Spatial Reach of Office Firms: Case Study in the Metropolitan CBD of Tel Aviv, Israel

This paper, using the CBD of metropolitan Tel Aviv, Israel, as a case study, discloses the spatial range of linkages of office firms, situated in newly built office towers. The linkages explored, from the results of a sample of 120 office firms, are those held by office firms with clients, suppliers of goods and services, and with other service firms as partners or as subcontractors. The magnitude of the linkages is revealed in the context of Israel's recent entry into the post-industrial age and its rapid affiliation with the global economy, accompanied by functional restructuring of the service economy. It is also visible in the built environment of Tel Aviv, with large-scale construction of over thirty Class A office tower buildings. Complex spatial interrelationships are found, extending from their immediate metropolitan environment toward the world's leading economic centres. Future avenues of research are explored.     

EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF OFFICE RENT AND AGGLOMERATION ECONOMIES: A CASE STUDY OF TORONTO*

ABSTRACT. An equilibrium model of office location is applied and tested in the Toronto metropolitan area. The model focuses on the role of communication among firms which is the driving force behind the spatial agglomeration of office firms. The model calculates the equilibrium floor rent in each district, given the existing building stock. The performance of the model is tested in terms of the goodness of fit between observed and estimated office rent in each district. By using the model, we estimate the value of agglomeration economies which is defined as changes in productivities caused by increases in the number of office firms. It is shown that the agglomeration economies in the office sector are much larger than those in manufacturing, and the external effects of agglomeration are considerably large.     

Why Do Suburban Offices Cluster?

The clustering of suburban office space in “office parks,” as well as the larger activity nodes of polycentric cities, has been widespread in recent years. The reasons for this clustering are not well understood, as the footloose nature of firms suggests a variety of patterns might evolve. This paper explores three traditional explanations: economies of scale in the supply of space, demands for access, and face-to-face contact needs of firms. Finding that those explanations do not completely explain the clustering pattern, an alternative explanation is considered, the demand for image or prestige.     

Impact of property rights and ownership on the development of Warsaw’s contemporary city centre

The paper raises the problem of the impact of unregulated property and ownership rights on the development of the city centre. It applies to Warsaw as a post-socialist city that has recorded fast economic growth since the country’s communist regime collapsed in 1989. We follow the course of changes in the city centre of Warsaw, in particular, those pertaining to land use and high-rise buildings for office use as investments that encounter difficulties under the unregulated status of construction sites and lack of clear regulations for private property restitution that was nationalized under socialism. To describe and explain the difficulties, we provide data showing the location of large companies and office buildings, and examples of conflicts as well. Unregulated ownership issues and property rights weigh on Warsaw’s city centre, now vastly dispersing and gravitating westwards, and prevent the district from rational and effective development.     

‘Uproot and destroy,build and plant’: legatine authority under Pope Gregory VII

Confronted with the need for scholarly criteria in properly defining the ad hoc papal institution existent under Pope Gregory VII (1073–85), this paper seeks to clarify the title, office, and jurisdiction of the eleventh-century reforming legate. Discussing the Roman origins of this office through to the twelfth century – taking into account the political, ecclesiastical and legal constraints of the period – questions are raised concerning the extent and nature of legatine authority (especially as the reformers understood it). Contemporary criteria are unclear, but modern scholars can infer some regularities from Gregory VII's Register and other contemporary sources as to how this office operated in the last quarter of the eleventh century, and ultimately, to understand more clearly how reform was being implemented in the provinces.     

‘Uproot and destroy,build and plant’: legatine authority under Pope Gregory VII

Confronted with the need for scholarly criteria in properly defining the ad hoc papal institution existent under Pope Gregory VII (1073–85), this paper seeks to clarify the title, office, and jurisdiction of the eleventh-century reforming legate. Discussing the Roman origins of this office through to the twelfth century – taking into account the political, ecclesiastical and legal constraints of the period – questions are raised concerning the extent and nature of legatine authority (especially as the reformers understood it). Contemporary criteria are unclear, but modern scholars can infer some regularities from Gregory VII's Register and other contemporary sources as to how this office operated in the last quarter of the eleventh century, and ultimately, to understand more clearly how reform was being implemented in the provinces.     

Perceptions of office rent determinants by real estate brokerage firms in Istanbul

Studies on the office rent prediction models have been on the rise for the last quarter of this century. The extent of variables used in the proposed models changes significantly, reflecting variations in locational and/or economical conditions of the region. The viewpoint of brokerage firms on the effectiveness of these academically defined variables is important. The benefit of obtaining these viewpoints is two-fold. Firstly, it will provide some evidence on whether or not the reported influences of these variables remain the same in different markets, in this case, in the I˙stanbul office market. Secondly, it may define how well practitioners' criteria fit academically defined variables during the decision-making process for a new office investment, especially in the I˙stanbul office market. The study derives the currently well established locational, building, econometric and contract variables from previously published research. Two different influence scales of these variables were constructed. The first scale was based on the result of a survey study administrated to 10 leading real estate brokerage firms in I˙stanbul and the second was based on the reported influences from previous publications. Comparing the influence scales, contradictory and parallel findings were determined, indicative conclusions, revealing the unique structure of I˙stanbul, were drawn. Among the 47 comparable office rent variables, the influence of 17 was found to agree well in both scales. Except econometric variables, most variables in I˙stanbul revealed different influences than globally determined influences.     

