Polycentricity, Performance and Planning: Concepts, Evidence and Policy in Barcelona, Catalonia

Despite strong efforts made by scholars to study the polycentric spatial organization of agglomeration in metropolitan areas, there is still no consensus about the conceptualization (i.e., identification and measurement) of polycentricity and its economic, social, and environmental (dis)advantages. Additionally, little is known in the policy...

Synergy in polycentric urban regions: Complementarity, organising capacity and critical mass

This thesis focuses on relationships between cities in Polycentric Urban Regions (PURs), which are regions containing proximate but distinct cities that are rather similar in size. A classic example is the Randstad. The extent to which there are synergies between cities in PURs is explored. The author develops theories on synergy in PURs and...