Competing Analyses of the Spatial Aspects of Capitalist Development

An adequate understanding of the process of urban and regional development under capitalism has been impeded by the orthodox analysis. This paper outlines a more appropriate framework for the study of spatial aspects of the capitalist system, using concepts from Marxian analysis. Particular emphasis is placed on the role played by urban and regional development in establishing the necessary conditions for continued capital accumulation, viz. expansion of markets, generation of a reserve army of unemployed, provision of requisite amounts of the means of production, and reproduction of the social relations of production. In this way a link is forged between the theory of location and the theory of accumulation, which helps to provide insights into reasons for the un even process of capitalist development.