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The ability to 'network' between businesses and local institutions has been the subject of numerous studies and has fueled a line of multidisciplinary research which has made it possible to highlight the complexity of local systems and the interconnection between culture, economy and society. On the political-institutional side, the image of a 'virtuous' territory has been built which, through these links, strengthens its ability to create 'value' both by successfully adapting to the new complexities brought about by the neoliberal system and by exploiting the opportunities it offers. In fact, economic indicators overall show an increase in production after a succession of repeated pre- and post-pandemic crises. However, these same networks prove inadequate to effectively counter the increase in small entrepreneurs in economic difficulty. Starting from my recent field experience in Brianza, this article aims to illustrate some situations that have required the intervention of social services, but also the difficulty of these in developing intervention projects on people/families atypical with respect to social groups normally recipients of aid. Their atypicality lies in the fact that normative categories such as 'unemployed', 'poor', 'marginalized' cannot be uncritically reproduced in their regard, through which services normally develop intervention practices and ways of defining problems, before 'identification/activation of specific social networks in the area. Affected by the crisis and excluded from the benefits of the economic recovery, these subjects, central figures of the neoliberal society project, end up turning to social services when the legislative provisions to protect the business activity prove inadequate and when the family economic situation is now compromised.

Copyright of Iraqi National Journal of Earth Sciences is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of GeSec: Revista de Gestao e Secretariado is the property of Sindicato das Secretarias e Secretarios do Estado de Sao Paulo (SINSESP) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The current epoch is characterised by a series of critical events that have upset fieldwork research and continue to affect it. The industrial district of the Brianza has always proved to be resilient and capable of overcoming market turbulences, but the rapid sequence of critical events in an industrial context already exposed to other frailties is producing further uncertainty and liminality. The researcher is likewise facing his own uncertainties. The time lag between the observation of the fast changing situation and the writing moment which, occurring necessarily after the observation period, seems to be unable to keep up with the shifting reality. Thus, both interlocutors and researcher are seeking new conceptual inventories in their own ways to understand the present and imagine the future in a context of prolonged liminality.

This paper deals with the location, origins, and early development of clusters and industrial districts in the agribusiness sector. It considers the case of the meat processing industry in the second half of the 19th century in Catalonia, a prosperous southern-European region in the period when this industry emerged. By constructing an index of potential locations at the municipal level, the paper discusses whether, and to what extent, deterministic factors explain the genesis of pigmeat processing clusters. The paper concludes that although these latter factors need primary consideration, contingency, particularly human agency, may also play a non-negligible role. As an illustration, this study pays particular attention to the cluster of Vic, which developed around this middle-sized town in central Catalonia. It became a leading meat cluster in early 20th-century Spain, even though it was not better suited to this industry than other Catalan localities where meat companies had also emerged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to examine whether industrial parks, industrial districts, science and technology parks and business incubators could be considered as precursor forms of cluster development. In this regard, we conducted a descriptive analysis of the common and different aspects that arise in various forms of spatial organization of business. We decided to compare them two by two to observe, in a detailed form, how industrial parks, industrial districts, science and technology parks and business incubators resemble or differ from the innovative form of spatial business organization, the cluster. Thus, the paper focuses on contextualizing and conceptualizing the forms of spatial organization of business by researching the literature, identifying specific elements in an orderly and relevant sense. The research technique is that of reviewing the specialized literature. The documentary literature identified in the Web of Science database was used as documentary sources, especially on the scientific articles that attest to the different types of spatial organization of business. The work does not stop only at industrial parks, industrial districts, science and technology parks and business incubators and goes beyond a classic business approach, to one focused on innovation, such as clusters. Based on the characteristics identified in each of the materials studied, we presented the cluster so that it reflects what it represents at the moment, namely an innovative form of spatial business organization.

