Metropolization Processes and Intra-Regional Contrasts

The Uneven Fortunes of English Secondary Cities

Book chapter (2021)

Authors

Rodrigo Viseu Cardoso Spatial Planning and Strategy - Architecture and the Built Environment
E.J. Meijers Urban Studies - Architecture and the Built Environment , Universiteit Utrecht
Research Group
Urban Studies (Architecture and the Built Environment) (TU Delft)
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Published Date

2021

Language

English

Reuse Rights

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Faculty

Architecture and the Built Environment

Department

Urbanism

Research Group

Urban Studies

Abstract

As urbanization spreads across territories, interdependencies between the cities composing a city-region fuel a process of functional and spatial integration labelled as metropolisation. This chapter discusses whether secondary cities can benefit from that process. Focusing on the case of England, the study assesses 64 secondary cities in eight city-regions on their potential to engage with metropolisation, situating them in four quadrants of a functional-demographic profile matrix. Results point to a variegated landscape of secondary cities with contrasting features regarding (1) the structure and size of the city-region; (2) local spatial-environmental factors; (3) demography; (4) functional performance; (5) population growth; and (6) transport connectivity. The chapter concludes with a discussion of incentives and deterrents to metropolisation typical of each quadrant to show the need for governance and planning to adopt a model of metropolitan development that stimulates integration in ways that serve the interests of secondary cities.