The Intrametropolitan Geography of Knowledge-Intensive Business Services (KIBS): A Comparative Analysis of Six European and U.S. City-Regions

Analyzing the intrametropolitan locations of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) provides insight into the geography of the knowledge economy. This study focuses on the urban spatial structure and implications of KIBS for urban or regional development and planning through a comparison of KIBS’ structures in six city-regions representing different global contexts. This includes varied socioeconomic and political frameworks: three European city-regions (London, Paris, and Madrid) and three U.S. city-regions (New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago). The results show that (a) there is a relationship between urban spatial structure and KIBS location; (b) KIBS locate in a polycentric form in search of urbanization economies; but (c) certain KIBS are highly concentrated in just a few subcenters, looking for localization economies; (d) proximity to the core and agglomeration economies are a factor in the location of KIBS; and (e) the European cases have more KIBS subcenters but closer to their central business districts, while the American cases have fewer and larger KIBS subcenters located farther from their central business districts.