Abstract
This study aims to explore whether and to what extent two types of polycentricity, morphological and functional, affect the level of urban economic performance. In the analysis, it is found that morphological polycentricity is positively associated with the level of labor productivity whereas functional polycentricity is negatively related to it. In the context of the Korean urban system, characterized by the domination of a few cities and high levels of population density, regions which are more morphologically polycentric and functionally monocentric are likely to have higher labor productivity. These results reflect the processes of agglomeration economies and their impact on urban dynamics. This study contributes to the debates on the impacts of polycentricity on economic performance by examining this relationship in the East Asian context, not in Europe or America, and by distinguishing between effects of two types of polycentricity.
Highlights
In the recent years, the concept of the polycentric urban region has been widely used as a tool for enhancing urban competitiveness and reducing regional disparities across the world [1,2,3]
This study examines the relationship between a polycentric urban region and its economic performance in the context of the Korean urban system
This study aims to explore whether and to what extent two types of polycentricity, morphological and functional, affect the level of urban economic performance
Summary
The concept of the polycentric urban region has been widely used as a tool for enhancing urban competitiveness and reducing regional disparities across the world [1,2,3]. Policy makers and urban planners in Europe have sought to promote the polycentric urban spatial structure as an urban policy agenda in the European Spatial Development Perspective [4] Nowadays, this concept has attracted attention from East Asian countries, especially China, where several new town projects are being planned as the world-class ‘polycentric regions’ [5,6,7]. As Parr (2004) [10] argued, a polycentric urban region cannot be treated “as an established concept, but rather as a hypothesis in need of testing” Such an argument demonstrates the need for comparative studies on the relationship between polycentricity and economy in diverse contexts
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