ndustrialization caused the advent of urbanization. As manufacturing became the prominent source of income, factors such as comparative advantage, internal economies of scale, and agglomerate economies proved cities to be advantageous and cost effective. The growth of technology, however, changed the development of cities. The invention of the trolley broadened urban areas from walking areas into fixed rail cities. Cities expanded even more with highways due to the car. Post World War II cities focused mainly on developing the periphery and surrounding suburbia which led to the urban plight. The present technological changes in communication and data processing (CDP) are expanding the boundaries of cities to new limits. The dispersal of labor, land, and capital, primarily caused by technological innovation, has developed the dominance of the global city.
Advances in technology such ave solid state electronics and fiber-optic systems has not only opened a vast array of new accessible markets, but has also made these markets very affordable (Chinitz). The example of a firm located in New England contracting their data processing work to a company in Ireland displays the limitless possibilities of doing business. The advantages of metropolitan labor, chiefly savings in communication and transportation costs coupled with the benefits of face to face contact, has significantly eroded. Though physical contact is difficult to replace, the congestion, high rents, high wages, heavy taxes, crime factor, and unsanitary conditions are now easily replaceable through the CDP revolution (Chinitz). Many industries are able to operate in distant locations which avoid the latter negative characteristics. The spatial dispersion of production has reshaped the modern city in two main forms. The first effect is the emergence of a very prominent financial and service oriented urban economy while the second effect pertains to the centralization of these cities in order to control the internationalization.
What Sasson calls "by far the most significant international industry," the financial industry has both grown and has concentrated in major cities. The spatial dispersion of production has forced the reorganization and centralization of the financial industry in order to manage and control the widespread network of production locations. One form of reorganization is the development of large corporations and big commercial banks to handle the vast financial dealings of broad economics. The need to play the role of a control tower of an international airport has forced the concentration of these financial centers. Sasson observers that "the spatial dispersion of production, including its internationalization, has contributed to the growth of the centralized service nodes for the management and regulation of the new space economy." Within these concentrated financial centers, technology has also influenced business interactions. Efficient inventions such as the telephone, fax machine, personal computer, and elevator have all enabled business to be conducted with reduced congestion. Instead of literally running around the city for tasks such as handing out documents, CDP developments enables people to share information without leaving his/her seat. So with the growth of CDP and information sharing abilities which has enabled manufacturing to become obsolete in the city and business to be conducted without leaving the desk, are there still advantages of urban locations? The answer can be found through the rise in service oriented industries.
The global city is not only the central node for managing and controlling international business, but also a special producer. These cities produce specialized services for the large corporations which control the extensive network of international business. Directing the spatially dispersed economy, the large corporations require services ranging from legal to economic consultation. The centralization of the global city benefits from agglomerate economies of service. Another way that centralization is beneficial is through innovation. Not only is the enormous costs of innovation decreased through concentration, but the high density caters to innovative development.
Even though manufacturing has become obsolete in the city, the production of services has become prominent. In fact, it is argued that the further development of manufacturing enhances the demand of the service sphere. In a relatively recent study, "Cohen and Zysman (1987) found that a third of producer service sector output in the United States is linked to manufacturing and that it is precisely the most important and dynamic service industries that have this characteristic" (Sasson). Another form of production in the global city is through the financial industry. The extensive networking of business coupled with the multiple levels of economics associated with the decentralization of manufacturing has led to the invention of new financial innovations. Whether it is new forms of investment or different aspects of a market to target, the centralized urban financial centers also produce. Unique to the new city's production is that the consumers are organizations rather than individuals. Both service and financial institutions grow with more manufacturing, benefit from centralization, and have specialized production which dominate the new look of the global city.
With manufacturing leaving the city's core and entering the hinterlands, as well as other advances due to technology, the composition of the labor force has evolved since WWII. One major difference is the location of workers. Out work, or the ability of employees to work out of their home, has become very popular. Benefits from out work are less stringent hours, a more relaxed environment, and thus possibly greater productivity. Enabling the worker to stay at home is the personal computer which allows for data entry and information processing. An effect of out work is a higher rate of women entering the work force. Without the worries of child care, women are able to tackle the responsibilities of a profession while still raising children. Another way the work force is changing its face is through robotics. The technologies which develop robots are venturing into occupations previously held by people. An example of this transition is seen through the delivery of mail by a robot at a Hartford development which replaced the role of a mail carrier.
Another change to the labor force is a speculative erosion of the middle class. The middle class was created with the creation of urban manufacturing which offered job security, seniority benefits, and other amenaties. With the dispersing of manufacturing, the face of urban labor has drastically changed. Not only is technology reducing the amount of labor required for more production, but also the type of available work is directed for a new group. High skilled innovators are taking over urban industries. Executives of the largest new companies such as Microsoft are young and utilize new skills. Job security is diminishing because of the rapid growth of new technologies and the advent of part-time workers for jobs like data processing. The theme cost effectiveness of globalization is reducing the tradition and pride of home made products, a stamp of the middle class. With manufacturing jobs going more to minorities and immigrants for less pay and skill level, the middle class worker might fade away. There is an increasing gap between the high payed leaders of innovation and the low level worker which was once occupied by middle class occupations.
Hartford, as a post-industrial city, has the structure and characteristics to prosper. The main advantage which Hartford possesses is its focus on Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate (FIRE) industries coupled with the location of the stateÕs capital. The FIRE industries combined with government employment create almost one half of the cityÕs jobs. This focus on non-manufacturing production offers Hartford a jump start in the realm of global cities. As discussed earlier, the financial and service oriented economies are becoming the most prevalent in cities during the decentralization of manufacturing. Hartford is also benefiting from a "boom in office construction" which depicts a trend towards concentration. As a city based on service and financial institutions, Hartford will also benefit from the economic advantages of close proximity.
In response to the trend of Edge City development, Hartford should invest in the development of economic centers in surrounding cities. West Hartford, for example, would be perfect for development as an Edge City. West Hartford already has a solid population base and is able to support manufacturing industries. 
The establishment of a manufacturing center in locations such as West Hartford will not only vitalize economic development in the Edge City, but manufacturing will compliment the FIRE concentration in Hartford itself.
A problem Hartford will have to face is the overwhelming underclass and prominent poverty. As more than one fourth of the city's population is living below the poverty line, this number will only increase as technology grows. Thus, a necessity for the prosperity of Hartford is the establishment of skill development and job training programs. On an optimistic note, however, the lower level work force in Hartford benefits from the strong service industry through the creation of jobs such as janitors and clerks.
