Economic nodes

Economic nodes include commercial and industrial nodes as well as inner city areas within integration zones. A metropolitan area’s economic nodes, where employment is generated at scale; i.e. in commercial, industrial or mixed use precincts, are critical elements in the urban network and their fortunes are impacted on by the performance of this network. The spatial location of these economic nodes relative to the availability of different modes of transport and the proximity of residential areas catering to different income segments determines the time and money spent by people to commute to work and the knock-on cost to employers. The cyclical growth and decline of these areas over time demands adjustments to the network which comes at a cost to the urban networks and systems. If the public sector understands the performance and potential of these areas it is able to anticipate the needs and actions that may retain and grow investment confidence in these nodes as thriving nodes with significant sunk investments on the part of the private and public sectors. They have significant needs but also present substantial opportunity for creating a more inclusive economy. Clearly, the integration zone’s anchors, the CBD and urban hubs may be important economic nodes. There may also be economic nodes which serve as intermediate nodes along the transit spine of the integration zone. In other cases there are economic nodes elsewhere in the integration zone or are significant in relation to the integration zone. Either way, these nodes are significant to the functioning and performance of the urban spatial economy and maintaining sustainable livelihoods and should be identified and prioritised based on a robust diagnostic model.