The book published by French medievalist Catherine Verna L’industrie au village (2017) raises a double question: on the one hand because it uses the term industry in reference to the Middle Ages, and on the other because it associates the same term with the village, i.e. rurality, whereas medieval industry – at least for those who think it is possible to talk about industry during these times – is traditionally associated with cities rather than the countryside. In the introduction of the book, Verna conducts a historiographical review of the concept of industry, limited to only French medievalists. This paper endeavors a similar review but focused on Italian historiography, illustrating how the concept of industry appears no clearer to Italian medievalists than it does to French ones. In addition, it discusses the definition of industry proposed by Verna – in order to determine whether it is appropriate or not to talk about “industry in the pre-industrial times” – and analyzes what the author means by the expression “industry in the village”. In particular, it pays attention to the concepts of small town and industrial district developed by Verna within her case study (the Pyrenean village of Arles-sur-Tech and the Vallespir localities in the 14th and 15th centuries), i.e. two concepts that constitute valuable interpretive keys for the history of medieval and modern Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the 4th industrial revolution (IR), firms’ linkages to global knowledge are considered key to improving the innovation capabilities and competitiveness of firms embedded in local industrial districts (IDs). So far, most of the analyses have focused on the complementarity and integration between local and global networks, which have somehow over-shadowed the national dimension of production and innovation processes. With special reference to mechatronics producers, recent trends of Italian firms exploit the critical role of national innovation networks for firms within local systems. In this sense, the national dimension plays a key role in defining the quality and direction of the competitive models of ID firms integrating within global value chains.

Industrial districts face challenges after the advent of information technology (on line), which considers that places are not important but for some industry players and consumers to determine. Research aims to offer practical and implementable solutions for industry players so that their performance is at a minimum before or after moving to an industrial district. Journal research methods are used in this study with journal sources originating from reputable international journals and scopus indexed. The concept of the model of knowledge of communication adaptation is our finding. The concept model is derived from the industrial district theorem and organizational knowledge typology. Knowledge of communication adaptation is a mediating alternative between government perceptions and industry players. Concept definitions are explained in this study

This paper deals with the location, origins, and early development of clusters and industrial districts in the agribusiness sector. It considers the case of the meat processing industry in the second half of the 19th century in Catalonia, a prosperous southern-European region in the period when this industry emerged. By constructing an index of potential locations at the municipal level, the paper discusses whether, and to what extent, deterministic factors explain the genesis of pigmeat processing clusters. The paper concludes that although these latter factors need primary consideration, contingency, particularly human agency, may also play a non-negligible role. As an illustration, this study pays particular attention to the cluster of Vic, which developed around this middle-sized town in central Catalonia. It became a leading meat cluster in early 20th-century Spain, even though it was not better suited to this industry than other Catalan localities where meat companies had also emerged.

We have entered the 21st century facing a global trend of massive urbanization leading to an increasing concentration of population in relatively few, large cities. This exacerbates the share of GDP produced in cities (80%). Today, more than 54% of the world population lives in a city and this number will likely increase by the end of this century to 80%. This trend implies a redefinition of what a city, and what an agglomeration, is. There is then no doubt that the city has become the central point in various social sciences and that agglomeration economics have become an important topic in development economics. Smart Cities have become in this context an important topic in Regional science and in applied economics and geography. There is no doubt that the development of new technologies and especially information technologies have created their own issues. Actually, Smart cities are combining a production function and a housing and living environment one. But one can also see “Smart cities” as a new form of the industrial district issue. Regional science has known an important development since the late 1980 when the Marshallian concept of the “industrial district” came back to favour and became major a topic in development studies. The turn from the “industrial district” to “smart cities” is a much more recent one. But still in smart city studies as in industrial district ones, the same range of issues, some of them purely economic and others more politically oriented, are at stake

Ciudad Pegaso was promoted by the Empresa Nacional de Autocamiones (ENASA), linked to the Instituto Nacional de Industria, to provide housing for its employees. It is an early example of an industrial district created by the urban policies of the time (sketches 1949, fi rst phase 1956, second phase 1960). There, the Falangist ideas of the “Ciudad del Movimiento” (an organic and gated city in which the class struggle is overcome by their juxtaposition in the same space) come together, and on the other hand, the tendency of the regime in favor of segregation of the working masses in suburban neighborhoods as a form of social control, come together.

