The death of the industrial city and the urban fiscal crisis

Abstract

This article examines the claim that the economic demands and technological capacities of modern post-industrial society render large cities in general, and industrial cities in particular, redundant in the modern world — hence widespread urban decay and the urban fiscal crisis. In contrast to this ‘death of the city’ thesis, this article argues that cities are not so much losing their economic base as shifting it. Whereas they used to be centres of production, they are now centres of coordination of production and distribution, and of consumption. The argument is illustrated with some evidence from the UK and some practical policy conclusions are drawn.