Clusters in Urban and Regional Development

Andrew Cumbers

ISBN 10: 0415568412 / ISBN 13: 9780415568418

Published by Routledge, 2006

About this Item

nach der Bestellung gedruckt Neuware - Printed after ordering - Clusters have become a key focus of urban and regional policy in advanced economies as regional specialisation in particular industries has come to be regarded as advantageous in the context of debates about globalization and the knowledge economy. In particular, spatial proximity between associated firms and organisations facilities is claimed to stimulate processes of innovation and learning. Consequently, governments have promoted dynamic clusters as a means of generating competitive advantage in particular cities and regions.In this collection, these claims are critically assessed by drawing upon the work of leading specialists from Western Europe and North America. Going beyond the celebrated 'hot-spots' of economic development, the book draws upon evidence from a broader range of cities and regions to help fill some important gaps in our knowledge of how clusters operate within the contemporary global economy. Cluster dynamics are situated in time and space; interrogating both how firms, organisations and actors within clusters adapt to changes over time, and how clusters are embedded within broader spatial divisions of labour at regional, national and international scales.This book was previously published as a special issue of the journal Urban Studies.

Seller Inventory # 9780415568418

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Clusters in Urban and Regional Development
• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0415568412
• ISBN 13: 9780415568418
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 244W x 170H x 14D millimeters 244 millimeters width by 170 millimeters height by 14 millimeters depth
• Weight: 442 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Clusters have become a key focus of urban and regional policy in advanced economies as regional specialisation in particular industries has come to be regarded as advantageous in the context of debates about globalization and the knowledge economy. In particular, spatial proximity between associated firms and organisations facilities is claimed to stimulate processes of innovation and learning. Consequently, governments have promoted dynamic clusters as a means of generating competitive advantage in particular cities and regions.

In this collection, these claims are critically assessed by drawing upon the work of leading specialists from Western Europe and North America. Going beyond the celebrated 'hot-spots' of economic development, the book draws upon evidence from a broader range of cities and regions to help fill some important gaps in our knowledge of how clusters operate within the contemporary global economy. Cluster dynamics are situated in time and space; interrogating both how firms, organisations and actors within clusters adapt to changes over time, and how clusters are embedded within broader spatial divisions of labour at regional, national and international scales.

This book was previously published as a special issue of the journal Urban Studies.

About the Author

Andy Cumbers is a Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Glasgow. Danny MacKinnon is a Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Aberdeen.