Premium
Cities, material flows and the geography of spatial interaction: urban places in the system of chains
Author(s) -
HESSE MARKUS
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
global networks
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.685
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1471-0374
pISSN - 1470-2266
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0374.2010.00275.x
Subject(s) - economic geography , centrality , dimension (graph theory) , globalization , perspective (graphical) , position (finance) , commodity , port (circuit theory) , geography , neglect , polycentricity , regional science , sociology , economy , business , political science , economics , engineering , computer science , corporate governance , law , finance , medicine , mathematics , electrical engineering , nursing , combinatorics , artificial intelligence , pure mathematics
The emerging discourses on world cities and Global Commodity Chains are valuable spatial frameworks for conceptualizing globalization and its spatial consequences. However, both discourses have one thing in common: they neglect the territorial and thus physical dimension of global flows. Hence, in this article I take the perspective of material flows to reconnect the discourses on cities and chains. I aim to clarify the role of urban places and their ability to attract, manage and redirect flows in such networks. I do so by re‐examining classical concepts of spatial interaction and reorganization in human geography, with particular reference to centrality and intermediacy. The case of seaports and port cities is further explored to demonstrate the concrete conflicts and opportunities that arise with chain developments and insertion. To determine the relative position of places with regard to global chains and flows, Sheppard's concept of ‘positionality’ is discussed.