ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some of the implications for urban form of the collapse of manufacturing industry, the rising level of unemployment and the diffusion of high-technology industry, and dwells on the medium-term (up to 30 years) significance of these changes. One central theme is the inability of conventional approaches to the treatment of industrial structure to make much headway in the analysis of implications for urban form, and the need for new approaches will be argued. Traditional approaches to the treatment of industrial structure are examined, and contemporary approaches involving analysis in terms of institutions and organisations are noted. In particular, the treatment of 'industry' as the exogenous component in urban forecasting models are questioned, in line with Malecki's observations, and the need to shift from simple macro models to more micro analyses are also discussed. The chapter describes some empirical evidence of an entirely anecdotal kind pertaining to spatial development in southern Britain.
