Since the 70s, France has experienced deeply new spatial economic trends, largely driven by the business service sector. Medium sized cities appear to be suffering from such trends which much more benefit to larger urban conurbations. Mid-size cities grow at a slower rate and mainly differ from...

Medium-sized cities are often considered as a valuable substitute to a large metropolis as they may promote better sustainable growth. However, these second rank conurbations do not benefit from economies of scale as do larger cities. They share some characteristics with a big metropolis,...