Informational Quality versus Informational Quantity: The Perils of Navigating the Space of Flows

Abstract

This paper outlines the conceptual framework of the POLYNET transnational study. We explain how four key concepts - the Mega-City Region, Polycentricity, Advanced Producer Services, and Information Flows - underpin the overarching research objective: the empirical investigation of emergent urban Mega-City Region processes in North West Europe through the analysis of 'regional spaces of flows'. This analysis, using quantitative and qualitative approaches, produces new insights and raises new questions that inform important spatial policy debates on regional 'polycentricity', considered in depth in the study’s diverse regional narratives.