The issue of the impact of plant size on urban growth is evaluated, using survey data employed in constructing an input-output table for Joinville, an isolated urban manufacturing city in Brazil. The study indicates that small and medium size plants are more favourable for urban growth than are larger plants. This is found to be true for backward and forward flows of goods and services, and for the labour force structure. These findings, along with those revealed in other studies referring to plant size, suggest a revision in the way that manufacturing industry, as an initiator of the urban growth process, is applied.
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