Josephine V. Rekers

Ethnic packaging and gentrification : The case of four neighborhoods in Toronto

Urban theory has historically situated ethnic commercial strips as an organic extension of nearby ethnic residential enclaving. While this is still a useful way to frame such commercial spaces in many cities, this article argues that some areas of this sort function as a marketable branding mechanism (intended or not) to produce nearby residential gentrification. This article explores the influence of ethnic packaging on the process of gentrification in Toronto, Ontario. Using four ethnically defined business-improvement areas—Corso Italia, Little Italy, India Bazaar, and Greektown on the Danforth—it explores the role that constructed ethnicity plays in the valorization of local real estate markets. The commercial areas of these neighborhoods now function increasingly as ways to market each neighborhood’s residential real estate markets. This has specific implications for gentrification theory and more general ones for the study of urban landscapes.

We're number two! Beta cities and the cultural economy

Given that not every city can be an alpha city in todays global urban hierarchy, what options do beta cities such as Toronto or Chicago realistically have in the cultural economy? Put differently, if cultural capitals such as New York, London, Paris, and Tokyo play critically important roles in certifying and establishing new trends in theatre, fashion, and other cultural industries, how can beta cities compete? Recent research suggests that the spatial distribution of cultural industries strongly resembles one of urban hierarchy, where the institutions and infrastructure that support the production and diffusion of new products are largely concentrated in only a few world cities. The implication of this hierarchy is that there is a clearly defined top tier that lower ranked, beta, cities look to for inspiration as they seek to improve their standing. Comparative case studies of musical theatre scenes in Toronto and New York provide insights into an alternative functional perspective on urban hierarchies and the complementarities among cities. This approach makes a distinction between development and diffusion activities, thereby recognizing opportunities for beta cities as important sites for experimentation and innovation, supported by attributes that could be seen as unique (and localized) strengths in an increasingly global cultural economy.

How does multi-scalar institutional change affect localized learning processes? A case study of the med-tech sector in Southern Sweden

Co-location alone is not sufficient to ensure efficient and effective interaction between economic agents. Also, institutions at multiple scales shape the behaviour of organizations and provide incentives for interaction. However, institutions, as well as the impact of institutions on economic agents, are not static, but rather change over time. In this paper we investigate this dynamic process: How does institutional change at different geographical scales affect localized learning processes? Using an intensive case study of the medical technology sector in Southern Sweden, we trace in detail how institutions at the supra-national, national and regional scale have changed over the past 15 years and how these have affected the opportunities for localized learning between firms and hospitals. Our case makes three contributions. First, it provides a detailed empirical example of the interdependencies between institutions at the supra-national, national and regional scales. Second, as institutions shape the behaviour of organizations, we demonstrate that institutional change introduced at the extra-regional scale can have profound consequences for the establishment of local innovation linkages – and thereby for the opportunities for localized learning. Third, this leads us to reconsider the ambitions of regional policies that aim to enhance localized learning.

Revisiting the role of selection for the evolution of industries

Abstract Despite a growing reliance on evolutionary theories when explaining industrial dynamics, the mechanism of selection has received limited attention. Selection is often taken for granted and conceptualised as product market competition. We go beyond this view and distinguish between different types of selection—formal and social—and consider how these lead to different entities being selected. Formal selection relies on codified selection criteria and often applies in selection environments where processes are standardised and institutions formalised. Social selection relies on reputation, referrals and previous interactions in order to evaluate intangible properties of the entities being selected. We argue that firms compete in multiple selection environments, not limited to product markets, that different selection environments may rely on different types of selection and that this has profound implications for industrial dynamics. This theoretical discussion is inspired by empirical observations of the medical technology industry in Sweden.

What triggers innovation diffusion? Intermediary organizations and geography in cultural and science-based industries

This paper argues that innovation diffusion is not a rational implementation process, but more accurately portrayed as a highly social process, involving sets of intermediate organizations that contribute to a product’s reputation. Empirically it builds on two case studies, one cultural and one science-based, to demonstrate there are industry differences in where innovations get validated: validating intermediaries are centralized in few global nodes in the case of theatre, and decentralized in each marketplace in the case of pharmaceutical vaccines. This pattern is counterintuitive, because it is different from what we would expect based on the spatial organization of their production activities. These findings have implications for policy: can we assume innovations will readily diffuse (and export) outside their region of origin?