui avaient auparavant affecte la classe moyenne aisee, le commerce de detail et les services d'ordre secondaire s'attaquent desormais aux services superieurs. C'est ainsi que dans plusieurs regions metropolitaines americaines les centres-villes traditionnels perdent leur role de principal pourvoyeur d'emplois au profit des banlieues. Certaines de ces banlieues se developpent economiquement si bien qu'elles deviennent pratiquement independantes de leur ville centrale respective. Garreau (1991) les a nommees edge cities. Le phenomene des edge cities et la decentralisation des services superieurs ont ete observes principalement aux Etats-Unis mais cela semble devenir une norme dans la plupart des pays occidentaux. C'est d'ailleurs un des sujets les plus abordes par la litterature urbaine contemporaine. On y retrouve plusieurs etudes methodologiques et empiriques et tous les auteurs semblent s'entendre sur une chose : la decentralisation de l'emploi des services superieurs est desonnais un phenomene commun dans plusieurs grandes regions metropolitaines americaines. La difference reside dans la forme resultante de la localisation et de la relocalisation des emplois. Cette forme urbaine peut etre monocentrique, c'est-a-dire avec une centre-ville fort (modele traditionnel), elle peut etre polycentrique, ou les emplois sont redistribues a, l'interieur de plusieurs poles d'emploi peripheriques, ou subir une dispersion generalisee (scatteration), ou les emplois sont redistribues egalement sur l'ensemble du territoire metropolitain. Mais qu'en est-t-il des metropoles canadiennes? Y a t'il quelque chose de specifique a celles-ci. Plusieurs elements nous laissent croire qu'elles sont relativement differentes des metropoles americaines. En effet, les conditions economiques, sociales et environnementales qui caracterisent les grandes villes canadiennes sont tres distinctes de celles que l'on retrouve aux Etats-Unis. Ces dernieres sont assaillies par des problemes de violence, de crimes, de pollution et de conflits raciaux et leur ville centrale est essentiellement peuplee de tens peu qualifies et peu eduques (Sassen 2000; Bogart 1998; Yeates 1998; Coffey et Shearmur 2001a). Scion Stanback (1991) et Garreau (1991), ces elements jouent un role primordial dans la creation des edge cities. Or les villes centrales canadiennes sont toujours tres accueillantes, autant pour les entreprises que pour les individus. L'objectif de cette recherche est d'evaluer la redistribution intrametropolitaine de l'emploi des services superieurs dans les quatre plus grandes regions metropolitaines de recensement (RMR) canadiennes soit : Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver et Ottawa-Hull entre 1981 et 1996 et de les comparer entre elles. …
Canadian Journal of Regional Science, Mar 22, 2003
God Tricks or Barnes Tricks? Comments on 'What's Wrong with American Regional Science?&... more God Tricks or Barnes Tricks? Comments on 'What's Wrong with American Regional Science?'. by William J. Coffey Let me come right to the point: this essay irritates me enormously. Central to Trevor Barnes' text is the concept of a. ...
During the decade of the 1980s, regional science began to devote more and more attention to the i... more During the decade of the 1980s, regional science began to devote more and more attention to the influence of two phenomena upon the structure and functioning of the space-economy: (1) service activities, in general, and producer services, in particular, and (2) flexible production systems. This paper explores the extent to which these two major preoccupations of contemporary regional science can be integrated, and attempts to contribute to the understanding of the growth and location of producer services by examining the manner in which an analytical framework based upon flexible production may be applied to the latter. The exploration begins with a summary and criticism of the flexible production approach. This is followed by a discussion of the growth of producer services and of the trends towards the increasing externalisation of these activities. Next, the appropriateness of employing a flexible production framework in the case of producer services is examined. The significance ...
