Multinucleation in Metropolitan Economies

Abstract

Metropolitan form has changed significantly over the past few decades; economic activities are increasingly concentrated in suburban nucleations. In this paper I specify models of the multinucleation process on the basis of the investment decisions of business firms in different economic sectors. Regression analysis is used to explain the changing density of business establishments with data for suburban municipalities in the Boston, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA's. Variables reflecting land costs, freeway access, market growth, and the effects of agglomeration and competition are important explanatory factors in many cases. I also specify a model of the number of suburban employment nucleations and test it using cross-sectional data for 3 1 metropolitan places. The metropolitan income base, suburban employment density, suburban share of MSA land area, and velocity of movement are important explanatory variables. The geographic spacing of nucleations is also explored; the results of time-series analysis indicate that pattern regularity in the late 1940s has increasingly given way to a more random spatial distribution of nucleations in the large, multicentered metropolis of today.

Changing Spatial Distribution and Determinants of Land Development in Chinese Cities in the Transition from a Centrally Planned Economy to a Socialist Market Economy: A Case Study of Guangzhou

“…Very often, it is dif® cult to ® nd up-to-date data, especially in a fast-growing metropolis. When data are available, the changing urban spatial structure is investigated through the calibration of regression models which attempt to explain the observed land values, housing values or distribution of ® rms with a number of independent variables (Erickson, 1986;Peiser, 1987;Heikkila et al, 1989;McDonald and McMillen, 1990;Shukla and Waddell, 1991). For example, Erickson ® nds that land costs, transport costs, local market growth and the effects of agglomeration and competition are important factors in land development.…”

Growth of Service Firms and Its Impact on Office Location: The Case of Hong Kong

“…These would include the economic cost factors, and benefits available at alternative locations, access to markets, the ability to control other parts of the firm effectively, and all other economic factors that influence the choice of location for any business activity (Daniels, 1979). Selections of locations by office firms are based on efforts to maximize profits, either by cost minimization or revenue maximization (Erickson, 1986), such as face-to-face contacts, labour, and space costs factors.…”

Where Did the ‘New Urban Economics’ Go after 25 Years?

“…The impact of taxation and expenditure policy on industrial location is hotly debated. Although authors such as Vedder (1981) have theorized that taxes should have an impact on the location decision, most econometric studies have not supported this contention (Erickson andWayslenko 1980, Newman andSullivan 1988).…”

“…As suburban nucleations have increased, the relative importance of the CBD has diminished (Erickson 1986). Firms, then, have taken advantage of these new economies of scale and access to skilled labor (Erickson and Wasylenko 1980) and have been suburbanizing at an increasing rate over the last several years (Jones 1991).…”