The urban dynamics of financial services: centralities in the metropolis

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to develop arguments that compare the dynamics of financial capital and urban space. It is first argued that financial services follow a concentration-centralization logic, with highly specialized services being offered at central places in urban space, and less complex services with a more dispersed pattern. This characteristic simultaneously promotes a centralized-deconcentration effect on the urban structure: the dispersal of services and urban amenities reduces transport costs and improves urban balance in a few places, while complex services are usually highly centralized, therefore promoting unbalanced (centre-periphery) urban development. In order to understand the balance between these two effects, this paper proposes a preliminary investigation that examines the localization of banks, income and other socioeconomic features in the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte, in Brazil.