Clones or Complements? The division of labour between the main cities of the Randstad, the Flemish Diamond and the RheinRuhr Area

International audience ; In the contemporary debate on the spatial organisation of urban regions much emphasis is put on the development of polycentric urban patterns on a variety of spatial scales. Polycentric development at the intra-urban scale of the polycentric city implies an unfolding of a spatial division of labour between the centres. This article analyses whether also on the inter-urban scale of polycentric urban regions such a trend towards complementarity can be found. Opposing trends occur, however, as the division of labour in service sector activities between the main cities of... Mehr ...