Research briefing

Although pharmacies play an important role in providing information and advice on health issues to lower income people in developing countries, the distribution of urban pharmacies is not balanced with respect to population distribution in some of the districts of Istanbul. This situation can severely limit the accessibility of pharmacy services to the people with lower socio‐economic background. A multiple regression analysis is used in order to find out the factors which affect the spatial distribution of pharmacies in Istanbul. The number of pharmacies in the districts considered is taken as the dependent variable and the number of hospital beds, physicians, population, employment, income, number of educated people and distance to the CBD are taken as independent variables. According to the results, the population of the districts and the number of educated people, physicians and hospital beds are the most important factors affecting the location of pharmacies in Istanbul. The other variables are not found significant in affecting the location of pharmacies at the metropolitan level. Suggestions are made for better distribution of pharmacies and for further research.     

PRODUCTIVITY AND THE DENSITY OF HUMAN CAPITAL*

ABSTRACT We estimate a model of urban productivity in which the agglomeration effect of density is enhanced by a metropolitan area's stock of human capital. Estimation accounts for potential biases due to the endogeneity of density and industrial composition effects. Using new information on output per worker for U.S. metropolitan areas along with a measure of density that accounts for the spatial distribution of population, we find that a doubling of density increases productivity by 2–4 percent. Consistent with theories of learning and knowledge spillovers in cities, we demonstrate that the elasticity of average labor productivity with respect to density increases with human capital. Metropolitan areas with a human capital stock one standard deviation below the mean realize no productivity gain, while doubling density in metropolitan areas with a human capital stock one standard deviation above the mean yields productivity benefits that are about twice the average. These patterns are particularly pronounced in industries where the exchange of information and sharing of ideas are important parts of the production process.     

Spatial-temporal trends in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) offices in Ontario,Canada

This paper assesses complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) from a spatial-temporal perspective; it would be of particular interest to those who evaluate health care resource accessibility over space. The analysis compares CAM supply (number of offices, employment, and sales) in Ontario by provincial district, metropolitan influence classification, and health care and social assistance employment quintiles using summary statistics, Kruskal-Wallis and median analyses, and local spatial autocorrelation evaluation. Metropolitan areas throughout Ontario, but especially in the southcentral part of the province, are well endowed with CAM supply and tend to be most important in terms of CAM change. CAM offices are increasing in size in the most populated parts of the province and shrinking in regions that are more peripheral. CAM supply per capita is highest in census subdivisions with moderate levels of health care and social assistance employment, a result that is not offset by significant temporal change. While CAM supply is restructuring in many of Ontario's most populated urban locations, the overall attraction of CAM resources to large and small metropolitan areas is clear. If current spatial-temporal trends continue, CAM spatial disparities will be exacerbated as accessibility to CAM in Ontario's most peripheral locations worsen.     

DYNAMICS OF POPULATION IN THE UKRAINIAN SSR (1959-1984)

Analysis of change in the spatial distribution of population in the Ukrainian SSR demonstrates a pronounced shift toward the east and south, and toward the major metropolitan area of Kiev and Kiev Oblast. An upsurge in city growth in the least urbanized, western Ukraine, coupled with steady, above-average urban growth in other locations, has contributed to gradual erosion of the Donets-Dnieper Region's dominance in urban population. Accelerated rates of rural population decline in western areas of highest rural population concentration has promoted a gradual equalization of the distribution of rural population (translated by H. L. Haslett, Birmingham, UK).     

重庆市城市贫困空间特征和影响因素研究——兼论东西部城市的异同

中国城市社会经济转型与重构背景下,城市贫困空间特征是城市地理学研究的重要议题之一。本文以西部城市重庆为例,探讨贫困空间的分布、演变和影响因素,并兼论与东部城市的异同。研究显示,在重庆市层面,贫困空间分布差异扩大,都市区得到较大程度改善,渝东北偏远县城则逐渐恶化。在都市区层面,贫困空间分布非均衡性较强,与老城区、工业及其配套居住区耦合。这种特征受到"体制"和"市场"因素的系统作用,体制因素是历史空间继承、早期住房政策与分配制度、城市规划对保障住房的布局引导;市场因素体现在区域经济发展差异、基础设施投资建设、房地产开发和内城选择性更新等。根据西部城市的贫困特征,反贫困政策应该重点促进都市区局部地区和偏远辖县区的发展。     

Are new patterns of low‐income distribution emerging in Canadian metropolitan areas?

