Spatial Division(s) of Labor

The concept of a spatial division of labor provides an analytical lens to understand the unequal distribution and concentration of economic activities across localities and geographical scales. The concept gained currency in the 1980s to understand the emergent patterns of economic and industrial restructuring between localities based on the new international division of labor. However, the concept has subsequently been broadened to a generalized analytical entry point for understanding the periodical restructuring of the global space economy. Analyzing the spatial divisions of labor involves critically scrutinizing how localities continuously(re)position themselves in the global economy and how economic activities are geographically dispersed based on the constantly changing power geometries crosscutting social, political, and economic scales.