IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envira/v41y2009i1p13-30.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Distinctive City: Pitfalls in the Pursuit of Differential Advantage

Author

Listed:
  • Ivan Turok

    (Department of Urban Studies, University of Glasgow, 25 Bute Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RS, Scotland)

Abstract

In the face of growing competitive pressures, cities in Britain and elsewhere have been exploring new ways of promoting their distinctiveness in order to increase local prosperity. I analyse the main approaches used for this purpose and consider their underlying rationale. I argue that there is some justification for developing more specialised activities and sources of differential advantage that other cities cannot reproduce. However, many cities appear to be pursuing the same policy formula comprising one or more of the following elements: nascent industries, high-level occupations, signature buildings, and consumer identities. I discuss the limitations of each of these. I conclude with some constructive suggestions for what cities might do to develop more original and distinctive advantages.

Suggested Citation

  • Ivan Turok, 2009. "The Distinctive City: Pitfalls in the Pursuit of Differential Advantage," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 41(1), pages 13-30, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:41:y:2009:i:1:p:13-30
    DOI: 10.1068/a37379
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/a37379
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1068/a37379?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Markusen, Ann, 2007. "A Consumption Base Theory of Development: An Application to the Rural Cultural Economy," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 36(01), pages 1-15, April.
    2. William Clark & Youqin Huang, 2004. "Linking Migration and Mobility: Individual and Contextual Effects in Housing Markets in the UK," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(6), pages 617-628.
    3. Anne Green, 2004. "Is Relocation Redundant? Observations on the Changing Nature and Impacts of Employment-related Geographical Mobility in the UK," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(6), pages 629-641.
    4. Ian R. Gordon & Philip McCann, 2000. "Industrial Clusters: Complexes, Agglomeration and/or Social Networks?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 37(3), pages 513-532, March.
    5. Rowland Atkinson, 2004. "The evidence on the impact of gentrification: new lessons for the urban renaissance?," European Journal of Housing Policy, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 4(1), pages 107-131.
    6. Tony Champion & Mike Coombes, 2007. "Using the 2001 census to study human capital movements affecting Britain's larger cities: insights and issues," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 170(2), pages 447-467, March.
    7. Rowland Atkinson, 2004. "The evidence on the impact of gentrification: new lessons for the urban renaissance?," International Journal of Housing Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(1), pages 107-131.
    8. Markusen, Ann, 2007. "A Consumption Base Theory of Development: An Application to the Rural Cultural Economy," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 36(1), pages 9-23, April.
    9. James Simmie & James Sennett & Peter Wood & Doug Hart, 2002. "Innovation in Europe: A Tale of Networks, Knowledge and Trade in Five Cities," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 47-64.
    10. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Montserrat Vilalta-Bufí, 2005. "Education, migration, and job satisfaction: the regional returns of human capital in the EU," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 5(5), pages 545-566, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Antoine Grandclement & Guilhem Boulay, 2021. "From The Uneven De-Diversification Of Local Financial Resources To Planning Policies: The Residentialization Hypothesis," Post-Print halshs-03322259, HAL.
    2. Philip Lawton & Michael Punch, 2014. "Urban Governance and the ‘European City’: Ideals and Realities in Dublin, Ireland," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 864-885, May.
    3. Sophie Yarker, 2018. "Tangential attachments: Towards a more nuanced understanding of the impacts of cultural urban regeneration on local identities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(15), pages 3421-3436, November.
    4. Renia Ehrenfeucht & Marla Nelson, 2013. "Young Professionals as Ambivalent Change Agents in New Orleans after the 2005 Hurricanes," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(4), pages 825-841, March.
    5. Lei Xiong & Cheng-Lein Teng & Bo-Wei Zhu & Gwo-Hshiung Tzeng & Shan-Lin Huang, 2017. "Using the D-DANP-mV Model to Explore the Continuous System Improvement Strategy for Sustainable Development of Creative Communities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-37, October.
    6. Lia Karsten, 2014. "From Yuppies to Yupps: Family Gentrifiers Consuming Spaces and Re-inventing Cities," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 105(2), pages 175-188, April.
    7. Antoine Grandclement & Guilhem Boulay, 2021. "From the uneven de-diversification of local financial resources to planning policies: The residentialization hypothesis," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(6), pages 1454-1472, September.
    8. Allen J. Scott, 2012. "The Cultural Economy of Landscape and prospects for peripheral development in the twenty-first century: the case of the English Lake District," Chapters, in: Enrico Bertacchini & Giangiacomo Bravo & Massimo Marrelli & Walter Santagata (ed.), Cultural Commons, chapter 4, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Julie Mah, 2023. "Broadening equitable planning: Understanding indirect displacement through seniors’ experiences in a resurgent Downtown Detroit," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 55(4), pages 905-922, June.
    10. Ahlfeldt, Gabriel M., 2011. "Blessing or curse? Appreciation, amenities and resistance to urban renewal," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 32-45, January.
    11. Wilhelmsson, Mats, 2007. "The Spatial Distribution of Innovation Networks," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 91, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    12. Ismail, Muhammad & Warsame, Abukar & Wilhelmsson, Mats, 2020. "Measuring Gentrification with Getis-Ord Statistics and Its Effect on Housing Prices in Neighboring Areas: The Case of Stockholm," Working Paper Series 20/19, Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Real Estate and Construction Management & Banking and Finance.
    13. Todd Gabe & Richard Florida & Charlotta Mellander, 2012. "The Creative Class and the crisis," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 6(1), pages 37-53.
    14. Sofia Vale & Felipa de Mello-Sampayo, 2021. "Effect of Hierarchical Parish System on Portuguese Housing Rents," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-17, January.
    15. Aspa Gospodini, 2009. "Post-industrial Trajectories of Mediterranean European Cities: The Case of Post-Olympics Athens," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 46(5-6), pages 1157-1186, May.
    16. Jaekyung Lee & Hyunwoo Kim & Hyungkyoo Kim, 2021. "Commercial Vacancy Prediction Using LSTM Neural Networks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-17, May.
    17. Kathe Newman & Elvin K. Wyly, 2006. "The Right to Stay Put, Revisited: Gentrification and Resistance to Displacement in New York City," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 43(1), pages 23-57, January.
    18. Oriane Lafuente-Sampietro, 2021. "The multiplier effect of convertible local currencies : case study on two French schemes," Working Papers halshs-03324625, HAL.
    19. Markus Moos, 2016. "From gentrification to youthification? The increasing importance of young age in delineating high-density living," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(14), pages 2903-2920, November.
    20. Riccardo Cappellin, 2016. "Innovation and investments in a regional cross-sectoral growth model: A change is needed in European cohesion policies," ERSA conference papers ersa16p991, European Regional Science Association.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:41:y:2009:i:1:p:13-30. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.