Polycentric urban regions: conceptualization, identification and implications

Abstract

This special issue offers a cross-section of state-of-the-art research into ‘polycentric urban regions’: regions characterized by the presence of multiple, more-or-less proximate, centres where there is balanced development among these centres. With the literature increasingly transcending the focus on paradigmatic examples, the papers in this special issue concentrate on three fundamental and complementary questions: How can polycentric urban regions be conceptualized? How can we identify them formally? What is the impact of this regional form on people and places? We discuss how the contributions collectively push the boundaries of the regional studies literature and identify promising avenues for further research.