journal article
LitStream Collection
Home
doi: 10.1068/d060377pmid: N/A
In this paper it is argued that a radical reorientation of organization theory and of industrial geography is needed, one that overcomes the limitations of studies that consider plant locations, agglomeration economies, geographies of enterprise, systems of cities, linkage analysis, and the like, separately. I call for a unified approach to industrial location and organization, or, rather, to the spatial division of labor and modes of organization. To do this one must first reopen the question of the division of labor and its obverse, the integration of complex production-systems. One must also go beyond the important inquiry by Scott and others, as to vertical integration/disintegration, to consider a wide range of possible means and modes of organization available, including variations on market exchange, several forms of workplaces, a wide range of firm size and scope, territorial complexes from the industrial district to the nation-state, and differing industry alignments. Last, one must treat geography as integral to the matter of organization, rather than as an outcome of preexisting organizational units that make location decisions. The puzzle of geographical organization is presented as a whole, but without yet trying to put it together for any particular sector, place, or time.
doi: 10.1068/d060409pmid: N/A
The purification of social space involves the rejection of difference and the securing of boundaries to maintain homogeneity. Evidence of this process is examined with reference to social collectivities widely separated in time and space. A systematic approach to the analysis of purification is suggested, drawing on Douglas and Bernstein. An account of the process in industrialized societies focuses on consumption and the interaction of social groups and the built environment, within a structurationist framework. It is argued that the spatial sciences have generally failed to recognize the problematic nature of purification. Rather, they are implicated in the purification process where theory is translated into practice.
doi: 10.1068/d060423pmid: N/A
Perhaps because Britain has no history of de jure segregation, the politics of ‘race’ have received little attention in theories of residential differentiation based on the experience of that country. Segregation has, however, been of concern to British politicians throughout the postwar period. In this paper it is shown how, and it is suggested why, their responses have inadvertently sustained rather than ameliorated racial inequalities in the structure of residential space. It is argued that the politics of ‘racial segregation’ have played a key role in undermining the rights of citizenship to which black Britons are entitled.
doi: 10.1068/d060445pmid: N/A
Urban design is concerned with the purposive production of urban meaning, through the coordinating design of conjunctures or relationships between spatial elements. It is argued that, in capitalist society, this production of meaning has typically supported shifts in capital accumulation, social reproduction, and legitimation in ways crucial to the reinforcing of dominant interests. Its effect has been to help counteract instability, system ‘degeneration’ (from the standpoint of such interests), and any fundamental transformation of the social system, This effect is termed ‘counteraction 1’. From considerations of urban design as production of values and as a body of practice, it is concluded that an urban design practice that is counteractive to dominant interests is, however, possible (‘counteraction 2’), Such a practice will be characterised by three ‘rules’, relating to the aesthetic program, the discursive penetration of the social context of urban design, and the breaking down of the present autonomisation and obfuscation of design as a domain of social interaction or discourse.
Dear, M J; Gore, C G; Thrift, N J; Williams, P R
doi: 10.1068/d060475pmid: N/A
This paper is a review of books published in 1987 and likely to be of interest to readers of this journal. There is the usual mixture of systematic survey and serendipitous ‘finds’.
Showing 1 to 9 of 9 Articles