Producer or intermediate-demand services enhance the efficiency of operation and the value of out... more Producer or intermediate-demand services enhance the efficiency of operation and the value of output at various stages in the production process. All firms, whether specializing in the fabrication of goods or in the provision of services, employ a range of producer services as inputs into their production functions. The more advanced or modern the "value chain" (such as, the production process) of a firm, the more numerous and more complicated will be the links in the chain and the greater will be the importance of service inputs (Porter 1985; 1990). Indeed, a wide range of empirical evidence has demonstrated that producer services occupy a major and expanding role both within firms (Britton 1990; Quinn 1993) and within national, regional and metropolitan economies (Beyers 1989; Coffey 1994). A fundamental decision that each firm (and, indeed, each establishment within a firm) must face concerns whether to "make" or to "buy" a specific producer service input; that is, whether to provide a given service internally by assigning its own personnel to the production of the service or, rather, to contract-out the provision of the service to experts in the employ of external (either affiliated or free-standing) specialized establishments. The decision to internalize or to externalize given service inputs is one of the most important strategic decisions that an establishment must make, as this choice ultimately affects the establishment's cost structure, its modes of operation and organization, and possibly its location (Coffey and Polese 1984; 1986). The "make or buy" decision of individual establishments also has an impact upon the structure of an economy, as measured by official statistics on employment or output by sector of activity. For example, a lawyer hired in-house by a manufacturing establishment will increase the level of employment in the manufacturing sector, whereas the same lawyer working in a law firm, even though performing the same functions for the same manufacturing establishment, will augment employment in the producer services sector. (1) In spite of its wide recognition as a fundamental aspect of "the service economy" and as an important element in both the organization and the functioning of enterprises, the propensity of establishments to make or to buy producer services has rarely been explored in a systematic manner. The purpose of the present study is to increase the understanding of this phenomenon by examining, from both conceptual and empirical perspectives, the make or buy behaviour of establishments across all sectors of activity. Our exploration of this issue begins in the next section with a review of the factors that can influence the decision to internalize or to externalize producer service inputs. After a brief section on definitions and methodology, we then examine empirical evidence drawn from a detailed survey of producer service consumption by establishments in the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). We first present a descriptive analysis of internalization and externalization in the consumption of producer services, then attempt to identify some of the factors that underlie the make or buy decision. Our analysis concludes with some comments linking our empirical results to the producer services literature. The Make or Buy Decision Concern with the internalization and externalization of producer service inputs is by no means recent. This concern pre-dates the development of service industries research as an identifiable scholarly field. Stigler (1951) cited two major factors influencing the make or buy decision: complementarity and economies of scale. Complementarity refers to the extent to which service functions can be produced internally without raising a firm's cost of carrying out other functions. As Stanback et al. (1981) note, complementarity exists if services can be provided as a joint product, enabling better utilization of managerial or other scarce resources. …
L'économie de Montréal a subi une véritable hécatombe au cours des trois dernières décennies,... more L'économie de Montréal a subi une véritable hécatombe au cours des trois dernières décennies, et des centaines de milliers de pertes d'emplois. Amputée de son hinterland économique impérial (canadien), Montréal doit désormais se contenter du rôle de métropole du Québec. Cependant, si les dimensions de l'empire commercial montréalais sont aujourd'hui plus modestes, ses assises sont solides. Montréal n'a pas le profil d'une métropole vouée à un déclin sans fin. Pour situer le «déclin» de Montréal, nous proposons dans un premier temps une discussion des facteurs qui, à des époques différentes, peuvent expliquer le déclin d'une métropole, pour ensuite la comparer à d'autres villes à l'aide d'analyses à caractère empirique.
La rapide transformation des metropoles ne saurait se comprendre hors de l'analyse de la redi... more La rapide transformation des metropoles ne saurait se comprendre hors de l'analyse de la redistribution de l'emploi qui rend caducs les rapports traditionnels entre le centre-ville et les banlieues. L'agglomeration d'activites centrales dans des noyaux peripheriques engendre une forme et une dynamique urbaines differentes. Toutefois, des indices de dispersion generalisee de l'emploi invitent a se demander si l'organisation polycentrique est un modele durable d'organisation metropolitaine ou une cristallisation ephemere. Une analyse de la repartition de l'emploi et de son evolution entre 1981 et 1996 permet de tester ces hypotheses pour les metropoles canadiennes, et de reflechir au poids des facteurs politiques et culturels dans l'emergence des nouveaux modeles d'organisation.
There is little consensus on where and how employment is decentralising in metropolitan areas. Ho... more There is little consensus on where and how employment is decentralising in metropolitan areas. However, a number of key processes have been brought to light, and different cities have tended to display different processes: strong CBDs, suburban polynucleation, job dispersal, scattering, edgeless cities and perhaps 'keno capitalism'. This paper explores the distribution and growth of employment at a fine spatial scale. It is shown that, at this scale, there are very dynamic processes of growth and decline throughout metropolitan areas, but that these processes are organised at a wider scale by stable employment centres and by links between these centres. The structures and processes thus revealed suggest that the spatial economy of metropolitan areas should be approached as a chaotic system. From an empirical perspective, this means that, depending on the scale of analysis and the way data are considered, polynucleation, dispersal and chaos are all observed: this may partly e...
