Regional Urban Economic Clusters

Abstract

Successful industrial clusters rest on human activities, building on a base of physical location attributes. This chapter utilizes three pairs of case studies comparing the economic trajectory of six major Chinese and US urban areas in different parts of the country and in different stages of development. Located on an east coast corridor of early industrial development, Harbin-Dalian and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania experienced a rustbelt revival from their traditional heavy industries. They exemplify preserving old strengths while dealing with new opportunities in changed economic circumstances. The mid-continental inland transportation hubs of Wuhan and Indianapolis relied on inter-modal growth, moving goods between origin and destination points as well as innovative improvements and diversifying economically with services. A pair of high tech habitats wraps up the comparison of models: Beijing’s Zhongguan’cun and the U.S. west coast’s San Diego, Silicon Valley, and Seattle. Each successful metropolitan region benefits from a combination of road, rail or water transportation; a profitable industry base; an amenity environment that creates and sustains a well-educated labor force; city planning which directs incentives in line with business attraction goals; technological innovation within the cluster; and information networks supporting rapid adaptation to changing circumstances.