ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates possible trends towards functional polycentricity between 1981 and 2001, a period in which it underwent rapid economic restructuring and population redistribution. It aims to test how far Pennine England may be evolving into a single polycentric mega-city region. The chapter focuses on the five city regions which are currently seen as emerging in what were once the textile manufacturing areas of the former counties of Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. It also addresses a topic that is especially relevant to the first of the International Geographical Union (IGU) Urban Commission's three themes for 2008-2012, namely interdependent urban systems. The earliest industrialization in Pennine England was on its western side, most especially with the development of the Lancashire cotton industry. Later in that century, the railways also led to the development of holiday resorts like Blackpool and Harrogate. The topic of polycentric development in the Pennine region is also highly relevant in present-day policy terms.
