Delineation of City Regions Based on Commuting Interrelations: The Example of Large Cities in Germany
Albrecht Kauffmann
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 4,
2012
Abstract
The comparison of cities with regard to their economic or demographic development may yield misleading results, if solely the cities in their administrative borders are the object of consideration. Frequently, historical borders of cities neither conform to the contemporary settlement structures, nor do they consider the mutual dependencies between cities and parts of their hinterland. Therefore, it is often claimed to use city regions as objects of comparison or for the sake of urban planning. Commonly, the delineation of functional regions is based on commuting flows from the municipalities in the hinterland of the core cities directed to the cores. A municipality is regarded as belonging to a certain city region if the share of out-commuters from this municipality to the respective core in the total mass of those employees who reside in that municipality is the largest one, and if this share exceeds a certain threshold value. However, commuting flows in the opposite direction are not considered. The method presented here delineates city regions on the base of bidirectional commuting flows. Hereby, various modifications regarding the characteristics of the employment base, the possibility of overlaps of regions, the formation of polycentric city regions, and of the minimum threshold value of mutual connectivity are applied to the sample of 81 German cities with more than 100 000 inhabitants. Finally, the effects of different kinds of regionalisation on the coefficients of regional specialisation of these cities and city regions are demonstrated.
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Local Economic Structure and Sectoral Employment Growth in German Cities
Annette Illy, Michael Schwartz, Christoph Hornych, Martin T. W. Rosenfeld
Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie,
No. 5,
2011
Abstract
This study systematically examines the impact of fundamental elements of urban economic structure on sectoral employment growth in German cities (“urban growth”). We test four elements simultaneously – sectoral specialisation, diversification of economic activities, urban size and the impact of local competition. To account for the effect of varying spatial delimitations in the analysis of urban growth, we further differentiate between cities and planning regions as geographical units. Our regression results show a U-shaped relationship between localisation economies and urban growth and positive effects of local competition on urban growth. With respect to diversification, we find positive effects on urban growth on the city level, but insignificant results on the level of the planning regions. The impact of urban size also differs between free cities and planning regions; in the former, a U-shaped relationship is found, whereas the effect is inversely U-shaped for the latter.
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University Cities: Including Universities and Research Institutes into Strategies for Urban Growth
Peter Franz
International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development,
2011
Abstract
The topic of this special issue refers to the observation that many larger and middle-sized cities dispose of a considerable potential of institutions creating and disseminating knowledge. This kind of endowment seems to be especially valuable in an upcoming knowledge-based economy. Recent strategic concepts and inter-city competitions referring to ‘knowledge-based urban development’, ‘knowledge city’, ‘creative city’, ‘science city’ or ‘entrepreneurial university’ indicate that urban planners and politicians are beginning to search for strategies to take advantage and to make use of this potential. The papers in this special issue a) present case studies of cities trying to activate their knowledge resources for local economic growth, b) deal with regulatory barriers and problems for cities applying ‘knowledge city’ strategies, c) analyze the university support for entrepreneurial activities, and d) discuss some implications of ‘knowledge city’ strategies for architecture and urban planning.
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What are the benefits of cooperation and networking for the economic development of cities and metropolitan regions? Conference proceeding of the third “Halle Forum on Urban Economic Growth”
Christoph Hornych, Albrecht Kauffmann, M. Mühlberg, Martin T. W. Rosenfeld
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 1,
2011
Abstract
The Department of Urban Economics of the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) held on 2 and 3 December 2010 the third “Halle Forum on Urban Economic Growth“. The biennial “Halle Forum” focuses on the determinants of urban growth. This year's conference addressed the forms and benefits of cooperation and networking for the economic development of cities and metropolitan regions. The presentations and discussions focused on the one hand on the effects and determinants of inter-and intra-regional cooperation between firms, and on the other hand on cooperation between neighboring municipalities, especially through the establishment of metropolitan regions.
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Transport Costs and the Size Distribution of a Linearly Arranged System of Cities
Albrecht Kauffmann
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 26,
2010
Abstract
The question regarding the effects of changing transports costs on the size distribution of cities is an important topic of systems of cities research. The so-called New Economic Geography has already given some answers to this question. One central assumption in this kind of model is a very particular, simplified spatial structure. This contribution investigates the consequences of changing transport costs for a system of cities that are located equidistantly on a straight line. In the case of rising transport costs, the main outcome of this model is worker concentration in the central large cities, while the peripheral regions lose residents.
