It is axiomatic that migration flows serve to link cities and regions to create (at times) complex spatial networks. Notwithstanding this fact, analysis of the spatial configuration of internal and international migration networks has been limited. At the aggregate level, indices of spatial focusing and connectivity have been used to explore the degree of concentration of migration flows (see e.g. Bell et al 2002, Rogers and Raymer 1999). At a disaggregate level, spatial interaction remains the dominant lens through which to explore links between individual origin and destination pairs. While critically important, these approaches provide limited insights into the topology or shape of migration networks. Network analysis offers a complementary perspective. Using data from the Australian Internal Migration (AIM) database for 1981 and 2001, we employ network analysis to explore the changes in the configuration of the Australian internal migration network over time, for different age groups. Specifically we explore overall changes in the overall connectedness of the network, the presence of sub-networks for different age groups and shifting roles of individual regions (vertices). Results provide insights into the changing drivers of internal migration in Australia and the role of internal migration in the transformation of Australia’s settlement system.

There is a long tradition of modelling in geography with respect to urban land use change, yet, there is an urgent need for simulation that works from the fundamental principle that it is people and their interactions with each other and with the built environment that shape our cities. Apart from modelling physical elements and the most obvious socio-economic drivers and processes, there has been little effort on modelling how human behaviours and the decisions of land developers and urban planners affect the urban growth process. This paper presents a conceptual framework for modelling urban growth by introducing human behavioural factors into the modelling process based on complex systems theory that integrates spatial complexity, cellular automata and agent based modelling. The outcome of this research will provide; 1) a spatially explicit understanding of the development of cities as the result of both physical and human behavioral factors, and 2) new science-based decision tools which aid and optimize policy-making.

Like many economic development policy mantras of the recent past, the entrepreneurial ecosystem has been embraced by local and regional economic development agencies. The literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems is vast and includes a number of recent critical reviews that while sympathetic in much regard, present a number of shortcomings that need attention. This paper investigates the micro geography of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News metropolitan area that may be considered a region lagging in entrepreneurial activity. We explore the evolution of the emergent structure and performance at the micro geographic scale by identifying the spatial linkages that constitute the entrepreneurial ecosystem within the political, financial, and institutional sub-systems. The paper concludes with suggestions for continued research and calls for comparison of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in competitive regions for policy makers to better understand nature and scope of this economic development mantra.