ABSTRACT
For 30 years now cities, and above all metropolises, have been growing in size and in economic importance. Their role as nodes of economic decision and coordination functions has become far greater, in line with both the transformations in the processes and structure of production (marked by the rise of services and especially of high-order services) and the emergence of new technologies (particularly information and communication technologies). These economic and technological changes are bringing about new patterns of urban space. Urban sprawl, which began with 'sudden urban growth' (Papageorgiou, 1990) in the 19th century, is pushing out the limits of the city still further. Population, and more recently employment, are spreading outward and increasing more in the periphery than in the centre. Beyond the expanding suburbs there appeared a new form of outer urban development, namely 'periurbanization'.l But urban sprawl, and especially the deconcentration of economic activity, is far from uniform. It takes the form of peripheral poles. A large proportion of employment growth in the periphery is becoming concentrated in a small number of activity poles. Thus, the reshaping of cities is a twofold process combining urban extension and multipolarization (Boiteux-Orain and Huriot, 2002)
However, the form of urban sprawl varies with the period, the country and even the city concerned. Urban sprawl is a historical, sequential and cumulative process. It is time-and space-dependent. It is also differentiated by activities and affects industry, retailing and services in different ways. Even different services may engage in different decentralization behaviour.
