TOWARD A QUATERNARY PLACE THEORY

Abstract

This paper is a call for a new paradigm to explain the spatial evolution of corporate decision-making activity within a system of urban centers. The new paradigm is Quaternary Place Theory and it is necessary because it expresses something important about the explanation of the spatial evolution of headquarters decision-making in urban centers both as a process and as an activity. The author argues that the proposed theory provides a foundation for a community of practitioners that deal with the location and interaction of quaternary activities. The quaternary paradigm is intended to complement and replace the primary agricultural, secondary industrial, and tertiary central place theories, now awkwardly out of place in explanations of the locations of quaternary places and system of places. This paper recognizes that a comprehensive statement on quaternary activity has yet to emerge, argues that there is a need for such a theory in urban geography, links the original contributions of this special issue, and provides suggestions for continued research.