Urban Geography: Changing Cities

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             The location of the political buildings and the public service sector within Paris is a feature that is common to the majority of "world cities". The increased growth of large cooperation's as a result of globalisation has caused explosive development of the public sector as a consequence. Due to the dominance of London, New York or Tokyo, within the service industry Paris has struggled to match, but Paris still remains a considerable international business centre and is larger than other major European cities.
             The city with the highly specialised services and financial innovation "a site for post-industrial production" (Sassen 1991).
             The service sector still employs 2.3 million people within the Ile-de-France region. The large labour force and high female activity rate is responsible in part for the successful growth of the service industry. High female activity rates in Paris lead to a strong orientation towards the service sector, as women to not often undertake more manual work such as manufacturing. "80.6% of women between 20 and 55 are in employment within the service sector". (Noin, 1997). Working in banks, insurance and property management predominantly. .
             Many of the worlds major cities were once industrial centres, but due to globalisation, and an increase in capital, information, and technological flows of goods, companies have been given the impetus and freedom to relocate. Thus reducing costs. There has been a process of rapid deindustrialisation over the last 15 years in Paris, with companies relocating in the suburbs of Ile-de-France, to obtain cheaper overhead costs.
             Gentrification has occurred over large parts of Paris and has been occurring in a number of traditional lower working class sectors.
             The abandoned buildings that this leaves behind have lead to an urban renewal of buildings. A prime example of this is within the Marais region of Paris. The restoration of both residential and commercial buildings back to former glories buy the richer bourgeois has made these flats and houses desirable and expensive.