In contemporary literature on changing urban systems, it is often argued that the traditional central place conceptualisation is outdated and should be replaced by a network view that emphasises the increasing criss-crossing pattern of interdependencies between spatial units. This paper tests for urban network development by looking at commuting patterns in the Greater South East UK. The analysis is based on census commuting interaction data for three points in time during the past three decades (1981, 1991, and 2001). Although the empirical results indicate that the Greater South East UK can still not be characterized as a polycentric urban region or integrated urban network, there is some evidence for urban network development at the local, intra-urban, level as well as a decentralization of the system at the regional, inter-urban, level.

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Erasmus Research Institute of Management
hdl.handle.net/1765/16213
ERIM Report Series Research in Management
ERIM report series research in management Erasmus Research Institute of Management
Erasmus Research Institute of Management

de Goei, B., Burger, M., van Oort, F., & Kitson, M. (2009). Functional Polycentrism and Urban Network Development in the Greater South East UK: Evidence from Commuting Patterns, 1981-2001 (No. ERS-2009-038-ORG). ERIM report series research in management Erasmus Research Institute of Management. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1765/16213