Information Technology and Urban Spatial Structure

The recent striking progress in information-communication technology has made it possible to store, process, and transmit a large amount of information in a short time at a cheap cost. In fact, many firms and households are equipped with the installations for information technology. This tendency is called ‘Johoka’ (informationization) in Japan. Even parts of the public sector, such as local governments, have started to establish the infrastructure for telecommunications with the hope that it will promote the regional economy. Improvements in information technology will cause some changes in a city or region since the behaviour of agents operating and residing there, such as firms and households, will be affected. However, what will change to what extent is not unambiguous. Various statements have been made concerning the probable impacts of progress in information technology. Most of them, however, seem just conjecture, or wishful thinking which is not necessarily predicted in a scientific way. Thus, they may be ‘unsubstantiated assertions’.1