Growth Centres in Spatial Planning

Growth Centres in Spatial Planning examines the role of growth centers in spatial planning in terms of achieving the intended objectives. Intended objectives include improving a region's potential for adopting innovations, a saving in public investment on infrastructure, a more efficient pattern of service provision, a dissemination of growth impulses throughout the problem region, and the interception of would-be migrants from the region. More specifically, this book analyzes the extent to which growth-center policies are likely to attain these objectives and how such policies might be modified accordingly.
This text consists of eight chapters and begins with an appraisal of growth-center theory and growth-center policy, along with the fundamental issues that are involved in putting such policies into practice. This is followed by a discussion on regional policies with a clear growth-center element in Scotland, Ireland, and France. The reader is then introduced to the link between urban centers and the diffusion of innovations; the degree to which the spatial concentration of investment is desirable in order to achieve the most economic pattern of service provision; and the role of spatial agglomeration in stimulating economic growth. The spatial impact of growth centers and the role of growth centers in generating, intercepting, and attracting migrants are also considered. This text concludes with a chapter that proposes some policy guidelines and directions for research.
This book will be of interest to planners and policymakers involved in urban planning and regional development more generally.

Contenu

Preface

1. Growth-Center Theory and Growth-Center Policy
   Growth-Pole Theory
   The Growth-Center Concept
   Growth-Center Policies
2. Growth Centers in Practice
   Scotland
   Ireland
   France
   Conclusion
3. Urban Centers and the Diffusion of Innovations
   "Innovation" and "Diffusion"
   The Role Urban Size in Innovation Diffusion
   Some Caveats about Urban Size
   Conclusion: Implications for Policy
4. Public Scale and Service Provision
   Public Sector Scale Economies
   Urban Threshold Analysis
   The Provision of Personal Services
   Conclusion
5. Agglomeration Economies and the Stimulation of Growth
   Agglomeration Economies
   Cumulative Causation, Ratchets and Spurts
   Industrial Linkage as an Agglomerative Force
   Urban Size and Industrial Growth
   Urban Size and Population Growth
   Conclusion
6. Growth Centers: Their Spatial Impact
   Two Relevant Models
   Impact via the Labor Market
   Industrial Linkage
   Personal Expenditure
   Innovation Diffusion
   Conclusions
7. The Generation, Interception and Attraction of Migrants
   The Generation of Migration
   The Attraction of Migrants
   Conclusion
8. Conclusion: Implications for Policy and Research
   Lessons for Urban Size
   Some Policy Guidelines
   Some Suggestions for Research
   Bibliography
   Index