Recent studies on urban poverty in Canadian cities suggest a growing spatial concentration of poor populations within metropolitan regions. This article assesses trends in the intra‐urban distribution of the poor population from 1986 to 2006 in eight of Canada's largest cities. We consider five well‐known dimensions of segregation, as identified by Massey and Denton (1988) , in order to examine changes in the spatial distribution of poor populations within metropolitan areas: evenness, exposure, concentration, clustering, and centralization. These indices were calculated for low‐income populations at the census tract level using data from five Canadian censuses. Although each metropolitan area has distinctive characteristics, we were able to identify some general trends. The results suggest that, in 2006 compared to 1986, low‐income populations lived in more spatially concentrated areas, which were, at the same time, socioeconomically more homogeneous and more dispersed throughout the metropolitan area. In addition, we observed that over the last twenty years areas of poverty have been located, for the most part, in neighbourhoods adjacent to downtown cores. Nevertheless, we found that poverty has mostly increased in suburban areas located outside inner‐city neighbourhoods. Growing socioeconomic homogeneity and dispersion of low income areas in metropolitan areas reveal new spatial patterns of urban poverty distribution. These findings should be cause for concern as social isolation in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods could affect the life chances and opportunities for the residents of those areas.     

Spatial Analysis of Residential Prices in Istanbul

The purpose of this paper is to examine the spatial distribution of housing prices at the metropolitan and at the district level of Istanbul. At the metropolitan level, the most important factors which affect housing prices are sub-market, floor area and sea view. At the district level, housing prices vary from district to district according to locational, socio-economic and property characteristics. High-income sub-markets have higher coefficient of determinations and more significant variables than low-income sub-markets. Furthermore, the results suggest that planned districts have higher housing prices; thus, restructuring squatter areas and revitalizing inner city areas provide not only benefits to individuals but also higher tax revenues to the city.     

Impact of Characteristics of Origin and Destination Provinces on Migration: 1995–2000

During the second half of the twentieth century, internal migration in Turkey played an important role in the redistribution of the population, the concentration of capital in major cities, and the expansion and restructuring of metropolitan areas. To be able to explain the results of this restructuring process, it is important to investigate the provincial differences in migration determinants. The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of the characteristics of origin and destination provinces and the distances between them on internal migration at the end of the twentieth century in Turkey using global and local forms of regression analysis. Therefore, there are two main parts of the study. The first part includes analyzing the in-migration globally. Second, the spatial distribution of the out-migration with respect to determinants among all the provinces of Turkey is investigated. According to the results, in-migrants are correlated with the characteristics of provinces such as industrial employment, service sector employment and number of university students. Out-migration is investigated for each province according to the aforementioned characteristics of the destination provinces and the distances between them. The results of the study reveal that there are locally varying relationships in out-migration in Turkey.     

Berlin: The Metropolis as a Production Space

Metropolitan regions can be regarded as economic areas comprising various sub-economies with different forms of economic and spatial organization. The purpose of this article is to undertake a critical appraisal of the vision of Berlin as a 'service metropolis' through empirical observation of sectoral trends and locational patterns in the city, and to establish that Berlin's urban area is a major production space with a complex fabric of specialized production districts. This spatial organization will be examined in terms of the level of agglomeration of various sub-economies with special reference to the formation of local enterprise clusters in the Berlin economic area. Berlin's specialization profile and the employment trend in the city compared with other metropolitan cities in Germany make it clear that the metropolis of Berlin is under threat as a production space, and this threat partly stems from the way in which the real estate business has developed in the Berlin area.     

