The Conditions for Multi-Center Cities

Externalité de pollution versus économies d'agglomération : le péage urbain, un instrument environnemental adapté ?

“…Dans certaines agglomérations, le centre principal des emplois est complété d'un à plusieurs centres secondaires vers lesquels afflue une partie des travailleurs. De nombreuses études empiriques sur l'identification des centres urbains, essentiellement américaines, vérifient une telle hypothèse (ODLAND, 1978 ;ANAS et al, 1998), souvent pour des villes très peuplées comme Los Angeles (GORDON et al, 1986). La polycentricité n'est toutefois pas systématiquement vérifiée, notamment pour les villes européennes (RIGUELLE et al, 2007 ;MUNIZ et al, 2008).…”

Subcenters in the Los Angeles region

“…A growing body Of theoretical literature describes how such subcenters develop arid what impacts they have on land values, population distribution, and travel patterns [e.g. Hartwick and Hartwick (1974), White (1976), Odland (1978), Fujita and Ogawa (1982), Kim (1983), Wieand (1987), Sasaki (1990),1. These theories postulate omic forces to account for changing urban structure.…”

The determinants of growth of employment subcenters

“…It is now well verified that mban employment tends to cluster m subcenters as well as tn a large mare center, and that these subcenters are an increasingly Important part of urban structure There is ,dso growing empirical lm'oranatmn about the sizes, shapes, densities and associated commmlng patterns that characterize them Theoretical understanding of subcenteI formation ~s based mainly on four forces 2 First, finns desire access~bIht~y to members of the labor brce many of whom seek cheaper res~dentml 1and fai from the main employme.nt center Second, many firms achieve economies of agglomeratmn by locating close to each other, either in the main center or m subcenters Third, ff the main center becomes veG, large, its desirability becomes lmalted by land scarcity, congestloI:, or other scale diseconomies Fourth, subcenters may develop near mportant inter-regional transportation nodes Although these theoretical motwataons for subcenter formation are w~dely accepted, they have been subjected to httle If any empirical testing Indeed, there ts little *Cor:espondmg author Tel +I 213 740 3956, e-marl gmhano@ atrnaak use edu 1For example, Greene (1980), Gnk~th (1981), Dunphy (1982), Enckson (1986) Cervero (1989), McDonald and McMlllen (1990), Go"don et al (1986), Hmkkfla et al (1989), Richardson et al (1989) Gluhano and Small (1991, I993) Song (1994), Cervero Wu (1996) 2 ,'gee Hart~lck and Hartwlck (I974), Wtnte (1976), Odland (1978), Fuyta and Ogawa (1982) Kam (1983) Wteand (1987) Scott (1988), Sa~akl (1990), and Helsle,,and Sulh~an (lq91) empirical hterature of any sort on how subcenters emerge and grow Only a few empmcal studies have even examined the same al ea for changes in the polycenmc form over time e g McDonald and McMfllen (1990) and McMxllen (forthcoming) for Chicago Stern (I994) Jerusalem and Tel Avlx,. Richardson et al (1990) and Small and Song (1994) for Los Angeles Other studies such Palumbo et a!…”