Synergy in polycentric urban regions: Complementarity, organising capacity and critical mass

Synergy in polycentric urban regions: Complementarity, organising capacity and critical mass

Meijers, E.J.

Priemus, H. (promotor)

OTB

2007-03-13

This thesis focuses on relationships between cities in Polycentric Urban Regions (PURs), which are regions containing proximate but distinct cities that are rather similar in size. A classic example is the Randstad. The extent to which there are synergies between cities in PURs is explored. The author develops theories on synergy in PURs and clarifies related concepts such as complementarity, regional organising capacity and critical mass. In doing so, several widespread assumptions with respect to PURs are questioned and empirically assessed, often for the first time. Do cities constituting a PUR increasingly complement each other? Does a PUR provide a similar critical mass for supporting amenities as a monocentric city region? Does a network model of spatial organisation describe the spatial-functional structure of PURs more accurately than a central place model? The thesis draws on empirical evidence from PURs in north-west Europe, particularly the Randstad. It appears that in the Randstad the main cities complement each other much more in term of economic profile than in the RheinRuhr area, and slightly more than in the "Flemish Diamond" (Brussels-Antwerp-Ghent-Leuven). There is also more regional organising capacity in this region, which can be explained on the basis of several spatial-functional, cultural and political factors. However, the extent to which cities in PURs complement each other is diminishing rapidly. Moreover, it was found that the support base or critical mass in a network of cities is less than in a single, monocentric city region. The more polycentric, the less (in quantity and quality) cultural, leisure and sports amenities there are. It appears that there is much potential for synergy left unused in PURs.

polycentricity
urban networks
interurban relationships
complementarity
organising capacity
critical mass

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:983e9c4b-1cce-447d-bc56-9ca21ac46c21

IOS Press

978-1-58603-724-6

Institutional Repository

doctoral thesis

(c) 2007 E.J. Meijers