POPULATION EXPANSION IN CHINA''''S METROPOLISES AND ITS SCALE-CONTROL

Metropolises are centers of politics, economy, culture and information, and also economic growth poles in comparatively large areas. After 1949, China's urban structure have changed greatly, from original "pyramid" shape into "upside -down pyramid" shape, that is, more megalopolises and metropolises, fewer medium-sized and small cities. The most distinguishing feature of urban population growth was the remarkable increase of population in megalopolises and metropolises. The key reason for urban population expansion is to want to obtain the benefits of scale -agglomeration economy of metropolises. The number of urban functions directly determines the quality and quantity of urban population. Metropolises appeal not only agricultural population but also the population of medium-sized and small cities, which put much more population pressure on metropolises. The ideal goals of scale-control of metropolitan population are discussed in terms of economy, society and ecollogy. In order to control the metropoli     

THE NEW CORPORATE LANDSCAPE: AMERICA'S FASTEST GROWING PRIVATE COMPANIES

Analysis of the location of the fastest growing private companies in the United States suggests that a new corporate landscape is emerging. During the 1980s this corporate landscape has increasingly been dominated by companies in the service sector rather than in manufacturing. Sunbelt metropolises, especially in California, are more favored locations for the fast-growth firms than for the traditional Fortune 500 industrial and 500 service corporations. The fast-growth firms are also more likely to locate in suburban areas than the traditional corporations. These service, Sunbelt, and suburban characteristics of the new corporate landscape are interpreted as a consequence of the restructuring of the US economy.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Books Reviewed in this article: Lob Trees in the Wilderness . Clifford and Isabel Ahlgren . Satellite Microwave Remote Sensing . T. D. Allan , ed. Sunbelt Cities: Politics and Growth Since World War II . Richard M. Bernard and Bradley R. Rice , eds. Legacy of Minneapolis: Preservation Amid Change . John R. Borchert , David Gebhard , David Lanegran , and Judith A. Martin . Bloomington, MN: Preparing a Historic Preservation Ordinance. Richard J. Roddewig . The Mountains of Northeastern Tasmania, A Study of Alpine Geomorphology . Nel Caine . Introductory Cartography . John Campbell . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Changing Climate . Manual of Remote Sensing, Second Edition . 2 Vols. Robert N. Colwell , ed.-in-chief; David S. Simonett and John E. Estes , vol. eds. Remote Sensing in Meteorology, Oceanography and Hydrology . A. P. Cracknell , ed. Multidimensional Scaling . Mark L. Davison . Environmental Karst . Percy H. Dougherty , ed. The Urban Environment . Ian Douglas . Geomorphology of Europe . Clifford Embleton , ed. An Introduction to South Asia . B. H. Farmer . Great Geological Controversies . A. Hallam . Hazardous Waste Management: In Whose Backyard? Michalann Harthill , ed. Energy for Subsistence . Margaret Haswell . Perspective on Ratzel's Political Geography . James M. Hunter . Economic Deposits and their Tectonic Setting . Charles S. Hutchison . Energy Risk Assessment . Herbert Inhaber . Discovering the Vernacular Landscape . John Brinckerhoff Jackson . Climate and Energy Systems: A Review of Their Interactions . Jill Jäger . Dilemmas in Regional Policy . Antoni Kuklinski and J. G. Lambooy , eds. California Farmland: A History of Large Agricultural Landholdings . Ellen Liebman . The Spatial Organization of New Land Settlement in Latin America . Jacob O. Maos . Dark Continent: Africa as Seen by Americans . Michael McCarthy . Westport, CT: Climatology: An Introduction . John E. Oliver and John J. Hidore . Columbus, OH: The Geography of Warfare . Patrick O'Sullivan and Jesse W. Miller . The Expanding City. Essays in Honour of Professor Jean Gottmann . John Patten , ed. Scotland's Environment During the Last 30,000 Years . Robert J. Price . Integrated Urban Models . S. H. Putman . Development and the Environmental Crisis: Red or Green Alternatives? Michael Redclift .     

Small Business Establishment Profiles and Rapid Population Growth in Sunbelt Metropolitan Areas, 1995-2005

This study investigates a linkage between rapid population growth in the Sunbelt's metropolitan areas (MSAs) and characteristics of small-scale businesses. Many Sunbelt MSAs are experiencing relatively rapid employment growth that also fuels population growth, and such linkages could well be related to especially potent employment multiplier effects associated with small firms. Using data from the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for 2000, relative concentrations of small-scale establishments in rapidly growing Sunbelt MSAs are described and classified by type. Size of MSA appears to be an important factor in supporting higher- and/or lower-order activities, as proposed by the basic principles of central place theory. In contrast, some of the slowest growing Snowbelt MSAs show a lack of small businesses in key economic sectors, particularly quaternary activities, and their economies continue to be dominated by location-specific industries, such as mining.     

