The changing Canadian inventive spatial economic pattern: An urban and regional analysis between 1881 and 1986

Canadian urban and regional patent and trademark data was analysed between 1881 and 1986 in an attempt to distinguish spatial inventive patterns in Canada over time. Inventive activity, as a pre—condition for economic development, is a viable indicator for predicting future economic growth in an inventive spatial economy. As such, it will be possible to extend the description of spatial inventive patterns in Canada after 1986. The percentage and relative level of inventive activity in urban centers and regions in Canada will help distinguish spatial inventive patterns in Canada over time. This information was based on a 25 percent systematic sample of registered Canadian patents and trademarks between 1881 and 1986. Inventive activity was also compared to population growth and unemployment levels in an attempt to discern the relationship between inventive activity and urban growth. This analysis compared the number of inventions per 10,000 population in 1981 to the percentage of population growth between 1981 and 1986 and unemployment levels in 1986 for twenty-four major Census Metropolitan Areas in Canada. It was found that the Canadian inventive spatial economy is very dynamic. However, an overall pattern of concentration was detected. For example, inventive impulses in the Maritime region was lacking after 1911. In the west, impulses of varying intensity were evident over time and space. Most of Canada\u27s healthy inventive activity was found in Central Canada. Further, the core region lost some of its inventive importance during the post-war years, however, between 1981 and 1986, this region experienced traditionally high levels of inventive activity. Also, there was a noticeable pattern of inventive concentration towards higher ordered places in the Canadian urban hierarchy, and a rationalization of Canada\u27s core region from a Quebec City to Windsor axis to a Toronto to Kitchener—waterloo axis with a trunk line towards Hamilton and two island impulses in Montreal and Ottawa. Lastly, there was a positive and significant relationship between inventive activity and urban growth, lending support to the notion that recent inventive concentration in the core region of Canada can be expected to continue well into the next decade

Examining the Impact of the Great Recession on the Commuting Patterns of Workers in West Virginia

The Great Recession (2007-2009) continues to effect workers in West Virginia. For many people throughout the state it has become increasingly difficult to not only find a job, but to be hired. People can face job searches that can extend for months, with little or no success. It is not well known, however, if an unfavorable economic climate has caused people to travel farther abroad for employment. This paper uses Longitudinal Employer Household Dynamics Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES) for the period 2002-2011 from the U.S. Census to evaluate the impact of the Great Recession on the commuting patterns of workers in West Virginia. The analysis compares job inflows, job outflows, and work commute distances before and after the onset of the recession for the five largest cities in the state: Charleston, Huntington, Parkersburg, Morgantown, and Wheeling. There is strong evidence for each city that the Great Recession has forced people to travel greater distances to work. The number of workers who live outside city limits have doubled for some cities, suggesting that their ability to find work close to home has been affected the most. Whether or not the role of each city as an employment magnet and labor supplier has changed is discussed

articles: Regional innovation potential in the United States: Evidence of spatial transformation

The new economy hypothesis identifies the southern and western parts of the United States as important source points for industrial creativity that can rival the northeast. This study shows that this viewpoint, based on patent activity, is warranted. Regional technology production in the country is being helped by the presence of professional, skilled labor, rather than manufacturing and related activities as in times past. While the northeast or midwest now operate in a much more competi tive inventive spatial system, and are being outperformed technologically by California, Texas, and Florida combined, all regions of the country are patenting inventions more than ever before.Innovation, invention, patent, technology

Gentrification and HOPE VI in Chicago: Turning Points and Responses to Economic Crisis

Public housing in Chicago, like many cities nationwide, has a history of poverty, crime, and disinvestments. In 1992 the HOPE VI program was created to change the development path of these neighborhoods. The objective of the program is to deconcentrate poverty and enrich prospects for gentrification and urban renewal in targeted neighborhoods by tearing down and replacing project-based public housing with mixed-income apartments. In the process condominium developments often arise on empty parcels of land that further accelerate neighborhood gentrification. Using data made available under the Home Mortgaged Disclosure Act of 1975 the study investigates gentrification in neighborhoods targeted by HOPE VI policy in Chicago from 1990-2007. We examine the following: (1) the extent to which mortgage financing is improving; (2) if changes vary at the intra-urban scale and; (3) the effect, if any, of the recent foreclosure crisis on areas of poverty and subsidized housing. It is found that housing investment was improving in HOPE VI neighborhoods prior to the foreclosure crisis. In these neighborhoods the rate of growth in housing investment was greater than in non-targeted HOPE VI neighborhoods and Chicago combined. The onset of the foreclosure crisis curtailed housing investment in both targeted and non-targeted HOPE VI neighborhoods. Yet, evidence suggests that targeted neighborhoods were most affected, especially those near the downtown where gentrification is more intense. Furthermore, results show that the intra-urban scale is important to consider in examining gentrification in HOPE VI neighborhoods.Todd Sink and Brian Ce

Geo-Spatial Methods to Better Understand Urban Food Deserts

Food deserts are a reality in some cities. These deserts can be described as a shortage of healthy food options within close proximity of consumers. The shortage in this case is typically facilitated by a lack of stores in an urban area that provide adequate fruit and vegetable choices. This study explores new avenues to better understand food deserts by examining modes of transportation that are available to shoppers or consumers, e.g. walking, automobile, or public transit. Further, this study is unique in that it not only explores the location of large grocery stores, but small grocery and convenience stores too. In this study, the relationship between some socio-economic indicators, such as personal income, are also explored to determine any possible association with food deserts. In addition, to help facilitate our understanding of food deserts, complex network spatial models that are built on adequate algorithms are used to investigate the possibility of food deserts in the city of Hamilton, Canada. It is found that Hamilton, Canada is adequate serviced by retailers who provide healthy food choices and that the food desert phenomena is almost absent