WILL IMPROVED TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY MAKE CITIES, AND INDEED SPACE ITSELF, OBSOLETE?

Information technology may eventually cause a decline in the need for urban concentration. However, the case is much less clear than the futurists would have us believe. As telecommunications improve, the demand for interactions of all varieties should rise, and the role of cities as centers of interactions should also increase. After all, the most famous modern agglomeration of industry, Silicon Valley, has occurred in the industry with the most direct access to the latest and best information technology. This agglomeration probably occurs because that industry relies so heavily on interactions and requires so much knowledge to be transferred across firms and individuals.