Italy’s industrial districts of the Northeast are often cited as beings models of success due to their economic organisation, thus they have almost become an archetypal myth. One of the reasons for the Northeastern firms’ success is proximity (both geographical and relational), particularly with regard to the creation and development of the districts and their innovative and competitive capacity on a global scale. Our research compares the structures of proximity in Montebelluna, an industrial district in Northeast Italy, with Timisoara (in Romania), which has been one of the more favoured areas of delocalisation for Veneto firms. This comparison made it possible to focus on the non-economic categories (such as trust, face-to-face relations, cooperative attitudes, local context…) that have contributed to a large part of their success, although, in reality, they are often overvalued. Above all, the analysis reveals how these Italian industrial districts have concealed an unequal distribution of power, not only inside the firms and between the firms, but also between the firms and their delocalised territories. Today the “Northeast” model is questioned and debated; however a rethinking of regional dynamics is only possible if these hidden dimensions of district development are taken into consideration.

Copyright of Ciencias Administrativas is the property of Universidad Nacional de La Plata and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The study explores the key contributory factors in the success of immigrant entrepreneurs in disseminating technical knowledge in host economies. Based on a study of the Lyon Barcelona textile printing firm in Premià de Mar, we show how the introduction of screen printing in 1933 eventually stimulated the creation of a cluster specialised in the manufacture of printing moulds. The knowhow provided by the new technique was transferred from the factory itself and disseminated to new small businesses that were set up in and around the town of Premià. Thanks to the vision of an immigrant entrepreneur, who saw the potential of the new business inside the pre-existing industrial framework in Catalonia, and his close collaboration with local managers, this cross-border business initiative had a decisive impact on the host economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to examine whether industrial parks, industrial districts, science and technology parks and business incubators could be considered as precursor forms of cluster development. In this regard, we conducted a descriptive analysis of the common and different aspects that arise in various forms of spatial organization of business. We decided to compare them two by two to observe, in a detailed form, how industrial parks, industrial districts, science and technology parks and business incubators resemble or differ from the innovative form of spatial business organization, the cluster. Thus, the paper focuses on contextualizing and conceptualizing the forms of spatial organization of business by researching the literature, identifying specific elements in an orderly and relevant sense. The research technique is that of reviewing the specialized literature. The documentary literature identified in the Web of Science database was used as documentary sources, especially on the scientific articles that attest to the different types of spatial organization of business. The work does not stop only at industrial parks, industrial districts, science and technology parks and business incubators and goes beyond a classic business approach, to one focused on innovation, such as clusters. Based on the characteristics identified in each of the materials studied, we presented the cluster so that it reflects what it represents at the moment, namely an innovative form of spatial business organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to provide a better understanding of the effect of social networks on innovation through the analysis of territorial agglomerations of firms. Critical voices argue that the same mechanisms that form the basis of efficient, continuous improvements of clustered firms can also be considered as limitations. We suggest that the impact of social capital decreases beyond a certain point of development. In fact, the effect of social interactions and trust on firm value creation can be described as an inverted U-shaped curve. The study is based on a sample of 154 firms in the Valencia region of Spain. Implications of the study have relevant prescriptions for regional planners and individual entrepreneurs. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization-related human activities, such as population aggregation, rapid industrial expansion, and intensified traffic, are key factors that impact local polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emissions and their associated health risks. Consequently, regions with varying degrees of urbanization within a megacity may exhibit diverse spatiotemporal patterns in the presence and distribution of soil polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, resulting in different levels of ecological risks for local inhabitants following the same period of development. In this study, we measured the concentrations of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil samples collected from industrial district and rural district in Tianjin (China) in 2018, and compared with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon data in 2001 from a previous study to characterize these regional variations in occurrence, source, and human risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons induced by urbanization with time and space. The results indicate the 20-year rapid urbanization and industrialization has differentially affected the composition, distribution and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soils from different economic functional zones in Tianjin. Additionally, its impact on health risks in rural district appeared to be more significant than that in industrial district. • Urbanization had different effects on industrial and rural soil PAHs. • Regional socioeconomic patterns and residential behaviors influenced local PAH source profiles. • Risk regions and affected population were estimated quantitatively. • Urbanization-related impact on cancer risks in rural district seemed more notable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research applies Nelson’s (1993) primary typology of enterprises to understand why the propensity for innovation varies across ceramics district innovation systems in Europe. We use innovation systems and industrial district theories to explore the innovation capacity of the two most important ceramic tile industrial districts in Europe—Emilia Romagna in Italy and Castellon in Spain. Our analysis shows that, in both districts, innovation plays a decisive role in allowing companies to maintain competitiveness in a globalizing market. However, by comparing the composition of their district innovation systems, our analysis shows that: (i) although levels of competition in both districts are similar, cooperation is stronger in Italy; (ii) scarce technology and advanced service providers in Spain make it predominantly a follower in the adoption of innovation; (iii) higher innovation intensity in Italy is due to diffusion of technology from firms in neighbouring districts specialized in other industry sectors. We provide strong evidence indicating that differences in the industry mix shape both national and district innovation systems.

