TECHNOLOGY
Technological changes, which are integral to eco-nomic change, also influence the pattern of urban
growth and change. Innovations such as the advent of global telecommunications have had a marked impact on the and functioning of the global econ-omy This is illustrated by the new international
division of labour in which production is separated geographically from research and development (R&D)
and higher-level management operations, while almost instantaneous contact is maintained between all the
units in the manufacturing process, no matter where in the world each is located.The effects of macro-level technological change are encapsulated in the concept of economic long waves or cycles of expansion and contraction in the rate of economic development The first of the secycles of innovation (referred to as Kondratieff cycles) was based on early mechanisation by means of water power and steam engines, while the most recent and still incomplete) cycle is based on micro-electronics, digital telecommunications, robotics and biotechnology. The different technology eras represented by Kondratieff cycles shape not only the economy but also the pace and character of urbanisation and urban change.Modification of the urban cnvironment occurs most vigorously during up cycles of economic growth. Technological changes that directly affect urban form also occur at the local level. Prominent examples include the manner in which advances in transportation tech-iology promoted suburbanisation or how the invention of the high-speed elevator facili- tated the development of skyscrapers in cities such as New York.