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Political Institutionalisation and Economic Specialisation in Polycentric Metropolitan Regions – The Case of the East German ‚Saxony Triangle‘
Peter Franz, Christoph Hornych
Urban Studies,
2010
Abstract
The rising focus of politicians as well as scientists in the EU on the large urban agglomerations as centres of economic growth is accompanied by political efforts to identify and to demarcate such agglomerations under the label ‘metropolitan regions’. This study develops a theoretical framework broaching the issue of cooperation between municipalities from the perspective of regional economics as well as political science. The framework is applied to the empirical case of the polycentric metropolitan region of the ‘Saxony triangle’ in east Germany. The results show that various intervening factors prevent intense co-operation between the actors in the region. Policy implications and conclusions for future research are discussed.
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The Russian System of Cities from the Perspective of New Economic Geography
Albrecht Kauffmann
Potsdamer Schriften zur Raumwirtschaft, Bd. 2,
2010
Abstract
The rise in energy prices may result in long-lasting rise in costs of freight transports. Which effects do rising freight transport costs have for the development of urban systems? Such rise of transport costs in real terms has happened in Russia after price liberalisation in 1992. At the same time, the Russian official demographic statistics provides data that can be used to test hypotheses concerning the development of urban systems affected by rising transport costs. In the present study, these data are comprehensively evaluated. The theoretical background is provided by modelling of a linear shaped urban system in the framework of New Economic Geography. By means of this tool, analysis can be applied to spacious urban systems with large transport distances. For the first time, the underlying theoretical approach is explained in detail. The empirical results provide evidence for the outcomes of the theoretical model: In spacious countries or regions, respectively, whose urban systems are drawn-out on long lines, rising costs of freight transport are conducive to tendencies of concentration of population in large cities in the centre of the system, while peripheral regions are increasingly disconnected.
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Urban Development by Protecting Historic Buildings? An Analysis of Incentives and Regulations in Heritage Conservation
Peter Franz
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 6,
2010
Abstract
Regulations in heritage conservation play an important role in the redevelopment processes of East German cities. Numerous cities dispose of built cultural heritage still lending the cityscapes its character. As a reaction to the neglect of this cultural heritage during the GDR regime the East German Länder have enacted relatively restrictive heritage conservation laws. In addition to this the federal program “Städtebaulicher Denkmalschutz” was started in 1991 especially for the East German cities. In many cities activities for and investment in historic buildings have led to attractive urban centers. On the other side indicators become visible that an exaggerated heritage protection policy can turn out to be an obstacle for urban development. This paper takes an economic perspective on the topic of built heritage protection. In addition to this it contains a systematic overview over the policy arena, involving national and sub-national levels, actors and regulations. The financing of built heritage protection and recognizable intended and not intended effects of its measures are further topics of the paper. The results show that in East Germany a higher proportion of buildings is listed as in West Germany. The same is true when the public expenditures per head for heritage protection are compared. The analysis suffers from difficulties in assessing an optimal state of built heritage protection; a fact that signals further need in specific research.
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Specialized incubation strategies are on the rise
Michael Schwartz, Christoph Hornych
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 5,
2010
Abstract
For nearly 30 years, business incubators are at the heart of urban technology and innovation policies in Germany. A recent study by the Halle Institute for Economic Research shows that there has been an increasing tendency for establishing specialized incubators that focus their support elements, processes and selection criteria on firms from one specific sector (in most cases knowledge-intensive sectors), and its particular needs. Among the total number of 413 business incubators currently operating in Germany, 94 can be classified as being specialized. Among the German specialized incubators, the vast majority specialize in biotechnology.
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Specialization, Diversity, Competition and their Impact on Local Economic Growth in Germany
Martin T. W. Rosenfeld, Annette Illy, Michael Schwartz, Christoph Hornych
Abstract
This study systematically examines the impact of fundamental elements of urban economic structure on urban growth in Germany from 2003 to 2007. We test four elements simultaneously, that is sectoral specialization, diversification of economic activities, urban size as well as the impact of local competition. To account for the effect of varying spatial delimitations in the analysis of urban growth, we further differentiate between cities and planning regions as geographical units. The analysis covers manufacturing industries as well as service sectors. Most previous work produces inconsistent results and concentrates on localization economies and/or diversification, while urban size and the effect of local competition are widely ignored. Our regression results show a U-shaped relationship between localization economies and urban growth and positive effects of local competition on urban growth. With respect to diversification, we find positive effects on urban growth on the city-level, but insignificant results on the level of the planning regions. The impact of urban size also differs between free cities and planning regions; in the former a U-shaped relationship is found whereas the effect is inversely U-shaped for the latter.
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