| Some thoughts on the mobility of information by Marius Mowe The last half a year or so I have had this special interest in the aspects of moblity and globalization. (-I wonder why?.........) The following is not something I have come up with myself, but rather a sort of summary of things I read and heard. The references are given at the end; I strongly reccomend to check out further on them, most of it could be found on internet...) Through the last years there has been a growing interest in the developement of information technology. Many "preach" the great oportunities given in what they call a revolution. Could one trace some possible connections from this digital world to physicality, to buildt form, to the field of architecture? I will start to "examine" the economic production, wich seems to be the basis for, and structuring element of, society today. (Like it or not.)
The developement of the information technology have made possible new structures in the (spatial) organization of the production. There are, as I see it two major resons for this. 1) Developement in transportation and distribution of goods. Information technology has rationalized logistics. The goods can be trusted to arrive "just in time".( wich means you can reduce the need for stock.) Ships are getting bigger, ports are getting bigger, and the hole handeling of the goods has become more efficient. In short transport has become cheaper, faster and more reliable. 2) Developement in the economy. Through information technology financial markets are connected globally in real time. Continous stock exchange is possible as London opens when Tokyo closes, N.Y. opens when London closes, Tokyo opens when N.Y. closes........ The mobility of capital is total, economy has become global. These factors make it possible for corporations to relocate production to where labour is cheaper. Or big corporation can decentralize production through subcontractors worldwide.The hole organization of the production line has become very dynamic.Temporary, ad hoc global networks of production are made. "If Toshiba, Simmons and IBM get together to produce a chip, the project to produce this chip is the unit. It's not Toshiba. It's not Simmons. It's not IBM. It's this particular combination. But at the same time Toshiba, Simmons and IBM are doing different things in different markets, in different production lines, and the next year it will change again."(Manuel Castells)
So, what is the logic and the concequences of this dynamic form of production? There are two paralell tendencies. One is the cncentration of information-based production and services in the central areas of the (world) cities, the creation of nodes in the global network. The other is the devaluation of segments of cities that are cut off from the global network, and have been left by the traditional production. The developement of the "Dual City"(Manuel Castells). The global corporations can, because of the information technology, basically run the world from anywhere. The importance of social interaction, face to face, in top decision-making processes; and the synergy effect, the assosiation to an excisting milieu of innovation are reasons why the corporations still want to locate in the cities. The access to services, i.e. new industries specialising in services for this new, complex global economy is another. The status of a downtown adress still matters...The need to attract highly educated labours emphasizes also non-economic factors. The leisure facilities, housing conditions, safety for children become more and more important considerations for corporarions when deciding location somewhere in the global network. Investment in welfare, public spaces and cultural and leisure facilities may be crucial if one city is to attract the big corporations."Thatcherism: welfare doesn't pay off! Today: it does!" (B.T. Asheim, University of Oslo)
The dynamics of the economy has altered the managements bargain position in relation to the labourforce. They can threaten to relocate their production if the workers don't accept their conditions. The individual worker has to market his individual skills, and negotiate his individual contract.This fact and the increasing demand for quality in the workforce, leaves a big segment of the population outside the economic production. There are possibilities to turn this prosess. The new structure of the economy gives the oportunity for small firms to cut in as one of many subcontractors. It also favours the local governments, wich are small and flexible enough to act in this new dynamic network. "Remember the formation of of the world economy in the Renaissance was also the emergence of the city state as the most flexible mechanism for managing extremely complex global flows."(M. Castells) In this strategy, Castells arguments for the importance of community enchancement. To reinforce community feeling, the importance of urban design and local monuments is stressed. So in the mission of attracting the global corporations the architect has a role in the production of public space, cultural institutions and quality housing. On the other hand the architect also has a role in making the local communities more competitive through strenghtening the local identity, and thereby compensate for the consequences of the global economy. -Now how are you going to respond to this? Some conclusions may be rushed, and many aspects left unmensioned. Therefore I recommend once more to dig into this subject yourself, to find your own ways and make your own thoughts. References:
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