Location Processes, Urbanization, and Territorial Development: An Exploratory Essay

The paper opens with an overview of the problem of commodity production in capitalism. It is shown how a determinate pattern of industrial organization grows out of the labor process. The problem of the integration and disintegration of productive activities is dealt with. Functional disintegration is shown to lead to the formation of polarized complexes of productive activity. The human consequences of the emergence of such complexes are described. In particular, brief discussions are presented of (1) local labor markets, (2) the reproduction of the labor force, and (3) the development and meaning of a local political culture. The inner decay of productive complexes is then shown to proceed on the basis of internal changes within the industrial system. These same changes lead to a decentralization of units of capital and to the emergence of a new spatial/international division of labor. The paper concludes with a brief allusion to the historical emergence of the global city.