Abstract
We aimed to explain the spatial distribution of information and communication technology (ICT) firms in the city of Ostrava as an example of a medium-sized, shrinking, polycentric industrial city. The primary research question was to what extent micro-geographic location factors affect the current spatial clustering of ICT firms in polycentric cities characteristic by relatively weak urbanization economies and mostly routine character of ICT activities. We analyse and test the effects of the urban form at the level of urban blocks and individual buildings (considering their height, technical condition, age and dominant function) on the clustering of ICT firms of various sizes and ownership statuses. The inquiry was based on a detailed field mapping (using ArcGIS Collector) of ICT firms and physical/functional characteristics of the buildings and their immediate surroundings. ICT firms are significantly spatially concentrated in the historic city centre and inner city. Spatial patterns of ICT firms focused on less knowledge-intensive, routine and/or lower value-added functions do not differ fundamentally from innovative firms developing new products. Preference of denser, walkable, mixed-use neighbourhoods in urban cores/inner cities can be found in the group of firms focusing on routine functions: rather for larger than for smaller firms and domestic than foreign-owned firms.
Highlights
Economic growth and competitiveness of cities and regions in developed countries have been increasingly associated with the knowledge economy (KE) [1]
Location patterns of information and communication technology (ICT) firms differ from creative industries at the level of urban blocks and individual buildings
The spatial patterns of ICT firms observed in Ostrava might occur in other medium-sized polycentric industrial cities
Summary
Economic growth and competitiveness of cities and regions in developed countries have been increasingly associated with the knowledge economy (KE) [1]. Knowledgeintensive business services (KIBS) are among the most important components of the KE [2] Their spatial clustering in large cities is driven by a combination of demand and supply factors [3], including the population/firm density and diversity [4], proximity to their principal customers/suppliers [5] and accessibility [6]. ICT firms, the key actors of economic, employment and innovation dynamics in many metropolitan regions [7], are among the most spatially concentrated KIBS at a regional and at an intra-urban level. Their tendency to form clusters and hubs is driven by various kinds of agglomeration economies [8,9]. As Rosenthal and Strange [17]
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