Peter Sjøholt

Culture as a Strategic Development Device: The Role of ‘European Cities of Culture’, with Particular Reference to Bergen:

Culture can be perceived both as an aspect of life and a sector of activities (Klausen, 1977). The former dimension comprises values, norms and habits and may as such have an important impact on development. The latter dimension is part of the conservation and construction of heritage to be enjoyed by the general public, or sold to specific target groups both inside and outside particular heritage sites. The latter type of cultural boost may be part of a wider development promotion. Culture in this dimension is thus considered as a strategic device, but its marketing is, as emphasized by Schudson (1984), different from mere selling. It implies that the seller is able to satisfy real wants of the buyer, that the marketeer as envisaged by Holcomb (1993) is conscious of a need to adapt the product to the demand of the market. This concerns not only conventional commodity marketing but applies also to less tangible marketing efforts, in this case cities and their cultural contents. It is in this perspective that culture is the subject of this Euro-commentary, which analyses the role of cultural mega-events and particularly that of the Cultural Cities of Europe, concluding with the prospects for Bergen as a Cultural City in the year 2000.

The changing structure of the central place system in trøndelag, norway, over the past 40 years – viewed in the light of old and recent theories and trends

Abstract. The IGU Symposium on Urban Geography in Lund in 1960 was a path‐breaking event towards new nomothetic thinking within the discipline. In nearly half of the papers, the state of the art in central place research was presented and debated. The symposium was the main source of inspiration for a study of the central place system in Midt‐Norge in the 1960s, a research project that has been followed up in stages over a 40‐year period. The result is a unique collection of data, covering all central places in the region and the location of approximately 200 service functions of different categories in the 1960s, 1980s and c. 2000. Despite the profound changes that have taken place on the part of the consumer, as well as the supplier, the main structure of the central place hierarchy has been surprisingly stable. However, when looking at the growth and decline of each of the different service functions, considerable dynamics have been found. There are tendencies of centralization/concentration as well as decentralization/dispersion. Furthermore, the functional division of labour by vertical steps and tiers in the 1960s has been supplemented by horizontal specialization between places, and also in the lower levels of the central place hierarchy. In this paper, we present and discuss some of the main changes that have taken place in the system in the light of older and newer theories and trends.

Service industries in the global economy

This article discusses services as a research theme by reviewing the anthology Service Industries in the Global Economy, a collection of articles published in 1998, in two volumes in the series The International Library of Critical Writings in Economics (series editor Mark Blaug). The articles are reprints from journals in economics, economic geography and sociology, and they span the period from 1939 to 1997. Of the total of 70 articles, this review can give only some samples.

Understanding the role of services in the globalisation process: The case of Norway

The article discusses the importance of services as agents of internationalisation. Services are seen as dynamic agents of change, and services and commodities are considered composite in production processes. Modes of entering the global scene such as trade in services, foreign direct investment, forming of alliances, franchising and intrafirm trade are focused on, and limits to globalisation are highlighted. Some services, particularly advanced business services, more easily fall prey to institutional and cultural constraints than others. Empirically, Norway is analysed as an arena of international services against the background of its historical tradition particularly in shipping and affiliated activities. Recently, however, manufacturing has gained in importance, mainly in exports and to a lesser extent in imports, due to the petroleum economy. This appears to indicate that export of services has lost momentum over time. The development profile in shipping is highly negative. The negative picture changes somewhat when not only the trade balance, but also investment abroad is considered. In this respect, services have grown in relative importance, notably in the financial sector and in telecommunications. When juxtaposing outgoing and incoming investments, petroleum-related services have gained an increased export and investment surplus in recent years, from a balance in the mid-1990s.

BUTIKKEN I GRENDA THE LOCAL COMMUNITY SHOP

This article deals with methdology and results when monitoring a policy programme-the Norwegian aid-pro- gramme to shops in sparsely populated areas. It draws on data from a survey on aid to neighbourhood shops as part of a programme to benefit marginal consumers in Norway, carried out by a research team in 1979-80. After having rejected several approaches of evaluation, among these cost-benefit analysis, for being inappropriate for this type of assessment, the study concludes that simpler techniques may be valid for evaluating such extensive and disperse types of programmes. An in-depth questionnaire survey among eligible and non-eligible shopkeepers on atti- tudes and performance gave, by and large, sufficiently power- ful explanation and differentiation. Even by this crude approach it is borne out that the main objects of the programme have been attained. There are some doubts, however, as to the validity of a too small sample in evaluating performance, and there is a para- mount need for more consumer oriented research. The issue

Colonization and adaptation of agricultural systems Some critical issues in the Andean Montaña

This article, based on findings from two research projects on Latin American colonization and agricultural systems, carried out in Peru in 1981–1982 and 1991, falls into two parts. The former provides a background to the latter by putting colonization into a broader and more theoretical context, and by emphasizing problems arising in conjunction with encroachment on new land. The second part enlarges the perspective for studying colonization communities, outlining a theoretical frame of reference with three levels of explanation: the intentional, the structural and the functional. Using an empirical example, La Cascarilla, we seek to show and to explain how and why settlers from an area practising a sustainable agricultural system do not succeed in preventing land degradation in their new environment. Looming large as an explanatory factor is the failure to develop a community consciousness, a fact that is reinforced by an extremely high mobility rate.

New spatial trends in consumer services in Norway. A theoretical empirical approach

This article provides an analysis of recent changes in location within three of the main sectors of consumer and mixed consumer-producer services in Norway. Against the background of underlying forces, mainly economic, technological and organizational variables, the patterns of an emerging new service landscape arc discussed, the characteristics of which are dependent on level of analysis. Considered in a broad context and interregionally, it is still appropriate to speak of a hierarchy in a more or less classical sense. Considered in an intraregional dimension, a far more diffuse locational pattern than earlier postulated is emerging. Central-place theory is still valid in this sphere of services, but must be supplemented with expanded explanation systems, particularly relevant parts of organization theory.

The service system in Norway, viewed in the light of recent theory and socio-political development trends

This article presents within a taxonomic frame of reference some changes in location of services in Norway 1970–1980, analysed on the background of theory and general societal development trends. A general tendency of decentralization of service provision was found, both seen from a hierarchial viewpoint and in a core-periphery context. However, by closer examination, conflicting trends are disclosed which make it necessary to supplement simple central-place theoretical explanations with theories of organization and decision-making - given an explicit spatial orientation. General sociopolitical conditions both promoted and counteracted a spread of services in the decade. However, factors which made for convergence in the 1970s do not necessarily guarantee a continuation of these trends.

Regionalforskning i Norge

This article reviews four volumes presenting results from the Research Council of Norways Research Programme on Regional Development, 1998–2003, focusing especially on geographers’ contributions.

The Norwegian North Sea petroleum industry. Development trends and impacts

Sjoholt, P. 1966. The Norwegian North Sea petroleum industry. Development trends and impacts. Norsk geogr. Tidsskr. Vol. 50, 225–242. Oslo. ISSN 0029-1951. In the early years of development of offshore activities, Norway was able to take advantage of the global energy situation and establish herself as a proactive agent in the business. In this article the growing importance of the activities for the national economy is highlighted, with particular emphasis on the role of the sector in regional development. The new principles of management, technology changes, cost problems and new market organization will make an impact upon Norways future role as a petroleum producer. These development prospects and options are put into a resource, environmental and intergenerational equity context. In conclusion, the vulnerability of a large petroleum sector in a small, advanced industrial economy is discussed.