ABSTRACT
Much attention is given to the movement of firms out of the central city to suburbs, small towns and overseas. Many theorists argue that telecommunications technologies will eliminate the need for central city locations and that urban land and transportation costs have also contributed to the dispersion of economic activities to the periphery of the metropolitan region (Pascal 1985; Richardson 1985). It is widely assumed that the flow out of the central city to suburban areas is applicable to all business firms. However, considerable variation exists in the vitality of central business districts and the way in which international business services locate in large central cities. All too often, it is assumed that cities are homogeneous, subject to similar economic and technological forces and equal in their capacity to respond to these forces. But the impact of economic and technological change depends on the functions that a city performs. This chapter looks at the way in which changes in international economic activity are affecting the role of selected central cities in the United States.
