Manuel WEIß, ILS Research Institute for Regional and Urban Development, Germany
Johannes MOSER, Chair of Urban Development, Technical University of Munich, Germany
Angelika MÜNTER, ILS Research Institute for Regional and Urban Development, Germany
Fabian WENNER, Chair of Urban Development, Technical University of Munich, Germany
Alain THIERSTEIN, Chair of Urban Development, Technical University of Munich, Germany
Knowledge-intensive firms have been recognised as important drivers of urban development that increasingly shape economic geography. Therefore, we assume that characteristics of space, particularly accessibility, have a significant effect on how and where knowledge-intensive firms locate and develop their networks for knowledge creation.
In this context, the emergence of High-Speed Rail (HSR) contributed to a marked change of accessibility during the last decades. Consequently, HSR might be related to the spatial distribution of knowledge-intensive firms. Subsequently, we focus on the relationship between the accessibility increase around newly-opened HSR stations and the location choices of knowledge-intensive firms.
The central questions are whether HSR influences the location choices in favour of the station area, how HSR contributes to entrepreneurial success and organises entrepreneurial networks of spatial and relational proximity.
To address this topic, we conducted problem-centred interviews with about 40 firm representatives of knowledge-intensive firms located in close spatial proximity of HSR stations in Germany. According to the principle of maximum variation cases, the eight identified HSR stations allow abstracting from individual place-idiosyncratic outcomes and generalising firms' perceptions and impacts of HSR analytically.
Our preliminary results provide differentiated perspectives: Rarely locate firms at HSR stations solely because of HSR. Rather, factors such as regional ties, spatial and functional embedding in networks and urban amenities seem to be confirmed. Furthermore, HSR implicitly contributes to entrepreneurial success by improving accessibility for temporary proximity and often serves as an image factor. Overall, a complementary relationship with other modes of transportation exists, whose respective accessibility benefits are mutually influencing firm location choices.
Mots clés : High-Speed Rail|Transport geography|Accessibility|Firm locations|Interviews
A103862MW