Relationship between ICT and urban form in knowledge-based development: empirical analysis of Washington, DC metro region

Abstract

This paper explores the dynamic relationship between urban form and information and communication technologies (ICT) in an intrametropolitan context of the Washington, DC region. We ask if knowledge-based developments coupled with ICT lead to new settlement forms and urban patterns. The findings of the regression analyses provide evidence of the interdependence between ICT and urban form. Contrary to the expectation that ICT would trigger centrifugal (i.e., decentralisation) forces in shaping the urban form, these findings suggest that ICT evoke centripetal (i.e., centralisation) forces around the ICT cluster. The outcome seems to be driven by the uneven distribution of ICT through the metropolitan region; a more even distribution promised by wireless technologies would probably lead to different patterns. Ultimately, we learn that geographic location still matters for ICT and related activities, despite the 'death of geography' premise.