作为美国三大城市之一的芝加哥位于美国中西部的老工业区,其兴衰历程与制造业的发展密切相关,是老工业区"锈带复兴"的典型案例之一。从地理学的角度,简要介绍芝加哥的地理位置与制造业发展历史;阐述制造业在芝加哥整体经济中的地位,制造业的地理分布及郊区化;分析芝加哥制造业发展的区位因素,加深对工业发展一般规律的理解;讨论政府政策和规划对芝加哥制造业的影响,提高对公共政策和规划设计重要性的认识;最后总结对芝加哥制造业研究的一些启示。重点在于分析芝加哥制造业发展的区位论原理,探索产业发展的一般规律,以期对中国当前的老工业基地改造以及新产业的合理布局起到借鉴作用。

Chicago, one of the three largest cities in the U.S., has been a major manufacturing city in the Midwestern "Rusty Belt" since mid-1800s. As illustrated by the famous geographic historian William Cronon, Chicago is a "nature’s metropolis", and its growth is largely attributed to its unique geographic location. In its early stage of development throughout the 19th century up to the early 1900s, Chicago’s industries relied on its hinterland for lumber, grain and meat supplies and also provided the surrounding rural areas with agricultural machinery and other industrial goods. Its interdependence with the rural hinterland and its surrounding agricultural patterns can be explained by the von Thünen model. From the early 1900s to 1970s, Chicago gained significant growth in heavy industries (iron and steel, transportation equipment, chemical and construction materials, etc.). Its economic prosperity benefited from its proximity to the Great Lakes and access to Mississippi River (through Illinois River)for cheap waterway transportation as well as a radial railway network centered at Chicago. Weber’s industrial location theory, particularly the role of transportation cost, sheds light on understanding Chicago’s industrial development during this period. In the later 1900s, like many cities in the old "Rusty Belt" (from the Midwest to the Northeast)in the U.S., Chicago lost much of its manufacturing to the suburbia, to the south and even overseas. In addition to the drive for cheaper labor, more spacious land, easy access to interstate highways or better climate, non-traditional location factors particularly government policy and planning have played an important role. Chicago has minimized the impact of loss of manufacturing employment, to a large extent, by diversifying its economy. The purpose of this study is two-fold:to understand the history of Chicago’s manufacturing development in light of the classic location theories, and also in the hope, to learn some valuable lessons from Chicago’s experience and help us craft effective plans and policies in some old manufacturing regions in China.