ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book outlines the importance of representation in and of new economic spaces. It focuses on how the major agents for farmers and processors represent their interests and the pressures they face. The book suggests ways of approaching the study of economic spaces. It aims to characterize the self-representation of Toledo, Ohio as a self-conscious economic space. The book provides examples of new economic spaces carved out of old, at great expense, to take advantage of local human resources and new physical infrastructures. It shows that the interplay of economic geographies with their physical environment needs to be explored by observation, by econometric study, and by teaming with other researchers. The book looks at international recycling and waste products from the electronics industry. It also provides a thoughtful review of the concepts 'creative-innovative milieux' and 'social capital'.
