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Resurgent Metropolis: Economy, Society and Urbanization in an Interconnected World

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  • ALLEN J. SCOTT

Abstract

An urban problematic is identified by reference to the essential characteristics of cities as spatially polarized ensembles of human activity marked by high levels of internal symbiosis. The roots of the crisis of the classical industrial metropolis of the twentieth century are pinpointed, and the emergence of a new kind of urban economic dynamic over the 1980s and 1990s is discussed. I argue that this new dynamic is based in high degree upon the growth and spread of cognitive‐cultural production systems. Along with these developments have come radical transformations of urban space and social life, as well as major efforts on the part of many cities to assert a role for themselves as national and international cultural centers. This argument is the basis of what we might call the resurgent metropolis hypothesis. The effects of globalization are shown to play a critical role in the genesis and geography of urban resurgence. Three major policy dilemmas of resurgent cities are highlighted, namely, their internal institutional fragmentation, their increasing character as economic agents on the world stage and the concomitant importance of collective approaches to the construction of localized competitive advantage, and their deepening social disintegration and segmentation. Résumé Une problématique urbaine est dégagée à propos des caractéristiques essentielles des villes définies comme des ensembles d'activité humaine polarisés dans l'espace et marqués par une symbiose interne poussée. Les racines de la crise qu'a subie la métropole industrielle classique au xxe siècle sont mises en évidence. Est aussi étudié un nouveau type de dynamique économique urbaine apparu au cours des années 1980‐1990, cette dynamique étant largement fondée sur la croissance et la diffusion des systèmes de production cognitifs culturels. Parallèlement à ces évolutions, l'espace urbain et la vie sociale ont connu des transformations radicales, et nombre de villes ont entrepris de revendiquer un rôle de centre culturel national et international. Cet argument est à la base de ce qu'on pourrait appeler l'hypothèse d'une résurgence des métropoles. Il est montré que les effets de la mondialisation ont compté de façon cruciale dans la genèse et la géographie de la résurgence urbaine. Trois grands dilemmes politiques des ‘villes résurgentes’ sont soulignés: leur fragmentation institutionnelle interne; l'accentuation de leur place d'agents économiques sur la scène mondiale et l'importance concomitante des approches collectives pour construire des avantages concurrentiels localisés; ainsi que l'intensification de leur désintégration et de leur segmentation sociales.

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  • Allen J. Scott, 2008. "Resurgent Metropolis: Economy, Society and Urbanization in an Interconnected World," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 548-564, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:ijurrs:v:32:y:2008:i:3:p:548-564
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2427.2008.00795.x
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    2. SOHN Christophe, 2012. "La frontière comme ressource dans l'espace urbain globalisé. Une contribution à l'hypothèse de la métropole transfrontalière," LISER Working Paper Series 2012-25, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    3. Urszula Myga-Piątek & Anna Żemła-Siesicka & Katarzyna Pukowiec-Kurda & Michał Sobala & Jerzy Nita, 2021. "Is There Urban Landscape in Metropolitan Areas? An Unobvious Answer Based on Corine Land Cover Analyses," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-20, January.
    4. Luca Salvati & Margherita Carlucci & Efstathios Grigoriadis & Francesco Maria Chelli, 2018. "Uneven dispersion or adaptive polycentrism? Urban expansion, population dynamics and employment growth in an ‘ordinary’ city," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 38(1), pages 1-25, February.
    5. Sarah Williams & Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, 2011. "The Emergence of Los Angeles as a Fashion Hub," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(14), pages 3043-3066, November.
    6. Bhabani Shankar Nayak & Zhong Yingnan, 2019. "Critical Reflections on Different Trends in the Relationship between Financial Developments and Economic Growth in China," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(3), pages 89-98, March.
    7. J Miguel Kanai & Seth Schindler, 2019. "Peri-urban promises of connectivity: Linking project-led polycentrism to the infrastructure scramble," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 51(2), pages 302-322, March.
    8. Vitálišová Katarína & Vaňová Anna & Šúrová Janka, 2020. "How to Attract and Retain Creative Class," NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy, Sciendo, vol. 13(1), pages 245-266, June.
    9. John Harrison & Jesse Heley, 2015. "Governing beyond the metropolis: Placing the rural in city-region development," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(6), pages 1113-1133, May.
    10. Xinyue Ye & Yichun Xie, 2012. "Re-examination of Zipf’s law and urban dynamic in China: a regional approach," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 49(1), pages 135-156, August.
    11. Peter Karl Kresl, 2010. "Introduction," Chapters, in: Peter Karl Kresl (ed.), Economic Strategies for Mature Industrial Economies, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. repec:irs:cepswp:12-25 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Zhao, Simon Xiaobin & Guo, Natasha Shu & Li, Chun Lok Kris & Smith, Christopher, 2017. "Megacities, the World’s Largest Cities Unleashed: Major Trends and Dynamics in Contemporary Global Urban Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 257-289.
    14. Christophe Sohn, 2014. "The Border as a Resource in the Global Urban Space: A Contribution to the Cross-Border Metropolis Hypothesis," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(5), pages 1697-1711, September.
    15. Hans Thor Andersen & Aske Egsgaard-Pedersen & Høgni Kalsø Hansen & Elise Stenholt Lange & Helle Nørgaard, 2022. "Counter-Urban Activity Out of Copenhagen: Who, Where and Why?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-22, May.
    16. Alejandro Valencia-Arias & María Lucelly Urrego-Marín & Lemy Bran-Piedrahita, 2021. "A Methodological Model to Evaluate Smart City Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-17, October.
    17. Volgmann, Kati, 2012. "Neue Kerne in metropolitanen Räumen: Polyzentrische Strukturen und Funktionen im Metropolraum Rhein-Ruhr," Arbeitsberichte der ARL: Aufsätze, in: Growe, Anna & Heider, Katharina & Lamker, Christian & Paßlick, Sandra & Terfrüchte, Thomas (ed.), Polyzentrale Stadtregionen - Die Region als planerischer Handlungsraum, volume 3, pages 203-216, ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft.

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