The knowledge economy, hub airports and accessibility. A location based perspective.

The airplane is gradually creating a completely new spatial pattern as did other kinds of transportation modes in the past. Successively, international airports have gone through a morphogenesis from original pure infrastructure facilities into multimodal and multilayered spatial growth poles and center of competences. Landside infrastructure investments have converted airports and their hinterland into spaces of highest accessibility. The airports unique locational advantages and the growing segment of non-aviation activities on the part of the airport operators have made airports an advantageous business location for knowledge-intensive industries. At the same time airports have become a crucial asset for city-regions especially those competing on a European or international spatial level for future-oriented enterprises and highly skilled employees. The paper asks about the general interplay between airports, air transport and the knowledge economy. What are the contributions of the knowledge economy that explain the economic effects of airports on the spatial structure? What kinds of knowledge economy linked locational patterns have already emerged around airports? What is their spatial relationship to more traditional locations for example within the core cities? Why does an array of knowledge-based companies relocate their business activities at spaces of highest accessibility such as international airports? This paper analyzes aviation induced spatial patterns and processes of specialization around European airports, especially around those with hub function. First results show that airports and their vicinities have become attractive sites for real estate developments and property-led capital accumulation. Locations directly at or close by international airports are notably in demand among highly globalized sectors characterized by their need for frequent face-to-face interaction, high value products and services. As the traditional role of airports is redefined a new spatial quality and entity within the city regions is evolving.

The knowledge economy, hub airports and accessibility. A location based perspective.

The airplane is gradually creating a completely new spatial pattern as did other kinds of transportation modes in the past. Successively, international airports have gone through a morphogenesis from original pure infrastructure facilities into multimodal and multilayered spatial growth poles and center of competences. Landside infrastructure investments have converted airports and their hinterland into spaces of highest accessibility. The airports unique locational advantages and the growing segment of non-aviation activities on the part of the airport operators have made airports an advantageous business location for knowledge-intensive industries. At the same time airports have become a crucial asset for city-regions especially those competing on a European or international spatial level for future-oriented enterprises and highly skilled employees. The paper asks about the general interplay between airports, air transport and the knowledge economy. What are the contributions of the knowledge economy that explain the economic effects of airports on the spatial structure? What kinds of knowledge economy linked locational patterns have already emerged around airports? What is their spatial relationship to more traditional locations for example within the core cities? Why does an array of knowledge-based companies relocate their business activities at spaces of highest accessibility such as international airports? This paper analyzes aviation induced spatial patterns and processes of specialization around European airports, especially around those with hub function. First results show that airports and their vicinities have become attractive sites for real estate developments and property-led capital accumulation. Locations directly at or close by international airports are notably in demand among highly globalized sectors characterized by their need for frequent face-to-face interaction, high value products and services. As the traditional role of airports is redefined a new spatial quality and entity within the city regions is evolving

Hub Airports, the knowledge economy and how close is close? Evidence from Europe

Airports have stepped beyond the stage of being simply pure infrastructure facilities. Hub airports in particular are considered to function as supra-regional and international gateway infrastructure thus having a decisive impact on firms' competitiveness and stimulating urban development. Hub airports have ? through their capability of concentrating different types of flows, from local to global ? morphed into strategic nodes within the networked economy. Recent studies indicate that hub airports increasingly play a significant role for multi-branch multi-location firms with their decision making process about where to locate. Successively, knowledge-intensive companies have settled their regional, national and sometimes supranational branches in close spatial proximity to primary and secondary airports. Simultaneously to their enhanced functionality, hub airports in Europe are increasingly recognized as general urban activity centres; that is, key assets for cities and regions as economic generators and catalysts of investment, in addition to being critical components of efficient city infrastructure. Hub airports thus represent ? against the backdrop of knowledge intensive firms optimizing physical and relational proximity within their knowledge generation efforts ? a crucial case where new urban functionalities co-produce new emerging urban patterns and vice-versa. The paper will shed light on the following questions: Which role does the knowledge generation process of firms and their respective locational needs play for geographical and relational proximity? What role does the hub airport represent within the value chains of knowledge-intensive companies? What role does an airport assume within a multi-branch firm's decision-making process about locating activities? The paper reflects the empirical results of a research project that compares the firm location behavior at the airports of Amsterdam, Munich, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt. We conclude with some recommendations on how airport-linked real estate sites need to be planned in order to reach certain robustness towards the constantly changing spatial needs of its users

The role of advanced producer service firms in the development of urban diversity in Doha