DEPRECIATION PROFILES AND DEPRECIATION POLICY IN A SPATIAL CONTEXT*

This paper demonstrates that the treatment of depreciation in the federal tax code is nonneutral not only with respect to assets and industries, as demonstrated in a number of recent studies, but also with respect to location. Using a unique set of data for manufacturing plants in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, the paper shows that the 1981 Tax Act's reduction of equipment lives to five years is likely to create differences in effective tax rates and wedges between the sample metropolitan areas for groups of plants with the same two-digit industrial classification. These are attributable to spatial differences in corporate tax rates and the type and quality of assets used. The paper concludes by explaining how the results can be generalized to other sectors and metropolitan areas, and by noting some implications for policy.     

广州城市公共服务设施供给空间分异研究

转型期以来,政府治理制度的变革及公私部门关系的重构使我国城市公共服务设施供给主体、供给机制逐步多元化,其分布形态也由空间均衡趋向分异。本文以广州为案例,研究结果表明:广州城市公共服务设施分布总体上呈核心-边缘空间格局,区域供给规模差异大且与人口分布不相协调,区际及不同类型设施的空间聚集水平差异显著;传统计划经济条件下城市公共服务设施空间均衡分布模式被市场经济条件下高收入地区指向的集中布局模式所取代,表现出类似西方国家城市公共资源配置的"反比例服务法则"。     

Spatial Distribution of Shopping Malls and Analysis of their Trade Areas in Istanbul

This paper investigates the spatial distribution of shopping malls with respect to population and analyses the factors which effect the shopping mall location. According to the results, while the shopping mall space ratio is higher than population ratio in the intermediate zone, the reverse is true in the periphery. The relationships between the shopping mall space and income, population and distance to the central business district (CBD) of the locations are investigated by the use of regression analysis. The results reveal that income is the only factor affecting the location of shopping malls among those considered. In addition, three shopping malls from the inner and peripheral zones of Istanbul were analysed with respect to frequency to shopping centres and characteristics of trade areas. According to the results, the size of the catchment area of the shopping mall from the inner zone is larger then the peripheral ones due to higher accessibility with alternative transportation systems and supporting functions in its surrounding areas. The results fall within the concept of central place theory. Further research is suggested by expending the study to the other areas of the city with different characteristics to calculate their retail potential and their spatial implications.     

基于居民出行大数据的我国都市圈识别及其分布格局

都市圈是大城市发展到一定阶段的产物,当前都市圈空间范围界定还存在争议,本文梳理了都市圈的概念和内涵,采用手机信令出行数据识别了全国都市圈的空间分布格局。分析发现,我国大部分都市圈仍处于发育阶段,当出行率阈值为 1% 时全国识别出 27个都市圈。都市圈的分布格局与经济发展水平密切相关,经济发达地区的都市圈数量多、分布密集,如东部沿海和城市群地区。中心城市的人口和经济规模,以及圈域出行距离影响了都市圈的空间范围和圈内联系程度,圈域出行规模与中心城市人口规模呈正相关,外围城市向中心城市的出行率与中心城市经济首位度呈正相关,且符合距离衰减规律。     

基于UGIS的广州城市行政区空间特征分析

以1∶400万珠江三角洲行政地图为研究底图,依据城市地理信息系统(UGIS)空间量算理论,运用遥感图象处理软件erdas8.5对行政图作配准处理后并在地理信息系统(GIS)应用软件arcgis9.0下数字化成图,同时,选取伸延率、形状比、紧凑度、紧凑度指数和标准面积指数五项能够反映城市空间形态特征的指标对广州城市行政区空间作了面状目标空间量算。结果表明,该城市内部空间的离散度和破碎度较大,南北方向带状延伸明显,两端的联系不便捷,不利于空间的利用与协调,而且广州城市的地形、地势特征以及区域城市交通网络布局与人口密度的分布趋势也揭示出广州城市空间扩展与布局外向性特征日益明显,正依托广深、广珠两条交通线与周边佛山、东莞等城市进行合作以构建新城市区和功能区,"大广州"区域城市逐步形成。     