Industrial activity in Semarang growing along the north coast corridor as Wijayakusuma Industrial District along with the movement of other cities dominated modes of trucks helped shape the traffic density and increase the load on the highway. Railway container emerged as alternative modes of land transportation by utilizing a double track on the line across the north. This mode is suitable for the delivery of logistics in large-scale industry. Based on the background research is conducted with the aim to study the role of railways in the mode of distribution of logistics from the Wijayakusuma Industrial District. This research uses descriptive quantitive approach. Based on the analysis results can be concluded utilization of railway mode of container is not optimal compared with trucks. In terms of the access road to the Station Pethek not in accordance with the designation of container vehicle fully loaded. Loading and unloading facilities are still lacking to support the efficiency of the time. In terms of container train travel time is still ahead of the truck for destination Jakarta about 1-2 hours and 15-25 minutes for destination Surabaya, where the truck using the combination of toll and non toll road. But if The Trans-Java toll fully operational then trains can not compete if don’t make improvement in infrastructure and operating system. From the aspect of cost railway mode will be much more efficient if the cost of feeder truck can be pressed.

Copyright of Economic History Research / Investigaciones de Historia Económica is the property of Asociacion Espanola de Historia Economica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The decline of the weight of industry in the economy of the region of Valencia during the last two decades has been severe, falling from 25% of the gross value added in 1995 to less than 17% in 2013. This decline is explained by the structural changes that Valencian industry has faced over the last two decades in adapting to new globalised patterns of production and consumption. This process was aggravated by the financial crisis of 2007. Based on a sectorial and territorial approach, we have carried out an analysis of the recent evolution of Valencian industry. It is observed how the predominant model of Valencian industry is still the endogenous industrial district, although multinational companies are increasingly present, especially in cities. After decades of decline, from 2012 onwards the Valencian manufacturing sector has shown a strong resilience that enables optimism about a positive industrial future for this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strategy of the institutionalization and development of business agglomerations, in any of its analytical aspects (industrial district, local production system, cluster, etc.), has not had great results in Spanish regions with low business-density, probably due to the difficulty of finding an adequate implementation framework in administrative, geographic, and institutional terms. Based on the limitations presented by the identification methodologies of business agglomerations in low business-density territories, in this work we propose some methodological corrections that allow for reconciling these economic realities with the institutional and geographical framework offered by the local action groups (LAGs). This reconciliation is a useful tool to take advantage of the economies of agglomeration and, consequently, to explore the possibilities of endogenous development in rural areas, so that it can be a factor to take into account when planning and executing the public strategy of local and rural development. Finally, the results obtained for the specific case of Extremadura, the only Spanish region listed as a less developed one in European rural development policies, are presented.

In Tomorrow! A Peaceful Path to Real Reform (1898) Ebenezer Howard proposed a blueprint for an ideal society, in which he formulated his solution to the ‘Land question’—roughly speaking, the conjoined phenomena of the overcrowding of towns and cities, and the so-called ‘rural exodus’. His was a vision of a ‘Social City’: a ‘Central City’ surrounded by six satellite towns or ‘Garden Cities’, all with limited numbers of inhabitants. The famous diagrams and maps show how complex and detailed and even fastidious Howard’s investigation of the topic of land reform had been before he ventured to publish his views on the subject. While his programme is usually known for these spatial aspects, the other core elements of the Garden City programme are actually not about planning or mapping, but about the proposed social organisation. In the introduction to his only book, Howard makes it clear that two out the three ‘proposals’ from which he initially drew inspiration were themselves influenced by the pregnant ideological template of industrialism: Buckingham’s ‘Model Town’ of Victoria and Alfred Marshall’s ‘industrial district’. Howard purported to transcend the apparent contradiction between socialism and capitalism by planting his vision firmly on the common ground of these two supposedly incompatible conceptions of society. Ebenezer Howard’s ‘Garden City’ proposal is thus arguably the most accomplished formulation of a plan for an ideal social model along the main lines of the collective psyche and experience of industrialism.

