http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/11381/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/40004/ 2013-02-27T00:00:00Z Empirical studies on polycentric urban regions (PURs) tend to analyse their spatial organization by examining only one type of functional linkage between cities. However, it has generally been accepted that urban networks are multiplex phenomena and that spatial interactions between cities can take many different forms, for example, commuting, shopping trips, and inter-firm trade. The spatial organization of each of these functional linkages is not necessarily identical, and, therefore, a region can appear to be polycentric and spatially integrated based on the analysis of one type of functional linkage but monocentric and loosely connected based on the analysis of another type of functional linkage. The aim of this paper is to stimulate further discussion on the multiplexity of urban networks with regard to the relational complexity of urban regions. Focusing on one PUR (Randstad Holland), we compare the geographical scope and spatial structure of different functional networks within it. Our results indicate that the spatial organization of the urban network depends on the lens through which it is assessed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/34708/ 2012-07-06T00:00:00Z In the modern economy, cities are assumed to be in fierce competition over attracting foreign investments in leading sectors of the world economy. Despite the rich theoretical discourse on these 'wars', it remains unclear which territories are competing with each other over which types of investments Combining insights from international economics, international business, and urban systems literature, we develop an indicator to measure revealed competition between territories for investments based on the overlap of investment portfolios of regions. Taking competition for greenfield investments between European regions as a test subject, we identify competitive market segments, derive the competitive threat a region faces from other regions, the competitive threat regions pose to other regions, and the most important market segments in which regions compete. We show that European regions with similar locational endowments pose a fiercer competitive thre at to one another. In addition, regions that are sufficiently large and distinctive, face the smallest average competitive threat from all other regions. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/31438/ 2011-07-01T00:00:00Z This article contributes to the converging literatures on global production networks and new regionalism, which show that these two entities and their respective geographic scales are complexly interdependent. It explores two key conceptual differences between the leading world city network studies of Alderson and Beckfield and the work of the Global and World City (GaWC) Research Network. The first is the sectoral differentiation of the data, in which the former focuses on multinational corporations in all industrial sectors and the latter specifically targets only advanced producer services. The second involves methodological differences that lead to dissimilar network structures. Alderson and Beckfield made only a basic hierarchical differentiation of the firms, while the GaWC study used a more elaborate classification method. Combining these approaches, we explore firms' global and regional interdependencies (their centrality within their network and its structure). Using a single data set of the top 100 global multinationals (2005) and their ownership linkages with thousands of subsidiaries in 2,259 unique cities worldwide. The findings not only reveal the nodal centralities and linkage structures within the "all industrial sector" network and the "producer service sector" network but also show a strong correlation between these two networks, specifically toward the apex of the economic systems, and evidence of the coexistence of hierarchical and heterarchical city network structures. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/23749/ 2011-06-10T00:00:00Z The gradual integration of nations within our globalizing world is strongly related to the economic networks formed by multinational headquarters and their various subsidiaries located across the globe. Although the corporate reach of multinational corporations (MNCs) is clearly global, the geographical scope of their activities remains limited. Focusing on the network of ownership relations between the global Fortune 100 MNC headquarters and their subsidiaries, it is shown that global corporate activity remains unevenly distributed across the globe. Besides showing that richer countries are better connected within the global system than the poorer countries, the authors also reveal considerable differences in connectivity within the group of rich countries. Based on various determinants, these variations in network connectivity are explained. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/32262/ 2010-03-03T00:00:00Z Over the past decades, there is increasing interest in the economic networks between cities, in which it is argued that the rise of the network economy is the result of advances in ongoing globalization, transport and communication technology, common markets, the individualization of production and the growth of multinational firms. It is said that these aspects significantly impact on the spatio-economic structure of cities and regions (e.g. Batten, 1995, Anas et al., 1998), in which the monocentric city is transforming into a polycentric urban network. However, a paradox in this process is the focus of academics and policymakers on sub-national regions as the essential unit of economic activity. In general, most studies and policies fail to conceptualize regional development in an era of globalization (Dicken and Malmberg 2001). Instead, a combined strategy of global production networks and regional assets should be pursued, in which activities are understood across different geographical scales (Coe et al., 2004, Dicken et al., 2001). Today, only a limited number of world city network studies exist (due to scarcity of relational data), e.g. international banking (Meyer 1986), producer service firms (Taylor, 