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Economic, technological and locational trends in European services
Book reviews chapter is concerned with notions of ‘change’ and ‘continuity’ in the Middle East. The systematic part of the book includes the usual discussion of aspects of the physical and human geography: notable here are chapters on ‘Petroleum’ and ‘The political map’. The various regional chapters are built around a series of themes, such as ‘Religion, community and conflict in Lebanon’, ‘Jordan: the struggle for survival’, ‘Libya: oil revenues and revolution’, and so on. This book is clearly going to be the standard textbook on this part of the world for the late 1980s but for how long it could maintain this position without revision in this volatile region is unpredictable. Some statements are already a little dated by the time this review is being written. The book contains a wealth of useful information on this exciting region of the world. It is pleasing to see due emphasis being placed on the need for the peoples of the region to find their own way forward, and this is surely of particular importance for the future of rural development in a part of the world with its own long-established and deeply rooted culture. This reviewer would have liked to have seen a better discussion of the cultures of the region in the systematic part of the text. The lumping together of the whole of the Arabian Peninsula into one chapter, ‘Tradition and change in Arabia’, is unfortunate in that it gives the impression of a unity within the area which does not exist. A flight from Coha to Sana’a brings home the vast differences in physical environment, culture, landscape and outlook within the peninsula. In any revision of the book care should be taken to indicate clearly on maps that Qatar is not a part of the United Arab Emirates. Some parts of the book appear to rely rather heavily on journalist sources which is unfortunate, even if understandable. This reviewer does not always subscribe to some of the statements: he does not believe that temperatures in Egypt are never extreme. Try Luxor in August! Nevertheless, in spite of inevitable shortcomings this is a good book and many readers will find the bibliography particularly useful. H. R. J. Davies
Department of Geography, University College of Swansea
J. Economic, fechnological and localional [rends in European services. Aldershot: Howells, Cower,
1988. f22.50
hardback.
The growth of academic interest in services has brought forth a plethora of new research on the ‘service economy’. This book by Jeremy Howells is part of a research programme, undertaken by the author and others at the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies, primarily on behalf of the Directorate General for Science, Research
15
and Development of the Commission of the European Communities (see also Howells and Green, 1986; 1988). It is a valuable addition to work on the geography of services because of its international perspective and because it presents a cornucopia of new examples of the introduction of information technology in services. The book has a very contemporary feel about it, and it is a useful antidote to those of us who still rely too heavily on the static and somewhat outdated approaches of central place theory and the early office location research. Howells concentrates on information activities, that is, services concerned with the production, manipulation and distribution of information. Such services are argued to play a central role in the modern economy as providers of employment, as critical inputs to the production process in manufacturing and as agents of technological change. Despite this recognition I felt at times that the analysis was disembodied from the changes in production (including vertical disintegration and an increase in subcontracting) which lie behind the growth of information services. Nevertheless, a series of interrelated processes are identified as moulding the location and development of information services in Europe. The growing prominence of big business, both in services and other sectors of the economy, is associated with a concentration of corporate headquarters close to capital cities, and a preponderance of branches with a limited range of functions in provincial regions. The expansion of large, frequently multinational, businesses has encouraged the growth of international trade in services. Such growth is fuelled by the neo-market political philosophy popular in much of Europe, and the related deregulation and liberalization of service markets. The spatial concentration of the organizations which participate in international trade close to capital cities is argued to add a further twist to the growth of the more prosperous regions. In this context the distance-shrinking potential of information technology which could assist the development of peripheral areas is swamped by structural changes which encourage technology to support centralization. The evidence, then, points towards a growing polarization of service activity between prosperous and less-favoured regions in Europe. This is certainly an important part of the story concerning the development of services in Europe. However, also significant, and less well addressed in this book, are the differences between the European nations in the degree of spatial centralization of services. A number of studies, which rely less heavily on Anglo Saxon evidence, argue that services offer opportunities for local development in less-favoured regions (Aydalot 1984; Bailly and Maillat 1986; Pedersen 1986; Bailly et a/. 1987). In the Howells book there is only the barest hint of the fact that the hierarchical organizational
76
Book reviews
structure and the spatial polarization which is associated with it is being transformed by changes in management practice and the reorganization of inhouse services; or of how the geography of services is being changed by the tremendous fluidity introduced into organizational boundaries by information technology. Neither process in fact inevitably favours spatial centralization or decentralization. In contrast to this book, which emphasizes centralization. there is evidence from Eurooe that organizational and technological changes can merge to support spatial decentralization (Jaeger and Ernste 1988). Such results suggest that factors such as differences in the size ofTcountry and in the distribution of its population, the structure of the urban hierarchy and the accessibility of centres within it, and the system of government (whether centralized or decentralized) help determine the way in which the process of organizational and technological change, deregulation and liberalization work out in space. P. (ed.) (1984) Crise economique et espace. Paris: Economica.
