Relational hinterlands in the USA have become disconnected from major global centres

Research identifies strong concentrations of economic activity in dynamic, major city regions, whereas shifts in economic linkages between these and smaller, less-advantaged city regions have been less investigated. Using data on firms’ investment/disinvestment decisions between 1993 and 2017, we show that the majority of ‘relational hinterlands’ (smaller, non-contiguous city regions with at least 1 investment tie to a global centre in 1993) in the USA have become disconnected from major US ‘global centres’ (globally integrated city regions). Relational hinterlands which lost connectivity to the global centres are also disadvantaged in many other ways. While global centres have become increasingly connected to other global centres in the USA and abroad, relational hinterlands have become increasingly disconnected from centres of economic growth.