8 research outputs found

    World cities before globalisation: the European city network, A.D. 1300–1600

    Get PDF
    This dissertation is a quantitative study of the spatial business strategies of 130 late medieval and 16th-century European commercial and banking firms, the business networks of which have been put together for a structural analysis of the European city network between ca. 1300 and ca. 1600. Concretely this investigation has been carried out through the application of an interlocking network model – specifically developed for the study of the present-day global city network produced by the office networks of business service firms – to this historical case study, in order to challenge predominantly hierarchical conceptualisations of city networks which are often influenced by central place theory. After a methodological section, in which solutions are designed for reconciling the geographical model with the particularities of historical research, a first part of the analysis focuses on agency within the network, identifying and reconstructing the multiple spatial strategies used by the different agents. In a second part the overall structure and dynamics in the network are investigated, revealing the operation of Christaller’s traffic principle, as well as a cyclical variation in emphasis on continental and maritime nodes within the European city network. More generally, this study demonstrates that the functioning of dynamic transnational networks based upon complementarity and cooperation rather than competition is not limited to our contemporary globalised world, but can also be found in particular historical societies

    World cities before globalisation: the European city network, A.D. 1300–1600. Appendices 2 & 3.

    No full text
    Appendices to doctoral thesis. Appendix II: Data fiches (pdf) & Appendix III: Business value matrix (excel spreadsheet).Abstract:This dissertation is a quantitative study of the spatial business strategies of 130 late medieval and 16th-century European commercial and banking firms, the business networks of which have been put together for a structural analysis of the European city network between ca. 1300 and ca. 1600. Concretely this investigation has been carried out through the application of an interlocking network model – specifically developed for the study of the present-day global city network produced by the office networks of business service firms – to this historical case study, in order to challenge predominantly hierarchical conceptualisations of city networks which are often influenced by central place theory. After a methodological section, in which solutions are designed for reconciling the geographical model with the particularities of historical research, a first part of the analysis focuses on agency within the network, identifying and reconstructing the multiple spatial strategies used by the different agents. In a second part the overall structure and dynamics in the network are investigated, revealing the operation of Christaller’s traffic principle, as well as a cyclical variation in emphasis on continental and maritime nodes within the European city network. More generally, this study demonstrates that the functioning of dynamic transnational networks based upon complementarity and cooperation rather than competition is not limited to our contemporary globalised world, but can also be found in particular historical societies.</div

    External Urban Relational Process: Introducing Central Flow Theory to Complement Central Place Theory

    No full text
    Central place hierarchies have been the traditional basis for understanding external urban relations. However, in contemporary studies of these relations, a new emphasis on urban networks has emerged. Rather than either abandoning or extending central place thinking, it is here treated as representing one of two generic processes of external urban relations. Town-ness is the making of 'local' urban-hinterland relations and 'city-ness' is the making of 'non-local' interurban relations. Central place theory describes the former through an interlocking hierarchical model; this paper proposes a central flow theory to describe the latter through an interlocking network model. The key difference is the level of complexity in the two processes.

    The networked city

    No full text
    After the demise of the western Roman Empire in the 5th century, urban growth came to a standstill in most parts of western Europe. Only in the course of the 11th century did a new phase of urbanization begin. Although improvements in agriculture played a significant part in this urban renewal, it was primarily the revival of trade – especially with the more developed and urbanized economies of the Near East in the wake of the crusades – that caused cities to spring up again in many parts of Europe. The development of strong trade links between the cities of Latin Christian Europe (which were further intensified as a consequence of the commercial revolution of the 13th century) warrants the introduction of a specific typology to describe the late medieval and 16th-century European city: the networked city

    Preclinical evaluation of [(11)C]NE40, a type 2 cannabinoid receptor PET tracer

    No full text
    INTRODUCTION: Up-regulation of the type 2 cannabinoid receptor (CB(2)R) has been reported in (neuro)inflammatory diseases. In this study, we report the preclinical evaluation of [(11)C]NE40 as positron emission tomography (PET) radioligand for visualization of the CB(2)R. METHODS: The selectivity of NE40 for CB(2)R and its toxicity and mutagenicity were determined. [(11)C]NE40 was evaluated by biodistribution and autoradiography studies in normal rats and a microPET study in normal mice, rats and a rhesus monkey. Specific in vivo binding of [(11)C]NE40 to human CB(2)R (hCB(2)R) was studied in a rat model with hCB(2)R overexpression. RESULTS: [(11)C]NE40 shows specific CB(2)R binding in the spleen and blood of normal rats and high brain uptake in rhesus monkey. [(11)C]NE40 showed specific and reversible binding to hCB(2)R in vivo in a rat model with local hCB(2)R overexpression. CONCLUSIONS: [(11)C]NE40 shows favorable characteristics as radioligand for in vivo visualization of the CB(2)R and is a promising candidate for hCB(2)R PET imaging.status: publishe

    External urban relational process: introducing Central Flow Theory to Complement Central Place Theory

    Get PDF
    Central place hierarchies have been the traditional basis for understanding external urban relations. However, in contemporary studies of these relations, a new emphasis on urban networks has emerged. Rather than either abandoning or extending central place thinking, it is here treated as representing one of two generic processes of external urban relations. Town-ness is the making of ‘local’ urban hinterland relations and ‘city-ness’ is the making of ‘non local’ interurban relations. Central place theory describes the former through an interlocking hierarchical model; this paper proposes a central flow theory to describe the latter through an interlocking network model. The key difference is the level of complexity in the two processes
    corecore