Qatar's capital city Doha has undergone rapid transformation processes socio-economically as well as spatially since the end of the 20th century. Large-scale public investments in local developments that were intended to establish Doha as a regional and international service hub ushered in a new evolutionary phase in the city's urbanism. Subsequently, an increasing number of international "Advanced Producer Service" (APS) firms set up offices in Doha, particularly attracted by emerging local real-estate markets. This paper attempts to clarify the distinct roles of APS firms and their employees in the development of urban complexity and diversity in Doha. It therefore explores currently existing APS networks in Doha as well as the morphological consequences for urban fabrics due to the recent economic diversification process. The applied methodologies include a network analysis of 98 APS firms in order to investigate the current characteristics of advanced producer services sectors in Doha. The dynamics in recent urban developments are investigated using a comparative assessment of GIS data of the city in 2003 and 2013 as well as a Space Syntax analysis, which is used to investigate the spatial integration of office locations in Doha. Furthermore, 350 questionnaires of employees engaged in APS firms were evaluated in order to examine the locations of their weekly activities. These empirical investigations of various parameters within contemporary urbanism provides insights into how the transition into a service hub based on emerging knowledge economies and their networks is currently interdependent on increasing urban qualities

When the Oryx takes off : Doha a new rising knowledge hub in the Gulf-region?

With accelerating pace in the past years, Qatar has strategically pushed forward its economic diversification. According to Qatar's long-term development vision, the knowledge-economy is taking a key role within this economic diversification process and the transformation of its capital into a regional as well as global service hub. This paper aims at identifying emerging knowledge-based patterns that drive the Qatari space economy. We apply a research concept that brings together two different scientific angles: relational economic geography and physical urban development aspects. The results indicate first a subsidiary role for the Qatari knowledge intensive firms within the Gulf region; second their predominant connectivity patterns to Europe and South-East Asia; third as a distinct lack of urban amenities and qualities for knowledge workers

The role of advanced producer service firms in the development of urban diversity in Doha

The paper traces the rapid transformation processes of Doha, Qatar’s capital city, both socio-economically and spatially since the end of the 20th century. Large-scale public investments in local developments that were intended to establish Doha as a regional and international service hub ushered in a new evolutionary phase in the city’s urbanism. Subsequently, an increasing number of international “Advanced Producer Service” (APS) firms set up offices in Doha, particularly attracted by emerging local real estate markets. In this paper, the authors attempt to clarify the distinct roles of APS firms and their employees in the development of urban complexity and diversity in Doha. They explore currently existing APS networks in Doha as well as the morphological consequences for urban fabrics due to the recent economic diversification process. The applied methodologies include a network analysis of 98 APS firms in order to investigate the current characteristics of advanced producer services sectors in Doha. The dynamics in recent urban developments are investigated using a comparative assessment of GIS data of the city in 2003 and 2013 as well as a Space Syntax analysis, which is used to investigate the spatial integration of office locations in Doha. Furthermore, 350 questionnaires of employees engaged in APS firms were evaluated to examine the locations of their weekly activities. These empirical investigations of various parameters within contemporary urbanism provide insights into how the transition into a service hub based on emerging knowledge economies and their networks is currently interdependent on increasing urban qualities

When the Oryx takes off : Doha a new rising knowledge hub in the Gulf-region?

With accelerating pace in the past years, Qatar has strategically pushed forward its economic diversification. According to Qatar's long-term development vision, the knowledge-economy is taking a key role within this economic diversification process and the transformation of its capital into a regional as well as global service-hub. This paper aims of identifying emerging knowledge-based patterns that drive the Qatari space economy. We apply a research concept that brings together two different scientific angles: relational economic geography and physical urban development aspects. More than a pure locational perspective, this relational research design makes it possible to highlight how different parts within and beyond Doha are interacting with each other. In the centre of the analytical framework are the two main pillars of the knowledge-economy - Advanced Producer Services and High-Tech firms. First, we look at how multi-branch multi-location firms in the knowledge-economy deploy their intra-firm networks on various spatial scales. Second, we identify the partners whom these firms have working relationships along individual chains of value with, and where these extra-firm linkages are located. Moreover we ask the following important questions: What role and significance plays Doha in the context of a growing knowledge-economy on a supra-regional scale? What kind of knowledge-based spatial patterns can be identified in the particular context of Doha? How do international business practitioners perceive these patterns and knowledge-economy environment in Doha? First results indicate strong connectivity patterns to Europe and South-East Asia as well as a distinct lack of urban amenities and qualities for knowledge workers