In large cities in developed countries, the share of manufacturing has declined drastically in the last decades and the share of service has grown as many manufacturing firms have closed or moved to lower-cost locations. The process of deindustrialization is often seen as part of the inevitable shift towards a knowledge based economy and urban economies come to rely on research and development, financial services, tourism and the creative industries. This book looks at the changing link between manufacturing and knowledge-based activities in urban regions.

The authors develop a new framework drawing on insights from organization studies and regional economic literature looking at various international case studies in Western and Eastern Europe, South America and Asia.