TELEMATICS AND INDUSTRIAL-CHANGE IN SHEFFIELD, UK

This paper presents the results of an exploratory 'locality study' of the ways in which telematics technologies are involved in the restructuring of one British city - Sheffield. Ten cases studies are outlined which attempt to understand the role of telematics networks in the restructuring of the leading indigenous manufacturers and dominating service organizations in the city. This evidence is then synthesized and a critical assessment is made of Sheffield's position within the emerging 'networked economy' and the implications of these new technologies for the city's economic development. This evidence is analysed in relation to current debates about globalization, localization and the local-global dynamics of urban economic restructuring.