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RESEARCH PRODUCT

How information shapes cities : theory and facts

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The primary aim of this paper is to show that « information matters » in shaping space and cities. This statement has both theoretical and empirical foundations. Theoretical reasoning, especially on the basis of economic geography modelling, is able to provide consistent and realistic explanations for the agglomeration of information using activities including producer services and R&D. Empirical testing of these models raises a number of methodological problems. Nevertheless, many empirical studies have been conducted into the local character of the diffusion of tacit information. Over the last ten years, much progress has been made, and initial difficulties are progressively being overcome. Indirect tests afford a better grasp of both the consequences and the media of information externalities. These advances are essentially focused on one category of information externalities: the information spillovers generated and received by R&D. Most of the studies show a close link between the need for more or less tacit information exchanges and the effective proximity of actors and/or between this proximity and the production of innovation.