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Flemish Diamond or ABC-Axis? The spatial structure of the Belgian metropolitan area

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Listed:
  • Michiel van Meeteren
  • Kobe Boussauw
  • Ben Derudder
  • Frank Witlox

Abstract

This contribution traces the evolution of the Belgian urban system by adopting a historical taxonomy of agglomeration-economy regimes, and poses the question whether a new centralizing agglomeration-economy regime based on renewed ‘metropolization’ can be observed. Belgium has federalized into three regions during the last decades and different spatial perspectives emerged about how the central metropolitan area crosscuts the regional borders. After placing Belgian metropolization in its historical context, we engage with its contemporary geography. We inquire if the metropolitan area of Belgium is more akin to the ‘Flemish Diamond’, with capital city Brussels as the southernmost node, or whether a spatial pattern reminiscent of the historical ‘Antwerp-Brussels-Charleroi (ABC)-Axis’ is a more adequate description. To answer these questions, we examine the spatial integration of the Belgian labour market utilizing the connectivity field method and a 2010 nationwide travel-to-work data set. Based on this analysis, inferences are drawn about labour market interdependencies between various parts of the urban system. The results indicate that contemporary metropolization in Belgium can be topographically expressed as an area that is more trans-regional than the Flemish Diamond yet more polycentric than an extension of Brussels, thus pointing to renewed economic centralization tendencies at the supra-regional level.

Suggested Citation

  • Michiel van Meeteren & Kobe Boussauw & Ben Derudder & Frank Witlox, 2016. "Flemish Diamond or ABC-Axis? The spatial structure of the Belgian metropolitan area," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(5), pages 974-995, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:eurpls:v:24:y:2016:i:5:p:974-995
    DOI: 10.1080/09654313.2016.1139058
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Allen J. Scott, 2012. "A World in Emergence," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 15038.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Francesca Froy, 2023. "Learning from architectural theory about how cities work as complex and evolving spatial systems," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 16(3), pages 495-510.
    3. Anna Growe & Kati Volgmann, 2022. "Metropolisation through Regionalisation? Spatial Scope and Anchor Points of Metropolitan Functions in German Urban Regions," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 113(5), pages 502-522, December.
    4. Laura Deruytter & Ben Derudder, 2019. "Keeping financialisation under the radar: Brussels Airport, Macquarie Bank and the Belgian politics of privatised infrastructure," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(7), pages 1347-1367, May.
    5. Beckers, Joris & Cárdenas, Ivan & Verhetsel, Ann, 2018. "Identifying the geography of online shopping adoption in Belgium," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 33-41.
    6. Saadi, Ismaïl & Boussauw, Kobe & Teller, Jacques & Cools, Mario, 2016. "Trends in regional jobs-housing proximity based on the minimum commute: The case of Belgium," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 171-183.
    7. Fransen, Koos & Boussauw, Kobe & Deruyter, Greta & De Maeyer, Philippe, 2019. "The relationship between transport disadvantage and employability: Predicting long-term unemployment based on job seekers’ access to suitable job openings in Flanders, Belgium," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 268-279.
    8. David Bassens & Laura Gutierrez & Reijer Hendrikse & Deborah Lambert & Maëlys Waiengnier, 2021. "Unpacking the advanced producer services complex in world cities: Charting professional networks, localisation economies and markets," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(6), pages 1286-1302, May.

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