John B. Parr

Agglomeration Economies: Ambiguities and Confusions

Although considerable reliance has been placed on the concept of agglomeration economies in the analysis of industrial location, it tends to be ill-defined, and the term has come to assume a variety of connotations. A system of classification for agglomeration economies is outlined, which differs in several respects from previous ones, both in terms of definition and coverage. Certain aspects of this classification are explored, and attention is then given to a number of issues surrounding the concept of agglomeration economies that do not appear to have been adequately considered. These include the extent of agglomeration economies, the possible absence of agglomeration economies at a given agglomeration, and the spatial context of agglomeration economies.

MISSING ELEMENTS IN THE ANALYSIS OF AGGLOMERATION ECONOMIES

The concept of agglomeration economies continues to represent an important aspect of locational analysis and regional economics. However, the term agglomeration economies is frequently used as a jargon or shorthand, leading to the obvious dangers of misspecification and misinterpretation. Treating agglomeration economies as cost savings to the individual firm, it is argued that these may be seen as particular forms of internal economies and also as particular forms of external economies. It is further argued that each group of economies (internal or external) can be examined in terms of the dimensions of scale, scope, and complexity. Such an approach forms the basis for a classification of agglomeration economies. This classification, which contains an important parallelism of form, is then used to consider a neglected aspect of the analysis—namely, the coexistence of different types of agglomeration economy.

Perspectives on the city-region

Parr J. B. (2005) Perspectives on the city‐region, Regional Studies 39 , 555–566. The significance of the city‐region as a key feature of the space economy of a nation has been acknowledged for some time. Recently, however, there has been a spate of interest in the city‐region, and the reasons for this are varied. The form of a typical city‐region is discussed, with consideration given to its zonal structure and the accompanying inter‐zonal interaction. Such interaction, which occurs with respect to trade, commuting, capital movements, etc., does not imply that the city‐region represents a closed economy. The long‐term evolution of the city‐region is outlined, and a pattern of concentration followed by deconcentration is identified. Certain technical issues relating to the form of the city‐region are then examined. Finally, there is a brief review of the different ways in which the city‐region has been defined in the UK over recent years.

Growth-pole Strategies in Regional Economic Planning: A Retrospective View Part 2. Implementation and Outcome

The paper continues from Part 1 which appeared in the previous issue of the journal. The primary concern is with neglected aspects of the growth-pole strategy, particularly as these relate to its implementation. Of importance here are the spatial configuration of the planned poles, the economic activity to be located within these, the spillover effects of a planned pole, and the presence of a pole within an existing urban system. Consideration is also given to the failure, abandonment and non-adoption of the strategy and to the reasons for this. It is argued that growth-pole strategy has never been evaluated in terms of an adequate conceptual framework, and the rudiments of one such framework are outlined.

Growth-pole Strategies in Regional Economic Planning: A Retrospective View: Part 1. Origins and Advocacy

The paper undertakes a detailed examination of growth-pole strategies, an emphasis in regional economic planning during the 1960s which never lived up to its early promise. The initial concern is with the origins of the strategy, particularly the manner in which the work of Perroux (on dominance and economic space) became modified to form a normative concept in regional economic planning. Consideration is given to the various regional-problem settings in which the growth-pole strategy has been advocated. These settings reflected such policy concerns as depressed-area revival, the encouragement of regional deconcentration, the modification of a national urban system, the pursuit of interregional balance, etc. Attention then turns to the fundamental nature and underlying rationale of the strategy. The paper is continued in Part 2 which appears in the next issue of the journal.

Models of the Central Place System: A More General Approach

This paper investigates a central place model which possesses much of the simplicity of the Christaller model but which is of considerably greater generality. A prominent feature of the model is the existence of a hierarchy of central places which is based on functional complexity. The model has a number of conceptual advantages over the Christaller model, but also appears to offer a more accurate basis for the description and analysis of actual central place systems.

Spatial Definitions of the City: Four Perspectives:

The extent of the city is important in a number of respects, not least in relation to the question of city size, an issue of considerable significance in urban and regional analysis. Four definitions of the city are considered here. The first involves the city as a physical entity, or the area devoted to primarily urban uses. This Built City (BC) is perhaps the most familiar perception of the city, largely because it is relatively easy to visualise. The BC forms the core or basis of each of the other three definitions of the city. These are as follows: the Consumption City (an area within which most of the consumption of goods and services occurs in the BC); the Employment City (an area in which the bulk of the employed workforce works in the BC); and the Workforce City (an area upon which the BC draws for a given majority of its labour requirements). These four definitions of the city are brought together and shown to be interrelated.

Agglomeration and Trade: Some Additional Perspectives

The form of agglomeration economies (those internal to the firm as well as those external to it) is reviewed. Consideration is next given to recent changes in the regional (state) economies of the US Midwest, as part of an effort to explore the evolving nature of agglomeration economies. Particular attention is paid to the changing relationship between the establishment and the firm and to radical developments that have affected the transportation sector. The impact of these changes on the nature of interstate trade and on the structure of the metropolitan economy are then examined. There follows a discussion of how agglomeration economies are being supplemented and perhaps replaced by less spatially-constrained advantages. Finally, certain of the more important implications of these various trends are discussed.

A Population-Density Approach to Regional Spatial Structure

The concept of the population-density function, which is usually applied within the context of an urban area, is extended to the scale of a metropolitan-area-based region or city region. A form for such a regional density function is proposed, and this is examined for selected regions of the UK and North America. It is demonstrated how such a region-wide density function may be related to other density functions which have been used to characterise the structures of the metropolitan and non-metropolitan parts of the region. Consideration is also given to problems associated with constructing and interpreting the regional density function and to its underlying theoretical basis. Finally, the application of the density-function approach in the analysis of regional structure is briefly discussed.

Cities and Regions: Problems and Potentials

The central concern is with the nature of cities and regions and the vagueness that appears to have enveloped each of these terms. Consideration is initially given to the ‘built city’ and how this perspective on the city may be extended in several ways. There follows an examination of the region, with a brief exploration of the classification proposed by Meyer, involving homogeneous, nodal, and policy regions. Attention then turns to two distinctive regional forms (the city-region and the polycentric urban region), each of which has recently become the focus of interest. The two regional forms are examined in terms of spatial structure and interaction patterns, with attention given to particular aspects of economic development. Finally, there is a discussion of the problems of identifying regional forms and the difficulties of interpretation.