2004), MNC governance (Alderson and Beckfield, 2004), and corporate directorates (Carroll, 2007). http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/16013/ 2009-06-05T00:00:00Z Today the existence of the ‘network society’ is often asserted. However, there is a lack of empirical understanding of what these networks actually are, especially concerning networks between cities worldwide. Therefore, this study contributes to economic geography because it is empirically based on actual data concerning global multinational networks. Based on this, the network characteristics of temporality, structure, scale, competition and performance are explored using network analysis techniques. In the temporal study the historical process of network formation is discussed. In the study on structure the contemporary worldwide corporate network is empirically exposed. In this, the hierarchies, interdependencies and distribution of the network is revealed. For instance, it is demonstrated that the majority of corporate activity takes place ‘between’ cities and not ‘within’ their municipal boundaries. The study on corporate scale shows how differences in firm types (global, European and Dutch), will reveal variations in city hierarchies and interdependencies. In the competition study a new measure has been introduced to assess competition based on the economic ties between cities. The study on network performance shows that although the reach of corporate activity between nations is global, the scope of this activity remains particularly constrained between nations of the developed world. Hence, contrary to popular belief, the corporate world is not flat but highly polarized. Based on this, it is shown that network hegemony is strongly associated with the global competitivity levels of nations. This study demonstrates the utility of network analysis to understand cities within an increasingly global world - in which the methods, techniques and results can be of interest to scientists, policymakers, planners and developers alike. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/18044/ 2009-03-20T00:00:00Z Today, the importance of the Randstad agglomeration is often discussed in terms of the economic coherence between its four largest cities. This is remarkable when several leading authors argue that the economic importance of cities is strongly determined by economic networks between cities worldwide. This discrepancy stems from the fact that limited empirical research exists on corporate networks. Furthermore, the relative importance of cities within various studies is based on different functional types and spatial scales of data, making the results incomparable. Therefore, in this paper, the relative importance of the four largest Randstad cities is explored within three independent, comparative networks (top 100 global firms, top 100 European firms, and top 100 Dutch firms). Employing network analysis techniques, this paper evaluates the local, supra-regional and global importance of the four Randstad cities within the three independent networks. The results show that the relative importance and network structures of these four cities are highly dependent on the economic size and locality of the initial headquarters and that Amsterdam proves to be the most important Randstad city in all three scales of corporate networks. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/1075/ 2003-12-16T00:00:00Z Comparative studies of urbanisation can be characterized by their emphasis on the quantitative and visual aspects of urban growth, which is amongst other things reflected in the analysis of spatial patterns and rates of urban population growth. The visual aspects relate both to the spatial realisation of the demand for urban land use and its functional variation. This emphasis can be understood from the perspective of the ongoing process of urban industrial growth in the industrialised countries during the 19th and most of the 20th century. Most of the concept and models we use have been developed during this period of urban transition and relate to this experience. However, in the last quarter of the 20th century this process came to an end as the urbanisation process in its present form was completed. This leads to the following questions. First, to what extent are the concepts and models derived throughout this period still valid? Second, if this is not the case, to what extent do they need adjustment and third, what kind of new approaches are required? In this paper the focus will be cities as part of an urban system and will deal with two issues, viz. the relation between spatial scales, i.e. vertical linkages and the relation between cities, especially focussed on their horizontal linkages or network characteristics. These two issues will be discussed against the background of the completion of three long-term developments: (1) the completed first demographic transition, (2) the completed process of industrialisation and (3) the completion of three infrastructural revolutions. This analysis will indicate the direction in which the environment has changed, the consequences of this change for the conceptualisation of the process of urbanisation and for the characteristics of the process it self. The consequences of these changes will be discussed using empirical examples from the Netherlands and other parts of Europe both for models of internal urban structure and for the city system at large. The classical unity between territory, economic and social functions is broken up and has lead to a decoupling of functions both in a spatial and in a functional sense. The latter has resulted in a process of spatial rebundling of activities. It will be argued that new rationalities are needed to understand the contemporary realisation of the spatial outcome of the demand for space use. In addition to this, it has also been argued that new and different types of uncertainties emerge. The latter are related to the increased importance of micro processes in the demand for space use. This in turn has consequences for spatial policy, as it will lead to considerable mismatches between national planning goals and actual realisations. It is suggested that a process approach is needed to deal with these uncertainties.