TRAFFIC CONGESTION,POLYCENTRICITY, AND INTRAURBAN FIRM LOCATION CHOICES: A NESTED LOGIT MODEL FOR THE LOS ANGELES METROPOLITAN AREA

This study empirically investigates traffic congestion effects on agglomeration through the lens of firm location decisions. A discrete choice model is applied to examine new establishments’ location choices within the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Employment centers are defined as the choice set to explore the nature and role of intraurban agglomerations. The results show that metro‐wide congestion negatively affects the location choices of firms in the high‐order office‐related activities, while local congestion have positive impacts on those firms’ location decisions. In contrast, firms in production‐related activities are positively influenced by regional congestion but are negatively affected by local congestion levels.     

The development of the flour-milling industry in Spain: analysis of its historical evolution and architectural legacy

The second half of the 19th century, along with the first three decades of the 20th, saw the building of hundreds of flour mills in Spain, all based on new milling and sieving machinery developed after the industrial revolution. Unfortunately, very few of these early mills are now in use: most have disappeared, and many of those that are left have been abandoned. The present work examines the growth of the flour-milling industry in Spain from the mid-19th century, and discusses the typology, design and constructional features of its associated buildings. The information presented is the result of the study of a representative sample of these mills in central Spain, and could serve as a basis for the conservation, rehabilitation and reuse of this important agroindustrial heritage.     

城市银行网点及其与人口-经济活动关系的空间分析——以长春市中心城区为例

运用Arc GIS平均最近邻、核密度估计和波段集统计等方法,考察长春市中心城区银行网点空间特征和规律,以及银行网点与人口和主要经济活动的空间关系,发现:①银行网点呈明显集聚分布特征,这种集聚主要分布于商业和商务中心及新建中高档住宅小区密集地段;②银行网点核密度与其到CBD距离呈负相关,并随距离地增加呈对数衰减;③银行网点密度与人口-经济活动密度在街道甚至更小空间尺度上存在较显著的正相关;④银行网点核密度与大型商业网点和主要写字楼核密度均呈较强正相关,而与大型制造业企业核密度几乎不存在相关性,说明商业和楼宇经济空间特征对城市内部银行网点布局具有深刻影响,而制造业的微观区位对银行网点布局几乎无影响。     

Settlement Patterns of Logging Camps in the Great Lakes Region

Logging camps in the Great Lakes States experienced enormous changes between the 1840s and the 1940s. Research discloses an almost infinite variety in logging camp arrangements through time. The various buildings oj a camp sometimes stood side by side, other times they formed an “L” or “I” shape and still others were irregularly arranged. The camp buildings displayed increasing functional specialization through time. In the earliest camps a single building might serve for cooking, eating and sleeping. The later camps typically contained separate buildings to serve each of these functions besides a granary, blacksmith shop, van (store), saw filing shed, etc. Not surprisingly, the bunkhouse and the cookhouse or kitchen were always next to each other, as were the barn or stable and the blacksmith shop. Although the camps gradually increased in size during the pine-river drive era, the largest camps were associated with the hardwood-rail era. There was, however, great variation within any period. Whether a camp was that of a large company, small independent company or jobber largely determined the number of buildings it contained. The bunkhouse, kitchen-mess hall, stables or barns were always the largest structures of a camp. There is little chance that they would be confused with the office, blacksmith shop or any of the other structures commonly associated with logging camps. Structures at jobber camps were smaller than at corporate camps. The influence of different cultural groups, the increasing size of operations, the changing technology of logging and log transportation were among the factors that influenced settlement patterns at logging camps in the Great Lakes Stales.     

