HIGH TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY AND TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT: THE RISE OF THE ORANGE COUNTY COMPLEX, 1955–1984

Abstract

This paper deals with the growth and development of the Orange County high technology industrial complex. At the outset, a simple empirical overview of the rise of manufacturing in the county is provided. How population grew in the county as a function of industrial development is shown. The spatial and social characteristics of this population are described. The structure of the local labor force is also discussed in detail. The argument then moves to a demonstration of how the dynamics of vertical and horizontal disintegration of productive functions have created a peculiar kind of industrial geography in Orange County. These dynamics are examined statistically. It is shown that they involve a transfer of work from larger, more bureaucratized and more unionized plants to plants with the converse characteristics. The internal locational logic of the complex is examined. The discussion is rounded out with an overview of the problems of social and territorial reproduction in Orange County.