Emmanouil Tranos

Smart Networked Cities

This paper aims to critically assess the lack of a global inter-urban perspective in the smart city policy framework from a conceptual standpoint. We argue here that the smart city policy agenda should be informed by and address the structure of transnational urban networks as this can affect the efficiency of such local policies. The significance of this global network structure is essential as cities do not exist in a vacuum. On the contrary, urban development is heavily based on urban interdependencies found at a global scale. After critically analyzing smart city characteristics and the world city network literature, we identify the need for global urban interdependencies to be addressed in a smart city policy framework. While this paper approaches this issue from a theoretical standpoint, some policy examples are also provided.

The Topology and the Emerging Urban Geographies of the Internet Backbone and Aviation Networks in Europe: A Comparative Study

The objective of this paper is to compare the topology and the emerging urban geographies of two infrastructural networks across European cities: the international intercity Internet backbone and aviation networks. Both of them are facilitators of the knowledge economy and contribute to what was identified by Castells as the first layer of the space of flows, supporting the world city process. In order to compare them, network analysis methods and complex networks theory are employed. The results indicate the different attributes of these networks, the lack of scale-free characteristics but also the different roles different cities perform in these networks.

Accessibility of Cities in the Digital Economy

When the probability of measuring a particular value of some quantity varies inversely as a power of that value, the quantity is said to follow a power law, also known variously as Zipf’s law or the Pareto distribution. Power laws appear widely in physics, biology, earth and planetary sciences, economics and finance, computer science, demography and the social sciences. For instance, the distributions of the sizes of cities, earthquakes, forest fires, solar flares, moon craters and people’s personal fortunes all appear to follow power laws. The origin of power-law behaviour has been a topic of debate in the scientific community for more than a century. Here we review some of the empirical evidence for the existence of power-law forms and the theories proposed to explain them.

The Spatial Distribution of Internet Backbone Networks in Europe A Metropolitan Knowledge Economy Perspective

This article attempts to explain the factors which determine the spatial distribution of the Internet backbone networks in Europe.These networks facilitate the modern economy by interconnecting cities, enabling communication and exchange and, consequently, enhancing the interaction between them.This infrastructural capital for the knowledge economy is far from evenly spread across Europe.The article uses principal components analysis and regression models to examine the influence of a range of socio-economic variables on the spatial distribution of the Internet backbones in Europe, and concludes that they largely follow existing patterns of development, urban concentrations of knowledge, nodes of transport provision and patterns of high accessibility.

The Geography of the Internet

This timely book presents a wide range of quantitative methods, including complex network analysis and econometric modelling, to illustrate how the Internet both follows, and at the same time challenges, more traditional geographies.

Evaluating the impact of land-use density and mix on spatiotemporal urban activity patterns: an exploratory study using mobile phone data

Dense and mixed land-use configurations are assumed to encourage high and prolonged activity levels, which in turn are considered to be important for the condition of urban neighbourhoods. We used mobile phone usage data recorded in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, as a proxy for urban activity to test whether the density in different forms of urban land use increases the level of activity in urban areas, and whether mixed land uses can prolong high levels of activity in an area. Our results indicate that higher densities correspond with higher activity levels, mixed land uses do indeed diversify urban activity dynamics and colocating particular land uses prolongs high activity levels in the evening hours. We proceed to demonstrate that mixed activity provisions and high urban activity levels coincide with urban neighbourhoods that are considered attractive places in which to live and work, while lower activity levels and markedly low activity mixes coincide with neighbourhoods that are considered disadvantaged.

Mobile phone usage in complex urban systems: a space–time, aggregated human activity study

The present study aims to demonstrate the importance of digital data for investigating space–time dynamics of aggregated human activity in urban systems. Such dynamics can be monitored and modelled using data from mobile phone operators regarding mobile telephone usage. Using such an extensive dataset from the city of Amsterdam, this paper introduces space–time explanatory models of aggregated human activity patterns. Various modelling experiments and results are presented, which demonstrate that mobile telephone data are a good proxy of the space–time dynamics of aggregated human activity in the city.

The Regional Impact of Climate Change on Winter Tourism in Europe

Abstract This paper aims to provide detailed analysis of the impact of climate change on winter sport tourism in European regions. The analysis considers “impact” as the combined effect of exposure to climate change stimuli and economic sensitivity of the winter tourism sector. Using this framework, a new methodology is developed that adds a spatial dimension to the framework and enables the identification of the regions whose winter sport tourism is likely to be significantly affected by climate change.

Broadband Provision and Knowledge-Intensive Firms: A Causal Relationship?

Tranos E. and Mack E. A. Broadband provision and knowledge-intensive firms: a causal relationship?, Regional Studies. Despite the discussions about the importance of the digital economy, we are still far from understanding how information and communication technologies (ICTs) affect economic activity in space. Recent studies have started untangling the spatial economic impact of ICTs, highlighting the potential use of ICTs as a local development tool. This paper contributes to this domain by exploring whether broadband Internet provision can act as an attractor for knowledge-intensive business services in the United States. Using Granger causality tests, this paper addresses the simultaneity issue between broadband Internet demand and supply at the very detailed spatial level of US counties.

Urban and Regional Analysis and the Digital Revolution: Challenges and Opportunities

This conceptual chapter deals with the necessity to include concepts and data derived from the extensive and pervasive use of ICTs in urban and regional analysis. Urban networks, cities and regions are heavily based on digital networks and urban and regional analysis needs to incorporate this new development. In total, spatial scientists cannot afford to ignore the digital revolution and the intensification of the digital economy for two reasons. Firstly, new digital phenomena, such as the Internet, have spatial reflections that need to be approached from a geographic perspective. Secondly, the profusion of new bottom-up data derived from digital sources enables the research community to study and quantify traditional geographic questions from a new perspective achieving greater spatio-temporal resolution. Although this chapter does not introduce new empirical analysis, examples from existing studies and ideas for future research are used to highlight the need for such a ‘digital turn’ in urban and regional analysis.