城市犯罪风险区位因子与风险地形分析——以武汉市主城区为例

从犯罪背景空间、场所空间、联接空间和聚集空间四个层次,构建城市犯罪风险区位因子体系。以武汉市主城区为研究区域,以立案判决的“两抢一盗”犯罪为数据源,综合运用空间句法、犯罪近重复分析和地理加权回归模型方法进行犯罪风险地形建模实证研究。结果表明,犯罪风险区位因子对犯罪空间分布的影响具有显著的空间异质性;依据多层次的犯罪风险区位因子体系及其对犯罪行为的影响机制,城市犯罪高风险区域可分为城市商业中心、火车站交通枢纽、城中村和城乡结合部等几大类型。基于犯罪地理学理论构建的犯罪风险区位因子体系模拟的犯罪风险地形对实际犯罪空间分布有良好的解释度,可为城市犯罪分布环境形成机制的研究提供相关借鉴。     

A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR SMALL BUSINESS POLICY

A number of public policy issues have been discussed in this article, the most important of which are: 1. Small business would not need special consideration if our economy were basically a competitive one. 2. A large and growing segment of our economy has sufficient market and political power to make our economy basically non-competitive. 3. Small firms tend to provide price competition, to lead in the development of new products and processes, and to generate new innovations and new employment. 4. Government policy tends to create artificial economies of scale, giving an unwarranted advantage to the very large firm. As a first approximation, a policy of government neutrality on firms of varying size is needed. But, because of discriminations which already exist which favor large firms over small firms, special small business programs may be necessary to provide an equitable policy base. Unfortunately, programs designed to benefit all business, like the investment tax credit, tend to primarily benefit larger firms (Berney, 1979). This is the case for two reasons. First, there is a basic difference in production relationships: large firms tend to be more capital intensive and small firms more labor intensive. Second, the more complex a rule or regulation, the more costly it is for small business to use it. Consequently, even the employment tax credit, which should benefit the small firm is not used by them. Instead, it tends more to benefit the larger firm. Neutrality, as a governmental policy, would appear to demand different treatment for firms of varying size. As an example, the “regulatory flexibility” concept applies different standards to different sized firms so that the burden of regulation is more equitably distributed. The concept of encouraging or requiring financial institutions and other lenders to establish “dual prime rates” is a further example. Since small firms appear to have much higher debt to equity ratios and rely more heavily on shorter-term bank credit, they are more heavily burdened by a tight money policy which forces increases of interest rates. Thus, dual prime rates help to spread the burden of rising interest costs more equally. As many people prefer to work for themselves, equalizing the burden of government policy could only serve to increase the basic growth rate for small business, thus providing an easier start for entrepreneurs and would encourage a more rapid rate of economic growth. None of these discussions, however, argues that small business should be protected from failure. The more efficient firms will succeed and prosper, and the least efficient will not. Many currently successful entrepreneurs learn how to improve their production processes or managerial skills from their failures. What is being recommended as a first step is that government should concentrate on equalizing burdens and benefits in order to achieve true neutrality. If private economies of scale do indeed exist, new firms must grow to survive; what the government should not create are artificial economies of scale with public policy. A strong argument for further action can also be made: it appears that significant external benefits are produced by an economic system with a dynamic small business sector. Since these benefits go to society as a whole rather than entrepreneurs alone in the form of increased profits, a freely operating market without government assistance does not generate as many new small businesses as would be optimal for our society. To internalize the benefits that come from small business, governmental programs need to be devised to increase the rate of return on new, innovative small businesses. Should this happen, we could then anticipate increased rapid rates of innovation and technological change, more rapid rates of employment growth, expanded price competition in all sectors of the economy, and improved export capabilities, in short, true flexibility in our capitalistic system.     

Proceedings at the Meetings of the Archaeological Institute

The excavator has two advantages over his architect colleague in the study of ancient buildings: he can take his studies back long before the date of the earliest surviving vernacular buildings; and, by beginning his researches at ground level and going down, he can study parts that other researchers cannot reach. This paper, arising out of excavations undertaken in medieval York over the past eight years, seeks to compare what is now known about the underpinnings of York's medieval buildings with the development established, in the main by Denys Spittle's colleagues in the York office of the RCHM, from the above-ground evidence, the surviving buildings. It is offered to Mr Spittle, a scholar whose studies usually stop at ground level, from one whose studies as often as not begin there, on the one hand in recognition of the patient tolerance he has shown of the enthusiasms of the excavator during his incumbancy of the Institute's secretaryship; and on the other in the hopes that future vernacular building studies will increasingly show a marrying of the evidence from excavations with that from the standing buildings.     

Does Combinatorial Knowledge Lead to a Better Innovation Performance of Firms?

The knowledge base concept in the past was often applied in its “pure form”, i.e. it was assumed that there are dominant knowledge bases in particular sectors and firms shaping knowledge and innovation processes and related networks. For “analytical sectors” such as biotech, it has been argued that codified knowledge generated by universities and R&D organizations is the key for innovation, whereas “synthetic sectors” such as machinery innovate more incrementally by recombining existing knowledge often drawn from suppliers or service firms. Empirical literature has partly confirmed these patters, but also shown more complex knowledge processes. More recently it has been argued that combinations of different knowledge bases might enhance the innovation performance of firms. For example in “analytical sectors”, firms might benefit not just from new and basic knowledge generated by research, but also from recombining existing and applied knowledge or by drawing on symbolic knowledge. Combinatorial knowledge bases might also be relevant for “synthetic” and “symbolic sectors”, but in different forms. This study investigates for the ICT sector in regions of Austria if the reliance on combinatorial knowledge leads to a better innovation performance than the use of more narrow knowledge bases.     

