The intra-urban residential and workplace locations of small business owners
The intra-urban residential and workplace locations of small business owners
The notion that buzz, creativity, diversity, openness and a sense of bohemia in cities are important to attract creative workers and entrepreneurs has grown in prominence both in academic literatures and in city economic development strategies. However, there is a disjuncture in the literature and dearth of evidence as to whether entrepreneurs seek bohemian (open, diverse) places in which to live or to locate their business. This study explores the kinds of neighborhood small business owners, in particular entrepreneurial small business owners, live and work in, and the extent to which their intra-urban locational patterns diverge from the general working population. Survey data of small business owners in Edinburgh (UK) uniquely capturing both business location and the residential location of the business owner, and Census data covering all workers with workplaces in Edinburgh are used. Findings support the attraction of some entrepreneurs to bohemian neighborhoods both as places to live and as places to work. Equally, however, findings stress the importance of a diversity of neighborhood types, including attractive suburban neighborhoods, due to business cycle and personal life course effects making non-bohemian neighborhoods also attractive to small business owners.
entrepreneurial firms, small firms, urban economics, creativity, creative class
Reuschke, Darja
224493ce-38bc-455d-9341-55f8555e7e13
Houston, Donald
836972ef-bee8-4665-a43f-08e9cef21669
Reuschke, Darja
224493ce-38bc-455d-9341-55f8555e7e13
Houston, Donald
836972ef-bee8-4665-a43f-08e9cef21669
Reuschke, Darja and Houston, Donald
(2020)
The intra-urban residential and workplace locations of small business owners.
Journal of Urban Affairs.
(doi:10.1080/07352166.2020.1768103?).
Abstract
The notion that buzz, creativity, diversity, openness and a sense of bohemia in cities are important to attract creative workers and entrepreneurs has grown in prominence both in academic literatures and in city economic development strategies. However, there is a disjuncture in the literature and dearth of evidence as to whether entrepreneurs seek bohemian (open, diverse) places in which to live or to locate their business. This study explores the kinds of neighborhood small business owners, in particular entrepreneurial small business owners, live and work in, and the extent to which their intra-urban locational patterns diverge from the general working population. Survey data of small business owners in Edinburgh (UK) uniquely capturing both business location and the residential location of the business owner, and Census data covering all workers with workplaces in Edinburgh are used. Findings support the attraction of some entrepreneurs to bohemian neighborhoods both as places to live and as places to work. Equally, however, findings stress the importance of a diversity of neighborhood types, including attractive suburban neighborhoods, due to business cycle and personal life course effects making non-bohemian neighborhoods also attractive to small business owners.
Text
JUA-19-045 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 16 03 2020
- Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 16 March 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 22 June 2020
Keywords:
entrepreneurial firms, small firms, urban economics, creativity, creative class
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Local EPrints ID: 438863
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/438863
ISSN: 0735-2166
PURE UUID: 4cef5048-8203-409d-80f6-20dda5881c7c
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Date deposited: 25 Mar 2020 17:32
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 05:25
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Author:
Donald Houston
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