| Abstract: | Since the late 1980's there has been renewed interest in the study of employment polynucleation within metropolitan areas, fed in part by the move to suburban locations of high-order service functions. In parallel, a growing body of research has underlined the role which proximity plays in information exchange, innovation and growth. So far there have been only limited attempts to merge these two approaches and investigate the degree to which local agglomeration economies and positive externalities may underpin the creation of suburban employment poles. In this paper a first step is taken in this direction by proposing an approach to systematically investigate the colocation of economic activities within a metropolitan context. It is found that the groups of economic activities which systematically tend to colocate closely mirror those activities which would be grouped together along sectoral lines. |