EVALUATION OF THE SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF EXISTING RC BUILDINGS: II. A CASE STUDY FOR REGULAR AND IRREGULAR BUILDINGS

The results of a parametric study are presented, concerned with the evaluation of the structural overstrength, the global ductility and the available behaviour factor of existing reinforced concrete (RC) buildings designed and constructed according to past generations of earthquake resistant design codes in Greece. For the estimation of these parameters, various failure criteria are incorporated in a methodology established to predict the failure mode of such buildings under planar response, as described in detail in a companion publication. A collection of 85 typical building forms is considered. The influence of various parameters is examined, such as the geometry of the structure (number of storeys, bay width etc.), the vertical irregularity, the contribution of the perimeter frame masonry infill walls, the period of construction, the design code and the seismic zone coefficient. The results from inelastic pushover analyses indicate that existing RC buildings exhibit higher overstrength than their contemporary counterparts, but with much reduced ductility capacity. The presence of perimeter infill walls increases considerably their stiffness and lateral resistance, while further reducing their ductility. Fully infilled frames exhibit generally good behaviour, while structures with an open floor exhibit the worst performance by creating a soft storey. Shear failure becomes critical in the buildings with partial height infills. It is also critical for buildings with isolated shear wall cores at the elevator shaft. Out of five different forms of irregularity considered in this study, buildings with column discontinuities in the ground storey exhibit the worst performance. Furthermore, buildings located in the higher seismicity zone are more vulnerable, since the increase of their lateral resistance and ductility capacity is disproportional to the increase in seismic demand.     

Increasing Role of Services in Competitive Power and Innovativeness of Firms and Industrial Clusters

The aim of this paper is to discuss the importance of different types of global services for industrial firms and clusters in terms of their economic competitiveness and innovative performance. The theoretical debates argue that globalization, deregulation and the new production organization make it necessary to use global services that are supplied easily with the help of new telecommunication technologies. The existing empirical studies provide some supporting evidence. However, they also indicate that global service firms can be attained by only smaller numbers of industrial firms and clusters. Still, in-house services besides temporal and informal mechanisms are important to meet the needs of the specialized services, even for the firms that try to become a part of the global production system. The paper focuses on three main questions: “What types of global services are becoming crucial for manufacturing firms and what type of services are still local and national? Is there a significant difference between the characteristics of firms that use the same type of services? To what extent is having access to global services important for the innovativeness of industrial firms and clusters? This paper looks for the answers to these questions based on existing case studies as well as this study of three industrial clusters in Turkey. The findings indicate that there is not a perfect match between theory and empirical evidence and there is a need for more refined theoretical discourses on industry–service relations.     

BRAIN CIRCULATION AND FLEXIBLE ADJUSTMENT: LABOUR MOBILITY AS A CLUSTER ADVANTAGE

This article explores the role of labour mobility as a potential cluster advantage. We review the theoretical arguments as for how and why labour mobility could enhance the dynamism and performance of clusters of similar and related firms. A combination of quantitative and qualitative data from two information and communication technology (ICT) clusters is used to answer two research questions: (1) What is the role of mobility enhancing (or restricting) institutions in clusters? and (2) In what ways does labour mobility contribute to knowledge transfer within clusters? The two ICT clusters studied in the article generally seem to have higher levels of mobility, compared to the labour market at large. Although it is regarded as beneficial in theory, most cluster firms try to restrict mobility of workers since they fear the risk and costs of losing staff. Labour mobility is also rarely viewed as a viable way to increase the knowledge bases or contact networks of firms. However, when firms need to recruit the clustered labour markets seem to benefit them by facilitating the use of informal recruitment processes. By way of conclusion it is suggested that cluster firms might be under‐investing in mobility and that innovative institutional solutions could help realize clusters' mobility potential.     

On pottery change and northern Iroquoian origins: An assessment from the Finger Lakes region of central New York

Pots as tools is a concept that has been widely accepted and developed since Braun’s classic 1983 publication. However, in northeastern North America archaeologists continue to use pottery primarily as an aid to culture history and research problems based thereon. In central New York State it has been postulated that a change in pottery forming technique heralds the onset of Iroquoian pottery traditions at around AD 1000. Empirical data on pottery forming and two other pottery traits do not support this postulation. Rather the trends in these traits are consistent with social learning theory and changes in mobility and population aggregation. Following Engelbrecht (1999, 2003) we suggest that a more fruitful approach to understanding the evolution of northern Iroquoian groups is to be found in ethnogenesis theory as described by Moore (1994, 2001).