This thesis reviews office location as a facet of urban spatial arrangements. An analytical framework is presented within which office locators may assess the suitability of alternative locations for the furtherance of office activity. Particularly, this thesis is concerned with office location criteria involved in the decision to locate offices in an intrametropolitan context. Location factors are made explicit with land and building costs subjected to extensive analysis. Relationships are hypothesized between land values and construction costs of office premises and the location of those premises across the metropolitan region. Regression and comparative analyses are utilized to test and determine the significance of these hypotheses. All data relate to the Greater Vancouver Region. This study concludes firstly that there is no linear relationship that adequately describes or predicts changes in assessed land values and construction costs per unit area of net rentable office floor space. Secondly, construction costs per square foot of net rentable floor space are significantly greater at central city locations as opposed to suburban locations. Thirdly, that there is an insignificant difference in assessed land values per square foot of net rentable office floor space as between central city and suburban sites. If assessed land values are a fair indicator of relative market value of office sites then it is implied that there is an insignificant differential in market values, and subsequently the cost of land, per square foot of net rentable office floor space. / Business, Sauder School of / Real Estate Division / Graduate

The initial premise of the thesis is that the question of metropolitan locational flexibility of offices — or the capability of offices to decentralize activities outside downtown but within the same metropolitan area — needs to be investigated and objectively assessed. It is apparent from the review of the literature no approach or method so far employed to assess office locational flexibility is suitable for use by the researcher and probably for Canadian urban planners and office location decision-makers. The thesis concentrates, therefore, on development and testing on federal government offices in Vancouver of a new method for assessment of metropolitan office locational flexibility. From the literature review ten inter-related factors and their possible influences on office locational flexibility are identified and form a framework or "Criteria Check List" for examination and evaluation of office locational flexibility. In the Criteria Check List methodology analysis of all ten factors and their locational flexibility influences on federal government offices is undertaken in three stages. The first stage, a quantitative and qualitative analysis of six "internal" factors (nature of activity/work; frequency, character and pattern of contacts; prestige; office establishment size and organizational structure; rate of growth and organizational change; tradition) is based on existing information collected for each of 15 sample federal departments. "Working Departmental Composite Sheets", "Indicators", and a point and weighting system are the major tools developed by the researcher to obtain a comparative evaluation of sample federal departments. Federal departments are classified as "most locationally flexible", "locationally flexible", "locationally inflexible" and "most locationally inflexible". In the second stage, information gleaned largely from library research on the four "external" factors ("general" and "special" physical accessibility downtown; metropolitan telecommunications and transportation systems; metropolitan Vancouver office market; planning and politics) is examined qualitatively and a synopsis of the "climate" for federal office locational flexibility in Vancouver presented. The third stage of the analysis is a synthesis of the findings from the two previous stages. The thesis presents conclusions about the methodology and conclusions derived from specific findings on federal office locational flexibility resulting from the testing of the methodology. The chief conclusion, with respect to the latter, is that federal offices have considerable metropolitan office locational flexibility but that prestige; tradition; "general" and "special" accessibility; and the metropolitan office market are prominent factors to be overcome if federal offices are to be relocated in Regional Town Centres. Of the fifteen federal departments examined office locational flexibility is found to be greatest for Supply and Services; Transport; Public Works; