Speaker
Description
Metropolitan regions and metropolitan areas have been the subject of empirical urban systems research for many years. In contrast, the focus on small and medium-sized cities has been more recent, primarily through regional case studies and theoretical-conceptual analyses. Europe-wide comparative empirical analyses are rare and often unsuccessful due to a paucity of available small-scale data. This article endeavors to address this lacuna by leveraging small-scale data concerning the functional organization and demographic evolution of European cities. The functional data originate from the raw data of the BBSR study on metropolitan areas in Europe (2011), while the demographic data are derived from the time series adjusted for territorial reforms (1961-2011) and the 2021 census data from Eurostat.
The central objective of this article is to respond to the research question concerning the statistical explanation of variations in the perceived importance of small and medium-sized cities across nation states. The hypothesis, grounded in extant research, posits that characteristics of national urban systems can account for a substantial portion of these variations (e.g., primacy city vs. decentralized concentration). As a control, the extent to which demographic developments can statistically explain the differences in importance is tested. This is predicated on the assumption that urban functions exhibit a high degree of location persistence, while suburbanization processes, for example, lead to changes in population figures in the core cities and their surrounding areas. Furthermore, cities belong to different city size classes over time, while the functional significance remains largely unchanged.
Preliminary research conducted by Terfrüchte and Growe (2023) indicates that functional distinctions are not invariably associated with specific city size classes or their positioning within or outside metropolitan areas, nor are they necessarily contingent on their proximity to metropolitan cores. However, the unique characteristics of national urban systems can contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the phenomenon. For instance, economic functions in the Scandinavian countries are localized more frequently than average in small and medium-sized cities, while in Germany or Italy the majority of functions are localised in large cities.
In addition to providing theory-based explanations, the article also addresses the special features of national administrative structures. These features make a comparison of cities below the NUTS 3 level (in Germany, districts and independent cities) almost impossible. While there exist explanatory approaches (derived inductively from individual cases) for developments in the urban system beyond the metropolitan areas, there is a paucity of empirical material to test corresponding hypotheses on the significance of small and medium-sized towns (SMSTs) across Europe.
References
Terfrüchte, T., & Growe, A. (2024). Spatial-functional patterns in the European urban system: metropolitan functions in small and medium-sized towns. European Journal of Spatial Development, 21(2), 18–41. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11385915
| Keywords | Small and medium-sized towns; urban system; Metropolitan functions; |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
