Introduction

This chapter introduces and discusses the research questions of this study. It is concerned with three aspects of the dimensions considered important within the scientific literature: natural setting, theory, measurement issues and econometric modeling. The chapter focuses on spatial economies of firm establishments in a specific urban context: that of the Netherlands. The specific spatial setting of urban development and agglomeration externalities in the Netherlands deserves conceptual credibility in its own right. As A. Anas remark 'the distinction between an organized system of (urban) subcenters and apparently unorganized urban sprawl depends very much on the spatial scale of observation'. Identical research setting for spatial growth patterns that capture spatial heterogeneity and contiguity-based spatial dependence are less common in research. Policy as well as research frequently uses metaphors in analysis, vision-building and policy implementation. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.