武汉都市发展区及主城区城镇常住人口空间分布格局——基于2010年第六次人口普查数据

武汉近期人地关系显著变化,相关分析时效性和精细度有限。基于六普数据,在都市发展区、主城区上叠加格网,运用Arc GIS、SPSS研究人口空间分布格局,发现都市发展区人口紧凑集中于三环内,两江交汇处密集成片,人口向主城区集聚态势仍显著,未出现明显郊区蔓延。揭示都市发展区人口分布呈显著集聚特征,存在"低密度人口冷点环带","冷点地区"与总规生态绿楔吻合。认为主城区人口密度分布呈整体多中心、局地单中心格局,4km范围内呈显著单中心,幂函数模型精确拟合。三环内形成1个人口主中心和4个次中心。9km范围内,主中心支配力强。9km外,主次中心差距缩小,次中心支配力彰显。推演出4km内的单核心模型表达式、9km及全域的多核心模型表达式。     

The Age of Environmental Impasse? Globalization and Enviromental Transformation of Metropolitan Cities

Metropolitan cities are undergoing a major spatial and environmental transformation. The proliferation of business districts, corporate headquarters and international hotels is prompting a massive verticalization and densification of land use, which is affecting the urban environment and infrastructure in a number of ways. Nowhere are urban environmental pressures so accentuated as in Third World metropolitan cities. Here the rush to gain a competitive edge in the global economy, in order to attract multinational firms and become a ‘global city’, is leading to an inconsistent urban policy framework in which development policies frequently clash with environmental policies. This article explores the environmental complexity of Third World metropolitan cities, focusing on the cases of Beijing and São Paulo. After a conceptual review of the relationship between globalization, cities and urban environmental problems, it examines how globalization is prompting spatial and environmental transformations in both cities; looks at the dichotomy between development policies and environmental policies by analysing the instruments in place; and investigates the role of globalization vis‐à‐vis urban sustainability issues.     

北京都市区就业-居住空间结构及特征研究

近二十年来,在经济社会转型和城市化进程不断加快的背景下,我国许多大城市的就业-居住空间结构发生了巨大的变化。本研究以北京都市区为例,建立北京都市区就业-居住基础地理信息数据库,运用GIS空间分析技术对北京就业-居住空间关系进行多尺度分析,在界定就业中心和居住中心的基础上,评价北京都市区的就业与居住平衡状况。研究结果表明,就业-居住分离是当今北京城市空间结构的突出特征。     

济南都市圈城市化空间分异特征及其引导策略

随着快速城市化的发展,都市圈成为我国大城市功能地域组织的重要形式。本文对济南都市圈城市化发展的空间分异特征和问题进行了分析,发现济南都市圈中虽然济南具有较高的集聚规模,但却缺乏相应的辐射带动能力,圈内多数县域尤其是黄河以北地区城市化滞后,加之其它中心城市实力不够强大,严重阻碍了济南及其都市圈竞争优势的发挥。由此提出了"强化核心、多元中心、区域联动、县域支撑"的城市化空间布局策略,并以城乡土地资源合理利用为核心,分别就土地分类管制和分区引导等两方面城市化协调引导机制进行了探讨。     

METROPOLITAN AGGLOMERATION AND SECTORAL AGGREGATION*

ABSTRACT. This paper proposes a procedure with which sectoral production functions can be aggregated to metropolitan production functions in the presence of external economies of scale. The procedure specifies the production functions as part of general equilibrium models. Consistency of a one-sector and a two-sector general equilibrium model is defined in terms of equality of the distribution of a nation's population over its metropolitan areas in autarky.     

基于不同尺度的关天经济区人口格局时空变化特征与差异

以关天经济区为案例地,运用空间统计工具,将市、县、镇三个尺度的人口空间变化纳入统一的分析框架,探究不同尺度的人口时空格局及影响机制,分析尺度间差异。研究表明：①在人口空间格局上,市级层面西安市是经济区人口分布的核心;县级层面区域人口沿渭河呈带状分布格局;镇级层面人口以西安为中心沿交通轴线向外围递减;②经济区人口格局整体呈现空间集聚趋势,并在各尺度间表现出明显差异。在市级层面,区域人口加速向西安集中;在县级层面,人口主要向地级市市区集中;在镇级层面,出现两种人口集聚路径：一是地级市市区内,人口大量向近郊集聚,中心城区人口快速缩减,郊区化特征明显,二是在市区外围,人口明显向各县城集聚,绝大多数乡镇人口下降。