Aydalot,
Bailly, A., Maillat, D. and Coffey, W. J. (1987) Service activities and regional development: some European examples. Environment and
Planning A 19, 653-668. A. and Maillat, D. (1986) Le secteur tertiare en question: activites de service, developpement economique et spatial.
Bailly,
Geneva: Howells, J. nology services. Howells, J.
Editiones Regionales Europeennes. and Green, A. (1986) Location, techand industrial organization in UK
Progress in Planning 27, 83-184. A. (1988) Technological innovation, structural change and location in UK services. Aldershot: Cower. Jaeger, C. and Emste, H. (1988) Europe: a way beyond fordism? Paper presented to the and Green,
Annual Conference of the IBG, ETH Zurich. Pederson, P. (1986) Business service strategies: the case of the provincial centre of Esbjerg. FAST Series 19. Brussels. J. N. Marshall
Department of Geography, University of Birmingham
Chatterji, M. (ed.) Hazardous materials disposal: siting andmanagement. Aldershot: Avebury, 1987. 331 pp. f30 hardback. The publication of this reader represents an important step in our attempt to understand and opposition to ‘Locally mitigate community Unwanted Land Uses’ (LULUs). Since geographers and other social scientists began to document the scope and characteristics of public opposition to certain categories of land use over a decade ago, a
variety of work on LULUs has been undertaken, but most previously published books have primarily addressed political dimensions of the problem. This smoothly edited collection of 25 papers brings together researchers from a variety of backgrounds and casts a much broader focus, seeking to examine decision-making issues as well as operational strategies to minimize the externalities created by LULUs. Individual chapters range from academically orientated theoretical analyses to case studies of particular policymaking approaches. While many edited volumes structured in this fashion wander from a central focus and lack coherence, Chatterji has admirably maintained his purpose. The book is organized into two parts. Issues in the location and management of LULUs is the theme of Part I. Within this broad framework there are two sections. Section 1 deals with technologically based facilities, while a much shorter Section 2 examines unwanted social service facilities, including group homes and correctional facilities. Partly because of the breadth of topics covered in Section 1, the quality and usefulness of individual chapters varies rather sharply. In a number of instances the papers are well written and quite useful in outlining innovative research strategies or positing alternative thinking toward resolving locational conflicts. Among the most insightful papers are Greenberg’s presentation on sampling methods for identifying areas of abandoned industrial contamination, a paper by Wolf addressing social impact issues in siting nuclear waste facilities, and the chapter on a constitutional choice model for nuclear waste repository siting authored by Solomon and Cameron. In contrast, several chapters fall short of the mark, presenting either cursory reviews of individual case very simplistic studies or explanations of the problems surrounding technological risks. Section 2, ‘Social Service Facilities’, is unfortunately too short. The three papers included in this section are well written but limited in scope. One wishes the editor had included a greater number of papers here, since so many of the ‘Not in My Back Yard’ conflicts centre around non-technological facilities. Part II includes nine chapters which present alternative location-allocation modelling strategies for hazardous facilities. It begins with an excellent overview of location-allocation models by Chatterji and Akinc (Ch. 7), followed by chapters addressing specific transportation and socioeconomic structured solutions. While nonquantitatively orientated readers may find this part rather demanding, given the use of mathematical models, most of the chapters are well written and structured for easy interpretation. The book concludes with an extensive and very useful bibliography on locational-allocation
Department of Geography, University College of Swansea
J. Economic, fechnological and localional [rends in European services. Aldershot: Howells, Cower,
1988. f22.50
hardback.
