The Roepke Lecture in Economic Geography: urban restructuring from a demographic perspective

Abstract

"The central argument of this paper is that recent research has overemphasized the notions of urban restructuring and undervalued the role of spatial demographics in understanding urban and [regional] spatial patterns. The paper examines the notions embedded in urban restructuring and suggests that a focus on several elements of demographic processes is an equally important component of understanding urban and [regional] spatial structure. A specific discussion of the Los Angeles region indicates that there is a high level of complexity in social-spatial change. Social-spatial change is not simply explained by reference to an unspecified urban restructuring."