Much of the recent urban literature on suburban employment centres has neglected the role of high... more Much of the recent urban literature on suburban employment centres has neglected the role of high-order services, perhaps the principal component of 'edge cities', in the creation of the evolving multinucleated metropolitan structure. This paper specifically explores the role of high-order services in this process. We use employment by place-of-work data at the census-tract level to examine the changing intrametropolitan geography of employment in four finance, insurance and real estate (FIRE) services and eight business services in the Montreal area over the period 1981-96. We find evidence of central business district (CBD) decline in relative, but not absolute, terms. The resulting decentralisation has clearly assumed the form of polycentricity rather than of generalised dispersion. In spite of recent advances in telecommunications technologies, agglomeration economies continue to exert an important impact upon intrametropolitan location.
ABSTRACT Since the late 1980's there has been renewed interest in the study of employment... more ABSTRACT Since the late 1980's there has been renewed interest in the study of employment polynucleation within metropolitan areas, fed in part by the move to suburban locations of high-order service functions. In parallel, a growing body of research has underlined the role which proximity plays in information exchange, innovation and growth. So far there have been only limited attempts to merge these two approaches and investigate the degree to which local agglomeration economies and positive externalities may underpin the creation of suburban employment poles. In this paper a first step is taken in this direction by proposing an approach to systematically investigate the colocation of economic activities within a metropolitan context. It is found that the groups of economic activities which systematically tend to colocate closely mirror those activities which would be grouped together along sectoral lines.
... Longcore, T. and Rees, PW, 1996, Information technology and downtown restructuring: The case ... more ... Longcore, T. and Rees, PW, 1996, Information technology and downtown restructuring: The case of New York City's financial district. ... PN, Moffat, L., and Wood, PA, 1995, Internationalisation of business ser-vices: A methodological critique of foreign-market entry-mode choice. ...
A major theme in the recent urban literature concerns the intrametropolitan distribution of econo... more A major theme in the recent urban literature concerns the intrametropolitan distribution of economic activities. In North American metropolitan areas, the most recent phase of post-World War II employment decentralization has involved high-order services and has culminated in the creation of “suburban downtowns” or “edge cities” that often are direct competitors to the central business district (CBD). In this paper, we examine (1) the extent to which Montreal has undergone a decentralization of employment over the period 1981-1996 and (2) whether the observed decentralization involves a reconcentration in a limited number of employment poles (polycentricity) or a more generalized dispersion (scatteration). Our analysis is based upon place-of-work employment data at the census tract level (n = 613) for total employment, service employment, business services, consumer services, and manufacturing. The results indicate that decentralization is indeed a reality in Montreal, and that it tends to be of a polycentric nature, rather than the more widely dispersed form that appears to be characterizing many United States metropolitan areas. Business services and, somewhat surprisingly, manufacturing play major roles in the process of multinucleation. [Key words: employment decentralization, employment centers, metropolitan structure, multinucleation.]
Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 1979
This research attempt is undertaken in order to accomplish three goals. First, it introduces a ra... more This research attempt is undertaken in order to accomplish three goals. First, it introduces a rather novel approach to the analysis of a metropolitan area. The macroscopic viewpoint employed here is intended as both a complement and an alternative to some of the more conventional methods of metropolitan analysis. Second, this research seeks to introduce some new concepts which may be applied to the study of metropolitan social welfare. Emphasis is placed upon the recognition and interpretation of broad patterns of integration within a metropolis as a means of achieving an understanding of the systems processes that are at once a cause and an effect of differentials in social welfare. And, finally, an attempt is made to examine the Sydney metropolitan area with respect to the above considerations. Integration The concept of integration is used to denote the ability of individuals (and, hence, of metropolitan regions composed of individuals with relatively homogeneous social and economic characteristics) to participate fully and freely in all facets of metropolitan life. Varying degrees of integration may be identified within a metropolis, with the terms sub-integrated, integrated, and supra-integrated being used to describe a generalized gradation in the ability to participate. The usage of the notion 'integration' in this context stems, in part, from some ideas develop ed by Meier (1962, 1968). Cities have evolved primarily for the facilitation of human com-* Doctoral candidate in geography, University of Western Ontaria ** Tutor in geography, Macquarie University, N.S.W.
The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe canadien, 1988
During the past decade, a number of studies conducted in a wide range of industrialized countries... more During the past decade, a number of studies conducted in a wide range of industrialized countries have ex-amined the notion of a major reversal in the traditional patterns of population and economic growth. The rever-sal is termed variously urban-rural or centre-periphery shift, non-...
The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe canadien, 2000
TRNOR J. BARNES Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada V6T... more TRNOR J. BARNES Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1 Z2 (e-rnail: [email protected]) JOHN NH BRITTON Department of Geography, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3G3 (e-mail: britton@ ...
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Papers by William Coffey