The demographic regime in western Europe and many other countries of the developed world is now very different from that of 30-40 years ago and is continuing to evolve. At the same time, settlement systems have been altering significantly in spatial structure, notably in terms of the emergence of polycentric urban configurations. This paper examines the nature of these two sets of changes and searches for linkages between them. First, it outlines the main features of the changing demographic regime. Secondly, it attempts to identify what constitutes 'polycentric urban regions' as opposed to traditional monocentric structures. Thirdly, it assesses how recent demographic developments relate to traditional urban structures and discusses whether they are more conformable with polycentric urban forms.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Anas, A., Arnott, R. and Small, K.A. (1998) Urban spatial structure, Journal of Economic Literature, 36, pp. 1426-1464.
2.
Archer, W.R. and Smith, M.T. (1993) Why do suburban offices cluster?, Geographical Analysis, 25, pp. 53-64.
3.
Avramov, D. (1991) General introductory statement, in: Council Of Europe (Ed.) Seminar on Present Demographic Trends and Life Styles: Proceedings, pp. 12-22. Strasbourg : Council of Europe.
4.
Berry, B.J.L. and Kim, H.-M. (1993) Challenges to the monocentric model, Geographical Analysis, 25, pp. 1-4.
5.
Blotevogel, H.H. (1998) The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region: reality and discourse, European Planning Studies, 6, pp. 395-410.
6.
Boyle, P., Halfacree, K. and Robinson, V. (Eds) ( 1998) Exploring Contemporary Migration. Harlow: Longman.
7.
Breheny, M. and Hall, P. (Eds) (1996) The People: Where Will They Go?London: Town and Country Planning Association.
8.
Castles, S. and Miller, M.J. (1998) The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World, 2nd edn. London: Macmillan.
9.
CEC (1996) The Demographic Situation in the European Union 1995. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Commission.
10.
Cervero, R. (1989) America's Suburban Centers: The Landuse-Transportation Link. Boston, MA: Unwin Hyman.
11.
Champion, A. G. (Ed.) (1989) Counterurbanisation: The Changing Pace and Nature of Population Deconcentration . London: Edward Arnold.
12.
Champion, A.G. (1992) Urban and regional demographic trends, in: R. Paddison, J. Money and W. Lever (Eds) International Perspectives in Urban Studies, pp. 136-159. London : Jessica Kingsley.
13.
Champion, A.G. (1994) International migration and demographic change in the developed world, UrbanStudies, 31, pp. 653-677.
14.
Champion, A.G. (1998) Demography, in: T. Unwin (Ed.) A European Geography, pp. 241-259. Harlow : Longman.
15.
Clark, W.A.V. (1987) The Roepke lecture in economic geography: urban restructuring from a demographic perspective, Economic Geography , 63, pp. 103-125.
16.
Cliquet, R.L. (1991) The Second Demographic Transition: Fact or Fiction?Strasbourg : Council of Europe .
17.
Coleman, D. (Ed.) (1996) Europe's Population in the 1990s. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
18.
Council Of Europe (1996) Recent Demographic Developments in Europe 1996. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing.
19.
Dieleman, F.M. and Faludi, A. (1998) Polynucleated metropolitan regions in Northwest Europe, European Planning Studies, 6, pp. 365-377.
20.
Dieleman, F. M. and Musterd, S. (Eds) The Randstad: A Research and Policy Laboratory . Dordrecht: Kluwer.
21.
Faus-Pujol, M.C. (1995) Changes in the fertility rate and age structure of the population of Europe, in: R. Hall and P. White (Eds) Europe's Population: Towards the Next Century, pp. 17-33. London : University College London Press.
22.
Findlay, A. and Rogerson, R. (1993) Migration, places and quality of life: voting with their feet?, in: T. Champion (Ed.) Population Matters: The Local Dimension, pp. 33-49. London : Paul Chapman Publishing.
23.
Garreau, J. (1991) Edge City: Life on the New Frontier. New York: Doubleday.
24.
Gordon, P. and Richardson, H.W. (1996a) Beyond polycentricity: the dispersed metropolis, Los Angeles, 1970-1990, Journal of the American Planning Association, 62, pp. 289-295.
25.
Gordon, P. and Richardson, H.W. (1996b) Employment decentralization in US metropolitan areas: is Los Angeles an outlier or the norm?, Environment and Planning A, 28, pp.1727-1743.
26.
Gordon, P., Richardson, H.W. and Wong, H.L. (1986) The distribution of population and employment in a polycentric city: the case of Los Angeles, Environment and Planning A, 18, pp. 161-173.
27.
Gottmann, J. (1961) Megalopolis. New York: The Twentieth Century Fund.
28.
Grundy, E. (1996) Population ageing in Europe, in: D. Coleman (Ed.) Europe's Population in the 1990s, pp. 267-296. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
29.
Hall, P. (1997) Modelling the industrial city, Futures, 29, pp. 311-322.
30.
Hall, R. (1995) Households, families and fertility, in: R. Hall and P. White (Eds) Europe's Population: Towards the Next Century, pp. 34-50. London : University College London Press .
31.
Hall, R. and White, P. (Eds) (1995) Europe's Population: Towards the Next Century . London: University College London Press.
32.
Hall, R., Ogden, P.E. and Hill, C. (1997) The pattern and structure of one-person households in England and Wales and France, International Journal of Population Geography, 3, pp. 161-181.
