Global circulation and territorial development: South-East Brabant from a relational perspective

Since the early 1990s, the south-eastern part of North-Brabant (also known as the Greater Eindhoven region) in the Netherlands has enjoyed a major turn in its economic position and outlook. From a more or less traditional industrial region in decline, it has become a “cradle of innovation” with a key position in the wider “knowledge-based” economy. This paper sheds light on this transformation by referring to the recent literature on territoriality and relationality, and how it has informed post-Marshallian accounts of clustering. In particular, we discuss the context and scope for regional strategy-making in light of selectivities stemming from state and firm activities. The success of the Eindhoven region cannot be understood without seeing how it was structurally privileged by agents and processes largely external to the region. Part of its success, however, can be attributed to strategic action undertaken within the region itself.