Financial services and the urban system: an exploration

Financial services have come to represent an increasingly important sector in the economies of developed nations. Although a substantial literature has accumulated on this topic, relatively little attention has been given to the locational aspects of � nancial services. An attempt is made here to examine the spatial structure of this sector in terms of the urban system, drawing on the principles of central-place theory, the limitations and applicability of which are considered. This is followed by a discussion of the salient features of financial services within the overall urban system. After describing the differentiation of financial services in frequency terms, the hierarchical structure of the UK urban system is outlined. These two aspects are then related, in order to demonstrate the ordered nature of the spatial structure of financial services. There follows a brief discussion of the findings and their implications for future wor