33.
Harris, C.D. and Ullman, E.L. (1945) The nature of cities, Annals of the American Academy of Political Science, 242, pp. 7-17.
34.
Hartshorn, T.A. and Muller, P.O. (1986) Suburban Business Centers: Employment Implications . Washington, DC: Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration.
35.
Hedges, B. and Clements, S. (1994) Housing Attitudes Survey. London : HMSO.
36.
Hoch, I. and Waddell, P. (1993) Apartment rents: another challenge to the monocentric model, Geographical Analysis, 25, pp. 20-30.
37.
Hoffmann-Nowotny, H.-J. and Fux, B. (1991) Present demographic trends in Europe, in: Council Of Europe (Ed.) Seminar on Present Demographic Trends and Life Styles: Proceedings, pp. 32-97. Strasbourg : Council of Europe.
38.
Hooper, A., Dunmore, K. and Hughes, M. (1998) Home Alone: The Housing Preferences of One-person Households. Amersham: National House-building Council.
39.
Hopflinger, F. (1991) The future of household and family structures in Europe, in: Council Of Europe (Ed.) Seminar on Present Demographic Trends and Life Styles, Proceedings , pp. 289-338. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
40.
van de Kaa, D. J. E ( 1987) Europe's second demographic transition, Population Bulletin, 42, pp. 1-57.
41.
Kiernan, K.E. (1996) Partnership behaviour in Europe: recent trends and issues, in: D. Coleman (Ed.) Europe's Population in the 1990s, pp. 62-90. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
42.
Knapp, W. (1998) The Rhine-Ruhr area in transformation: towards a European metropolitan region?, European Planning Studies , 6, pp. 379-394.
43.
Knox. P., (1994) Urbanization: An Introduction to Urban Geography . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall .
44.
Kunzmann, K.R. (1996) Euro-megalopolis or Themepark Europe?Scenarios for European spatial development, International Planning Studies , 1, pp. 143-164.
45.
Lambooy, J.G. (1998) Polynucleation and economic development: the Randstad , European Planning Studies, 6, pp. 457-466.
46.
Lesthaeghe, R. and van de Kaa, D. J. (1986) Twee demografische transities? , in: D. J. Van De Kaa and R. Lesthaeghe (Eds) Bevolkimg: Groie en Krimp . Deventer: van Loghem Slaterus .
47.
Lesthaeghe, R. and Moors, G. (1996) Living arrangements, socio-economic position, and values among young adults: a pattern description for France, West Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, 1990, in: D. Coleman (Ed.) Europe's Population in the 1990s, pp. 163-221. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
48.
Longino, C.F. (1992) The forest and the trees: micro-level considerations in the study of geographic mobility in old age, in: A. Rogers (Ed.) Elderly Migration and Population Redistribution: A Comparative Study, pp. 25-34. London: Belhaven.
49.
Mcloughlin, J. (1991) The Demographic Revolution. London: Faber and Faber.
50.
Murdie, R.A. (1969) Factorial ecology of Toronto, 1951-61. Research Paper No. 116, Department of Geography, University of Chicago .
51.
Noin, D. (1995) Spatial inequalities of mortality in the European Union, in: R. Hall and P. White (Eds) Europe's Population: Towards the Next Century, pp. 69-82. London: University College London Press.
52.
Noin, D. and Woods, R. (Eds) (1993) The Changing Population of Europe. Oxford: Blackwell.
53.
Oecd (1995) Trends in International Migration. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
54.
Ogden, P. (1993) The legacy of migration: some evidence from France , in: R. King (Ed.) Mass Migrations in Europe: The Legacy and the Future, pp. 101-117. London : Belhaven.
55.
Priemus, H. (1998) The Randstad and the Central Netherlands Urban Ring: planners waver between two concepts, European Planning Studies, 6, pp. 443-456.
56.
Robson, B.T. (1969) Urban Analysis: A Study of City Structure with Special Reference to Sunderland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
57.
Rogerson, R. (1997) Quality of Life in Britain. Glasgow: Quality of Life Research Group, University of Strathclyde.
58.
Salt, J. (1996) Migration pressures on western Europe, in: D. Coleman (Ed.) Europe's Population in the 1990s, pp. 92-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
59.
Short, J.R. (1984) An Introduction to Urban Geography. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
60.
Urban Task Force (1999) Towards an Urban Renaissance. London: E and FN Spon.
61.
Waddell, P. and Shukla, V. (1993) Employment dynamics, spatial restructuring and the business cycle, Geographical Analysis, 25, pp. 35-52.
62.
Waddell, P., Berry, B.J.L. and Hoch, I. (1993) House price gradients: the intersection of space and built form, Geographical Analysis, 25, pp. 5-19.
63.
Warnes, A.M. (1993) Demographic ageing: trends and policy, in: D. Noin and R. Woods (Eds) The Changing Population of Europe, pp. 82-99. Oxford : Blackwell.
64.
Warnes, T. (1992) Temporal and spatial patterns of elderly migration , in: J. Stillwell, P. Rees and P. Boden (Eds) Migration Patterns and Processes Volume 2: Population Redistribution in the United Kingdom, pp. 248-270. London: Belhaven .
65.
White, P. (1993) The social geography of immigrants in European cities: the geography of arrival, in: R. King (Ed.) The New Geography of European Migrations, pp. 47-66. London: Belhaven.
