EXAMINING THE THESIS OF CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT DECLINE - EVIDENCE FROM THE MONTREAL METROPOLITAN-AREA

Much recent North American research has focused on the decline of the central business district (CBD) as the economic core of metropolitan a reas, and the corresponding rise of suburban employment centres. Accor ding to the literature, this trend is particularly evident in the case of high-order service functions: business services, finance, insuranc e, and real estate services, and head offices. In this paper, we argue that the decentralization of high-order service activities and the co rresponding CBD decline may be neither as strong a trend nor as univer sal a phenomenon as certain authors have indicated. Rather, the growth of suburban office employment may reflect a strong CBD whose economic base is becoming increasingly specialized. Using data from the Montre al metropolitan area, we first examine intrametropolitan decentralizat ion in a shift-share framework, then document the mobility of establis hments and employment. Our findings suggest that, in spite of a certai n level of intrametropolitan decentralization, the CBD continues to be the primary locus of high-order services.