The Validity of the Monocentric City Model in a Polycentric Age: US Metropolitan Areas in 1990, 2000 and 2010

Abstract

This work sets out to determine the number of centres with high employment density in metropolitan areas. To do this it uses spatial analysis techniques such as Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA). Its most important contribution is the analysed sample: all 359 of the MSAs of the USA are studied in three periods (1990, 2000 and 2010), thus enabling the paper to have both a temporal and a geographical dimension. There are three main results: the monocentric structure is still found in a significant number of metropolitan areas (56.55% of MSAs in 1990 were of this type, 64.07% in 2000 and 57.66% in 2010); from 1990 to 2000 (2000 to 2010), the number of centres remained the same for 74.93% of MSAs (85.24%), 13.37% saw their numbers increase (10.03%) and the remaining 11.70% experienced a reduction (4.73%); and, finally, polycentric MSAs are denser, bigger, with higher per capita income and a lower percentage of people under the poverty threshold than monocentric ones.

Keywords: urban spatial structure; employment centers; local indicators of spatial association (LISA)