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Description:
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This dissertation examines relationships between cities , and more specifically the largest
Texas cities , and the global economy . Data on headquarters location and corporation sales over
a 20 -year period (1984 -2004 ) supported the hypothesis that globalization is not homogeneous ,
regular or unidirectional , but actually showed contrasted phases . Texas cities have been raising
in global rankings , due to corporate relocations and , to lesser extent , the growth of local
activities . By year 2004 , Dallas and Houston ranked among the top -20 headquarters cities
measured by corporation sales The Texas Urban Triangle had one of the major global
concentrations of oil - and computer -related corporation headquarters ; conversely , key sectors
like banking , insurance and automotive were not significant .
Standardized employment data in major U .S . metropolitan areas was examined through
principal components analyses . Overall , larger places showed higher degrees of diversity , and
no trend toward economic convergence . The TUT also presented a degree of intra -regional
diversity comparable to other urban regions . Findings confirmed the relevance of oil - and
information -related activities , along with construction , and weakness of activities linked to
finance and corporate management .
Traffic and air linkages in Texas cities were contrasted to other American gateways .
Dallas and Houston have been major nodes in global air transportation , with very important roles
as transit hubs for domestic (the former ) and short international (the latter ) flights . For long -haul
international traffic both cities were second -level American gateways , with Houston mobilizing
better connected to Western Europe and Mesoamerica , and Dallas to South America and East
Asia . Dallas central location strengthened its role in the domestic market , as the center of one of
the five major subsystems in the country and a top gateway in enplanements , number of linkages
and connectivity measures . The Texas air travel network hierarchical organization was relatively unbalanced , with two strong nodes at the top , three little -relevant middle nodes , and
several very poorly interconnected gateways at the bottom .
Finally , the high supply of regional flights between primary destinations , namely Dallas
and Houston , resulted in significant effects of time -space convergence . Such effects were only
found between highly -connected major gateways , and completely bypassed other places ,
independently of their size and relative location . |