Sandra Vinciguerra

The Geography of Internet Infrastructure: An Evolutionary Simulation Approach Based on Preferential Attachment

In this paper, the evolution of infrastructure networks is modelled as a preferential attachment process. It is assumed that geographical distance and country borders provide barriers to link formation in infrastructure networks. The model is validated against empirical data on the European Internet infrastructure network covering 209 cities. The average path length and average clustering coefficient of the observed network are successfully simulated. Furthermore, the simulated network shows a significant correlation with the observed European Internet infrastructure network. The paper ends with a discussion on the future uses of preferential attachment models in the light of the literature on world cities and global cities.

European infrastructure networks and regional innovation in science-based technologies

We analyse the innovative activity of European regions in the fields of biotechnology and semiconductor technology. We explain regional patenting levels from publication levels within each region and nearby regions to account for local knowledge spillovers. We extend this approach by including connectivity measures for each region in order to indicate their position in the pan-European networks of Internet backbone providers, airline routes and global banks. We hypothesise that a regions position in all these networks contributes to its innovation capability as these networks provide high-quality and relative cheap access to digital information (Internet), fellow researchers (airlines) and financial resources (banks). The results show that connectivity indeed supports a regions patenting level in science-based technologies. In particular, we found that connectivity through the Internet backbone and through global banks enhance innovative activity, while airline connectivity does not. A second conclusion holds that while local knowledge spillovers are found to be very strong for patenting in biotechnology, this effect is found to be absent in semiconductor patenting. This result indicates that the importance of geographical proximity in generating knowledge spillovers is highly technology-specific.

EXTENSIVE AND INTENSIVE GLOBALIZATIONS: EXPLICATING THE LOW CONNECTIVITY PUZZLE OF U.S. CITIES USING A CITY-DYAD ANALYSIS

ABSTRACT: This article reports an experiment in world city network analysis focusing on city-dyads. Results are derived from an unusual principal components analysis of 27,966 city-dyads across 5 advanced producer service sectors. A 2-component solution is found that identifies different forms of globalization: extensive and intensive. The latter is characterized by very high component scores and describes the more important city-dyads focused upon London-New York (NYLON). The extensive globalization component heavily features London and New York but with each linked to less important cities. U.S. cities score relatively high on the intensive globalization component and we use this finding to explain the low connectivities of U.S. cities in previous studies of the world city network. The two components are tentatively interpreted in world-systems terms: intensive globalization is the process of core-making through city-dyads; extensive globalization is the process of linking core with non-core through city-dyads.

Network Connectivity Models: An Overview and Empirical Applications

In recent years great attention has been paid to complex networks and to their related theories and models.

Featured Graphic. Contemporary Mappa Mundi: American Exceptionalism in the World City Network

This article was accepted for publication in the journal, Environment and Planning A [© Pion Ltd]. The definitive, peer-reviewed and edited version of this article is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1068/a4352

Global networks, cities and economic performance: Observations from an analysis of cities in Europe and the USA

The network paradigm has been highly influential in spatial analysis in the globalisation era. As economies across the world have become increasingly integrated, so-called global cities have come to play a growing role as central nodes in the networked global economy. The idea that a city’s position in global networks benefits its economic performance has resulted in a competitive policy focus on promoting the economic growth of cities by improving their network connectivity. However, in spite of the attention being given to boosting city connectivity little is known about whether this directly translates to improved city economic performance and, if so, how well connected a city needs to be in order to benefit from this. In this paper we test the relationship between network connectivity and economic performance between 2000 and 2008 for cities with over 500,000 inhabitants in Europe and the USA to inform European policy.