The growth of academic interest in services has brought forth a plethora of new research on the ‘service economy’. This book by Jeremy Howells is part of a research programme, undertaken by the author and others at the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies, primarily on behalf of the Directorate General for Science, Research
15
and Development of the Commission of the European Communities (see also Howells and Green, 1986; 1988). It is a valuable addition to work on the geography of services because of its international perspective and because it presents a cornucopia of new examples of the introduction of information technology in services. The book has a very contemporary feel about it, and it is a useful antidote to those of us who still rely too heavily on the static and somewhat outdated approaches of central place theory and the early office location research. Howells concentrates on information activities, that is, services concerned with the production, manipulation and distribution of information. Such services are argued to play a central role in the modern economy as providers of employment, as critical inputs to the production process in manufacturing and as agents of technological change. Despite this recognition I felt at times that the analysis was disembodied from the changes in production (including vertical disintegration and an increase in subcontracting) which lie behind the growth of information services. Nevertheless, a series of interrelated processes are identified as moulding the location and development of information services in Europe. The growing prominence of big business, both in services and other sectors of the economy, is associated with a concentration of corporate headquarters close to capital cities, and a preponderance of branches with a limited range of functions in provincial regions. The expansion of large, frequently multinational, businesses has encouraged the growth of international trade in services. Such growth is fuelled by the neo-market political philosophy popular in much of Europe, and the related deregulation and liberalization of service markets. The spatial concentration of the organizations which participate in international trade close to capital cities is argued to add a further twist to the growth of the more prosperous regions. In this context the distance-shrinking potential of information technology which could assist the development of peripheral areas is swamped by structural changes which encourage technology to support centralization. The evidence, then, points towards a growing polarization of service activity between prosperous and less-favoured regions in Europe. This is certainly an important part of the story concerning the development of services in Europe. However, also significant, and less well addressed in this book, are the differences between the European nations in the degree of spatial centralization of services. A number of studies, which rely less heavily on Anglo Saxon evidence, argue that services offer opportunities for local development in less-favoured regions (Aydalot 1984; Bailly and Maillat 1986; Pedersen 1986; Bailly et a/. 1987). In the Howells book there is only the barest hint of the fact that the hierarchical organizational
76
Book reviews
structure and the spatial polarization which is associated with it is being transformed by changes in management practice and the reorganization of inhouse services; or of how the geography of services is being changed by the tremendous fluidity introduced into organizational boundaries by information technology. Neither process in fact inevitably favours spatial centralization or decentralization. In contrast to this book, which emphasizes centralization. there is evidence from Eurooe that organizational and technological changes can merge to support spatial decentralization (Jaeger and Ernste 1988). Such results suggest that factors such as differences in the size ofTcountry and in the distribution of its population, the structure of the urban hierarchy and the accessibility of centres within it, and the system of government (whether centralized or decentralized) help determine the way in which the process of organizational and technological change, deregulation and liberalization work out in space. P. (ed.) (1984) Crise economique et espace. Paris: Economica.
Aydalot,
Bailly, A., Maillat, D. and Coffey, W. J. (1987) Service activities and regional development: some European examples. Environment and
Planning A 19, 653-668. A. and Maillat, D. (1986) Le secteur tertiare en question: activites de service, developpement economique et spatial.
Bailly,
Geneva: Howells, J. nology services. Howells, J.
Editiones Regionales Europeennes. and Green, A. (1986) Location, techand industrial organization in UK
Progress in Planning 27, 83-184. A. (1988) Technological innovation, structural change and location in UK services. Aldershot: Cower. Jaeger, C. and Emste, H. (1988) Europe: a way beyond fordism? Paper presented to the and Green,
Annual Conference of the IBG, ETH Zurich. Pederson, P. (1986) Business service strategies: the case of the provincial centre of Esbjerg. FAST Series 19. Brussels. J. N. Marshall
Department of Geography, University of Birmingham
Chatterji, M. (ed.) Hazardous materials disposal: siting andmanagement. Aldershot: Avebury, 1987. 331 pp. f30 hardback. The publication of this reader represents an important step in our attempt to understand and opposition to ‘Locally mitigate community Unwanted Land Uses’ (LULUs). Since geographers and other social scientists began to document the scope and characteristics of public opposition to certain categories of land use over a decade ago, a
variety of work on LULUs has been undertaken, but most previously published books have primarily addressed political dimensions of the problem. This smoothly edited collection of 25 papers brings together researchers from a variety of backgrounds and casts a much broader focus, seeking to examine decision-making issues as well as operational strategies to minimize the externalities created by LULUs. Individual chapters range from academically orientated theoretical analyses to case studies of particular policymaking approaches. While many edited volumes structured in this fashion wander from a central focus and lack coherence, Chatterji has admirably maintained his purpose. The book is organized into two parts. Issues in the location and management of LULUs is the theme of Part I. Within this broad framework there are two sections. Section 1 deals with technologically based facilities, while a much shorter Section 2 examines unwanted social service facilities, including group homes and correctional facilities. Partly because of the breadth of topics covered in Section 1, the quality and usefulness of individual chapters varies rather sharply. In a number of instances the papers are well written and quite useful in outlining innovative research strategies or positing alternative thinking toward resolving locational conflicts. Among the most insightful papers are Greenberg’s presentation on sampling methods for identifying areas of abandoned industrial contamination, a paper by Wolf addressing social impact issues in siting nuclear waste facilities, and the chapter on a constitutional choice model for nuclear waste repository siting authored by Solomon and Cameron. In contrast, several chapters fall short of the mark, presenting either cursory reviews of individual case very simplistic studies or explanations of the problems surrounding technological risks. Section 2, ‘Social Service Facilities’, is unfortunately too short. The three papers included in this section are well written but limited in scope. One wishes the editor had included a greater number of papers here, since so many of the ‘Not in My Back Yard’ conflicts centre around non-technological facilities. Part II includes nine chapters which present alternative location-allocation modelling strategies for hazardous facilities. It begins with an excellent overview of location-allocation models by Chatterji and Akinc (Ch. 7), followed by chapters addressing specific transportation and socioeconomic structured solutions. While nonquantitatively orientated readers may find this part rather demanding, given the use of mathematical models, most of the chapters are well written and structured for easy interpretation. The book concludes with an extensive and very useful bibliography on locational-allocation