Population expansion in China’s metropolises and its scale-control

Metropolises are centers of politics, economy, culture and information, and also economic growth poles in comparatively large areas. After 1949, China’s urban structure have changed greatly, from original "pyramid" shape into "upside-down pyramid" shape, that is, more megalopolises and metropolises, fewer medium-sized and small cities. The most distinguishing feature of urban population growth was the remarkable increase of population in megalopolises and metropolises. The key reason for urban population expansion is to want to obtain the benefits of scale-agglomeration economy of metropolises. The number of urban functions directly determines the quality and quantity of urban population. Metropolises appeal not only agricultural population but also the population of medium-sized and small cities, which put much more population pressure on metropolises. The ideal goals of scale-control of metropolitan population are discussed in terms of economy, society and ecollogy. In order to control the metropolitan population expansion, the following measures should be taken: developing medium-sized and small cities, and satillite cities establishing rationally regional urban system, reasonably distributing industrial enterprises, and greatly developing township enterprises.     

Gentrification in the American heartland? Evidence from Oklahoma City

Past research on gentrification has focused overwhelmingly on older, postindustrial cities, bypassing urban areas with other morphologies and demographic characteristics. In this paper, we address this gap by applying the analytical tools used to examine gentrification in postindustrial cities to a less conventional setting: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a younger, sprawling, mid-sized American city. In 1993, voters passed a sales tax initiative designed to transform Bricktown, a depopulated rail and manufacturing neighborhood near the city’s center. This study examines the subsequent physical and cultural makeover of the area surrounding Bricktown by analyzing traditional gentrification variables, like income, household size, property values, and education. To these indicators, we add several additional variables, including business and restaurant types, which help illustrate shifting consumer preferences and the spatial change in businesses aimed at people in different income brackets.     

大城市边缘新兴城区地域空间结构的形成与演化趋势--以天津滨海新区为例

作为大城市边缘区的新兴城市化地区，近年来凭借其用地空间广阔、限制因素少、区位条件好等优势而在许多城市尤其是沿海大城市的经济发展中迅速崛起，成为大城市空间扩展的主要方向和引起大城市地域空间结构发生根本性变化的主要力量地区。文章以天津滨海新区为研究对象，从城市地域功能、空间布局、空间联系等几个方面系统分析了大城市边缘新兴发展城区地域空间结构形成与变化的历史过程、现状格局，并对其未来发展的趋势进行了预测，指出了在发展过程中存在的一些有待解决的矛盾与问题，以定性的宏观分析研究，为我国其他大城市地区的空间发展研究提供了一个较为典型的比较案例。     

基于GIS和DEA的特大城市空间紧凑度与城市效率分析

利用GIS分析工具、数据包络分析方法及Malmquist模型方法,对我国特大城市空间紧凑度、城市效率及其变化,以及它们的相关关系进行深入研究发现:(1)特大城市空间形态呈现出紧凑变化趋势。(2)紧凑度提高的城市数明显多于紧凑度降低的城市数,极高紧凑度和极低紧凑度的特大城市数均呈一定的增加趋势。(3)特大城市效率水平一般,其中,只有少数城市效率达到了效率最优。(4)1990-2000年特大城市效率水平呈现一定的提高趋势,其中城市效率(纯技术和规模效率)呈现弱提高趋势,技术进步和全要素生产率则呈较明显的提高趋势。(5)特大城市的空间紧凑度与城市效率之间存在一定的互动关系:随着特大城市空间紧凑度的提高,城市要素资源的配置和利用水平得到了一定的改善,城市效率提高了;城市空间紧凑度变化率越高,城市效率提高的趋势也越明显,反之,则下降趋势也越明显;(6)城市空间紧凑度变化与城市技术变化不存在互动关系。     

Creative economy and employment quality in large urban areas in Spain

The impact of the economic crisis should act as an incentive to devise less vulnerable economic development models for Spanish cities. This study confirms that the impact of the creative economy, one of the most interesting initiatives in this context, remains very limited. Furthermore, microdata obtained from a sample of one million workers in Spain, published annually by the Social Security system, confirm that the sharp contrasts emerging in employment quality between sectors and regions, the processes of ‘precariousness of talent’ and labour dualization expressed through inequalities in the occupational structure are each becoming significant threats to viable economic development. For the creative economy to be an effective instrument for metropolitan regeneration, adapted to suit the specificities of particular urban development paths, an improved understanding of the inherent complexity of creative-economy employment relations is required.     

试析国际大城市巴黎郊区的发展

巴黎郊区发展的现状、过程和特点表明郊区城市化在国际大城市发展中的作用和地位,也提供了国际大城市郊区发展的经验和教训。