This introductory essay aims to provide a comprehensive overview of a collection of 17 articles, previously published in the Urban Studies journal, now consolidated as a ‘virtual special issue’. The articles contribute to numerous strands of what has, over the decades, become an extremely voluminous literature concerning the interplay between population change and productivity within cities. It is important to acknowledge that the volume of this literature makes it effectively impossible to summarise effectively in a single essay. This article instead presents a contextual overview, a glimpse into the various thematic strands arising from the literature, and an introduction to each of the selected virtual special issue articles themselves. It briefly highlights the unique contributions of these articles to the overarching objective of the Urban Studies journal, which is to advance our understanding of the urban condition. Yet, it is also worth noting that the literature does not neatly segregate into distinct strands. Indeed, several contributing authors within the virtual special issue rightly emphasise the significant interdependencies between population change, migration patterns, specialisation, firm location, urban and natural amenities, agglomeration economies, and productivity. This essay attempts to progress logically from one strand to another, with a specific focus on labour and housing markets, as well as transportation costs or systems, as mediators of these complex relationships. Finally, the essay concludes by bringing attention to several strands of future inquiry that might prove fruitful and would be of interest to the readership of this journal.

中文翻译：

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便利设施和住房市场动态：对人口变化、城市吸引力、创新和生产力的影响


这篇介绍性文章旨在全面概述之前发表在《城市研究》杂志上的 17 篇文章，现在合并为“虚拟特刊”。这些文章为几十年来成为一部关于城市内人口变化和生产力之间相互作用的极其庞大的文献做出了贡献。重要的是要承认，这些文献的数量使得实际上不可能在一篇文章中有效地总结。相反，本文提供了一个背景概述，对文献中出现的各种主题线索的一瞥，并介绍了每篇选定的虚拟特刊文章本身。它简要强调了这些文章对 Urban Studies 期刊的总体目标的独特贡献，即促进我们对城市状况的理解。然而，同样值得注意的是，这些文献并没有整齐地分成不同的部分。事实上，虚拟特刊中的几位特约作者正确地强调了人口变化、迁移模式、专业化、公司位置、城市和自然设施、集聚经济和生产力之间的重要相互依存关系。本文试图从逻辑上从一个环节发展到另一个环节，特别关注劳动力和住房市场，以及运输成本或系统，作为这些复杂关系的中介。最后，本文最后提请注意未来研究的几个方面，这些研究可能会证明是有益的，并且会引起本期刊读者的兴趣。