The Spatial Pattern of Industrial Rents and the Role of Distance

The objective of this paper was to re-appraise intra-urban rent models in the context of a multi-nodal landscape. Primarily the study focuses on the early work of Alonso (1964) and more recently Di Pasquale and Wheaton (1996). Although the latter uses a more sophisticated approach, both models lead to similar outputs, notably a declining rent gradient from the CBD. However, throughout the twentieth century there has been a considerable process of urban industrial change. Di Pasquale and Wheaton (1996) recognise this and argue that this has led to an almost flat industrial rent gradient. To assess the current impact on industrial rents we apply a hedonic rent regression model which enables us to standardise for property characteristics. The results support the hypothesis that the rent gradient from the CBD for a large city is still downward sloping albeit very shallow. More interesting is the significance of proximity to motorway junctions. The analysis supports the hypothesis of a multi-nodal rent surface. Proximity to a motorway junction is the most important locational variable with a much steeper and negative gradient than that to the CBD albeit over a shorter distance. These results imply that the draw of the CBD in terms of agglomeration economies and its accessibility to labour for a city the size of Glasgow still remain but its attractions ar