Information Technology (IT) and Urban Form: An Annotated Bibliography of the Urban Deconcentration and Economic Restructuring Literatures

Abstract

Current urban planning discussion regarding the New Economy centers on planning, managing, and redesigning the form of cities and regions in order to attract and nurture knowledge economies. Enhancing the quality of life, by restraining urban sprawl, is seen as essential to urban competitiveness in the information age. However, the literature that examines the synergies between information technologies and urban form does not only point to potential reconcentration of certain economic activities but also to the furtherance of exurban development, sociospatial segregation, and traffic gridlock. This bibliography presents a panoramic shot of this vast and growing literature, as seen through the lenses of two theorizing traditions. It also the-matically classifies it according to four areas associated with (1) new forms of urban development; (2) economic, spatial, and travel synergies; (3) accessibility issues in spatial science; and (4) planning policy.