Revisiting gateway cities

connecting hubs in global networks to their hinterlands

authored by

Sören Scholvin, Moritz Breul, Javier Revilla Diez

Abstract

Gateway cities have received much attention from urban geographers. In spite of outstanding contributions being made, we think that the concept needs to be revisited with regard to regional development implications. Bringing together research on global production networks (GPNs) and world cities, this article shows that gateway cities are critical for development in networks, generating impulses for peripheral locations by engaging them in processes of “strategic coupling.” Yet, gateway cities also concentrate segments of GPNs to the detriment of their hinterlands. We conceptualize gateway cities with the aid of five features: logistics and transport, industrial processing, corporate control, service provision and knowledge generation. Our concept allows for an understanding of cities in global and regional economic processes beyond corporate headquarters, corporate services and governance–that is, beyond the boundaries of existing research. It unsettles traditional understandings of strategic coupling and world cities, filling a lacuna on city–hinterland connections.

Organisation(s)

Economic Geography Section

External Organisation(s)

University of Cologne

Type

Article

Journal

Urban Geography

Volume

40

Pages

1291-1309

No. of pages

19

ISSN

0272-3638

Publication date

21.10.2019

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Geography, Planning and Development, Urban Studies

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2019.1585137 (Access: Closed)