Stefan Krätke’s research while affiliated with European University Viadrina and other places

This article outlines essential concepts of the political economy approach of urban research and offers critical modifications and clarifications to some of its contentions concerning the functioning of cities as ‘strategic places’ of capital accumulation. The interrelations between contemporary capitalism and urban economic development are discussed at the scale of a transnationally extended urban system. Based on the general context of the global economic downturn, I focus on the role of cities in distinct circuits of capital, the switching of capital flows within the urban system and the different functional roles of cities within the world city network that interconnects cities both in the global North and South. I call into question the established focus of urban economic research on the role of cities as financial and service centres, arguing that cities might redirect their economic development trajectories towards ‘real economy’ activities, in contrast to relying on the disastrous development model of finance-dominated capitalism.

In this article, I concentrate on a macro-level analysis of inter-urban linkages in a ‘world city network’. Empirical research on the formation of a world city network has mostly concentrated on global service providers. Yet, globally operating manufacturing firms also choose distinct urban regions throughout the world as locational anchoring points. In this article, using social network analysis, I present the first global-scale analysis of how manufacturing firms connected cities across the world (in 2010). To detect the differing ‘sectoral profiles’ and nodal centralities of cities functioning as geographical hubs of transnational production networks, it is necessary to analyse the network structure of distinct industrial subsectors within the global urban system. The data collected for analysis cover 120 top global firms from three manufacturing subsectors, of which two are analysed in more detail than the third. I then compare the nodal centralities of cities included in these subsectors’ global networks with the GaWC research on the producer services sector that has been at the centre of previous analyses of the world city network. The comparison reveals the cities' differing positioning within ‘multiple globalizations’. The aim of the article is to extend research on world city networks.

Die Europäische Union hat sich zu einer institutionell und ökonomisch stark vernetzten transnationalen Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft mit einem einheitlichen Binnenmarkt für Kapital, Arbeit, Waren und Dienstleistungen entwickelt. Als ein Kernstück des europäischen Integrationsprozesses ist die Wirtschaftsintegration bereits weit vorangeschritten. Die Handelsbeziehungen und Unternehmensverflechtungen zwischen den EU-Ländern haben sich fortschreitend intensiviert, und die EU-Osterweiterung hat zu einer weiteren Vertiefung der wirtschaftlichen Integration Europas beigetragen.

Berlin's reinstatement as the capital of Germany raised great expectations of a transformation into a major European metropolis. However, the city has not been able to fulfil these expectations. Today, Berlin is being hit by a financial crisis that could have dramatic consequences for its future development prospects. This article outlines the main outcomes of Berlin's socio-economic restructuring in the 1990s. A tremendous loss of jobs in traditional industries contributed to a rise in unemployment and the spread of urban poverty. The city has been a prime playground for speculative real estate investment, which left behind a huge amount of unoccupied office space. On the positive side, new islands of economic growth have been developing in Berlin, particularly in knowledge-intensive economic activities. The Berlin government is now trying to consolidate the city's financial situation by making severe cuts in social expenditures, public services, education and research. This policy might damage the prospects of Berlin's few growth sectors in the field of knowledge-intensive activities.

This book challenges the new urban growth concepts of the creative class and creative industries from a critical urban theory perspective. • Critiques Richard Florida's popular books about cities and the creative class • Presents an alternative approach based on analyses of empirical research data concerning the German urban system and the case study regions, Hanover and Berlin • Underscores that the culture industry takes a leading role in conforming with neoliberal conceptions of labor markets.

In recent times, Richard Florida's ‘creative class’ theory, which deals with a particular set of regional success factors (technology, talent and tolerance) has received quite a positive reception among regional scientists and politicians in North America and Europe. Particularly on the urban level, Florida's concept has become a ‘message of hope’ to guide poor and declining localities to a future path of successful development. Florida's approach can be criticized for its highly affirmative concept of class and the current mode of capitalist development. This article starts from a deconstruction of the notion of a creative class and deals with the aggregation and co‐location problems that plague Florida's concept. On the basis of empirical research on the regional distribution of diverse occupational groups in Germany, the article proves specifically that the ‘dealer class’— or in Florida's terms, creative professionals — does not have a significant or positive impact on the success of urban areas in developing sustainable economic structures. Résumé Ces dernières années, la théorie de la ‘classe créative’ de Richard Florida, qui porte sur un ensemble spécifique de facteurs de réussite régionale (technologie, talent et tolérance), a été accueillie très favorablement, en Amérique du Nord et en Europe, dans les milieux politiques et de la recherche sur les régions. Plus précisément, au niveau urbain, le concept de Florida s’est transformé en ‘message d’espoir’ guidant les localités pauvres ou en déclin sur la voie d’un développement réussi. L’approche de Florida est critiquable par son concept de classe fortement antidiscriminatoire et du fait des modalités d’évolution actuelles du capitalisme. L’article commence par une déconstruction de la notion de classe créative et aborde les problèmes d’agrégation et de co‐localisation qui empoisonnent le concept de Florida. À partir d’une étude empirique sur la répartition régionale de divers groupes professionnels en Allemagne, il est démontré spécifiquement que la ‘dealer class ou classe des courtiers’ (les creative professionals au sens de Florida) n’a pas d’impact significatif ou positif sur la réussite des zones urbaines via le développement de structures économiques durables.

This article examines the link between cities and culture from the point of view of the production of cultural goods, including media products. It focuses on the institutional structure of present-day cultural production and the media industry and on their geographical organization at the local and global levels. The cultural economy is a prime mover for globalization processes in the urban system, in which cultural production clusters act as local nodes in the global networks of the large media groups. The models frequently used to analyse the global city system will be supplemented and partially modified by an empirical analysis of the 'world media cities'. The analysis of the world media cities enables those locations to be identified, from which globalization in the spheres of culture and the media proceeds and is 'produced' in practical terms. Global city research has predominantly emphasized the role of advanced producer services—in contrast this article concludes that for the process of globalization the globally operating media firms are at least as influential as the global providers of corporate services, because they create a cultural market space of global dimensions, on the basis of which the specialized global service providers can ensure the practical management of global production and market networks.