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The Distinctive City: Divergent Patterns in Growth, Hierarchy and Specialisation

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  • Ann Markusen

    (Urban and Regional Policy Program, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, 301 S. 19th Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA, markusen@umn.edu)

  • Greg Schrock

    (Center for Urban Economic Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, 400 S. Peoria Street, Chicago, IL 60607, USA, gschro2@uic.edu)

Abstract

With accelerated world market integration, cities compete with each other cities as sites of production and consumption, targeting firms and households as semi-autonomous location decision-makers. Distinction may be sought in productive structure, consumption and identity. In this paper, contradictory trends towards homogenisation and distinctiveness are theorised. Studying the occupational structure of 50 large US metropolitan areas, it is found that distinctiveness has been increasing in economic base occupations though some heavily blue-collar cities' edge is eroding. Employment in consumption activities has been growing faster than in the economic base and cities are becoming more alike in consumption structure. It is concluded that the search for niches in exporting sectors and related occupational mix is key to urban resurgence.

Suggested Citation

  • Ann Markusen & Greg Schrock, 2006. "The Distinctive City: Divergent Patterns in Growth, Hierarchy and Specialisation," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 43(8), pages 1301-1323, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:43:y:2006:i:8:p:1301-1323
    DOI: 10.1080/00420980600776392
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    2. Hultman, Magnus & Yeboah-Banin, Abena A. & Formaniuk, Liam, 2016. "Demand- and supply-side perspectives of city branding: A qualitative investigation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 5153-5157.
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    5. Dayton M. Lambert & Kevin T. McNamara, 2009. "Location determinants of food manufacturers in the United States, 2000–2004: are nonmetropolitan counties competitive?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 40(6), pages 617-630, November.
    6. Consoli, Davide & Marin, Giovanni & Marzucchi, Alberto & Vona, Francesco, 2016. "Do green jobs differ from non-green jobs in terms of skills and human capital?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 1046-1060.
    7. Breandán Ó hUallacháin, 2011. "Does inventive intensity affect urban prosperity?," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(4), pages 401-420, November.
    8. Peter Mayerhofer & Oliver Fritz & Dieter Pennerstorfer, 2010. "Dritter Bericht zur internationalen Wettbewerbsfähigkeit Wiens," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 42430.
    9. Davide Consoli & Mabel Sánchez-Barrioluengo, 2016. "Polarization and the growth of low-skill employment in Spanish Local Labor Markets," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1628, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Nov 2016.
    10. John Joe Schlichtman, 2009. "The Niche City Idea: How a Declining Manufacturing Center Exploited the Opportunities of Globalization," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 105-125, March.
    11. Comin, Alvaro & Vasconcelos Oliveira, Maria Carolina, 2010. "Southern cities: Locomotives or wagons of national development," economic sociology. perspectives and conversations, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, vol. 11(2), pages 31-38.
    12. Allen J. Scott, 2010. "Space-Time Variations of Human Capital Assets Across U.S. Metropolitan Areas, 1980 to 2000," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 86(3), pages 233-249, July.
    13. 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.
    14. Barbieri, Nicolò & Consoli, Davide, 2019. "Regional diversification and green employment in US metropolitan areas," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 693-705.
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    16. Cédric Brunelle, 2013. "The Growing Economic Specialization of Cities: Disentangling Industrial and Functional Dimensions in the Canadian Urban System, 1971–2006," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(3), pages 443-473, September.

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