The present work is the first part of an ongoing investigation into the characteristic features of an Ecuadorian manufacturing district, using the Marshallian-Becattinian theoretical scheme as a reference framework. This article analyses the leather sector of Cotacachi (Province of Imbabura, Ecuador) to establish its contribution to the socioeconomic development of the territory, and determine if it can be considered an industrial district in Marshallian-Becattinian terms. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, an examination of its socioeconomic characteristics is offered with respect to the theoretical scheme of an Italian industrial district, based on the experience of Prato (Italy). The main conclusion is that the leather sector of Cotacachi is still in a state of embryonic development as an industrial district in the theoretical scheme of Marshall-Becattini. This is because there is no 'industrial atmosphere' that enables a 'collective efficiency' connected to innovative processes. The presence of micro-networks in its interior, which can potentially generate a 'district effect' as in the case of Prato, clashes with an almost complete absence of subcontracting initiatives, with no articulation between productive actors, nor relationships between companies (except for micro-networks), and a lack of adequate institutional support. The absence of these elements limits the development potential of the district. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the evolution of place-based division of labour, considering in particular the dynamics of differentiated pools of knowledge that can be embedded in local production systems such as industrial districts. Drawing on conceptual framework of Marshallian industrial districts, the paper develops a model that links knowledge dynamics to possible tendencies towards either industrial progress, lock-in, transition or decline of such systems. The model is complemented by a related new statistical method that allows us to analyse the evolution of the multiplicity of production know-how nuclei inside industrial districts. The methodology is applied to two cases: the ceramics district of Stoke-on-Trent (UK) and the textile district of Prato (ITA) over the period 2005–2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the transformations that occurred in the Italian industrial districts (IDs) by empirically estimating the role of the 'district effect' on firm performance over recent decades. Given their ability to manage upper-level and size-related business practices, medium-sized firms emerge as local players best able to exploit their embeddedness in the districtual system and leverage districtual assets. However, these effects are only present in firms belonging to the industrial specialization of the district. An additional result of the empirical analysis shows that the leading role of medium-sized firms is critical in younger districts, where medium-sized firms lead the renewal of the ID and its adaptation to the changes of the competitive environment. As most Italian IDs are specialized in traditional sectors, this evidence contributes to understanding the mechanisms connecting the competitiveness of the traditional industry and its localised organizational structure. The paper also provides a discussion of the future of IDs—including the relevance of the evolutionary stage of the district on the performance of affiliated firms—and their reproducibility over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cahiers Victoriens & Edouardiens is the property of Presses Universitaires de la Mediterranee and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study investigated the levels of metal and metalloid elements (As, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in scalp hair samples collected from 161 people of different age and gender groups living in the six districts of Taiyuan, an industrial city with rich coal reserve in Shanxi province in China. Levels of most elements in the hair were high in the 26–40 age groups and increased with the length of residence. Calcium, Cr, Mg, Ni and Zn levels in the females’ hair were significantly higher than those in the males’ ( p < 0.05). Element levels in the hair didn’t have significantly differences between industrial and non-industrial districts because most of industry factories are in the upper wind position in Taiyuan, and contamination is prone to spread to non-industrial districts. The principal component analysis indicates that the main sources of these elements are mining activities, the neighboring stainless steel industry, and coal combustion. These results indicate that the industrial activities primarily contribute to the metal and metalloid pollution in Taiyuan, whereas numerous factors caused the metals accumulation in hair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes an emblematic case of collaboration between companies and community in a particular region - the footwear district of Montebelluna in Italy - where institutions are created to support and help to overcome obstacles, such as competition against countries with insurmountable cost advantages. A theoretical study and a field research on a cluster were made, reaching the conclusion that collaboration allowed the differentiation of the products and displacement of part of the production, without compromising the local base. The institutions of the district acted as protagonists, formatting the model of “multi located district.”

Copyright of Investigaciones Geograficas is the property of Universidad de Alicante, Instituto Universitario de Geografia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)