Connecting Rhine-Main: The Production of Multi-Scalar Polycentricities through Knowledge-Intensive Business Services

Michael Hoyler (1) , Tim Freytag (2) , Christoph Mager (2)

1 Department of Geography [Loughborough]
2 Geographisches Institut [Heidelberg]

Most of the literature on polycentric urban regions has focused on the analysis of intra-regional structures rather than external linkages, while research on the emergence of a ‘world city network' has analysed external city-relations without explicitly addressing city-regional contexts. This paper aims to bring both perspectives together. Drawing on Taylor's interlocking network model, it presents a first analysis of multi-scalar inter-city connectivities within a specific city-regional context. Central to the analysis is the question how knowledge-intensive business service firms in Rhine-Main connect this multi-nodal metropolitan region to other cities within Germany and beyond. The result is a detailed mapping of the external business service connectivities of a major European city-region.

Mots clés: Social Sciences & Humanities

Michael Hoyler, Tim Freytag, Christoph Mager. Connecting Rhine-Main: The Production of Multi-Scalar Polycentricities through Knowledge-Intensive Business Services. Regional Studies, 2008, 42 (08), pp.1095-1111. ⟨10.1080/00343400701874230⟩. ⟨hal-00514710⟩