The metropolis in retrospect. From the trading metropolis to the global metropolis

Lise Bourdeau-Lepage () and Jean-Marie HURIOT
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Jean-Marie HURIOT: Laboratoire dÕEconomie et de Gestion, UniversitŽ de Bourgogne

No 2005031, Discussion Papers (REL - Recherches Economiques de Louvain) from Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)

Abstract: Metropolization is not a new phenomenon : metropolises have been around for centuries. The prime and permanent function of a metropolis is the coordination of economiec activities at a world scale. This function has been applied to different activities in history, depending on technological conditions and economic organization, and consequently it generated different forms of metropolises. The resulting continuities and discontinuities in the metropolises' Žvolution can be understood in terms of agglomeration economies. In the pre-industrial period, the trading metropolis coordinates long range trade. The industrial revolutions generate new needs for coordination of production and give rise to the manufacturing metropolis. Finally, the information revolution and the emergence of the post-industrial economy create the global metropolis.

Keywords: High-order services; metropolises; urban history (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N70 R10 R30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005-09-01
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Journal Article: The metropolis in retrospect From the trading metropolis to the global metropolis (2005)
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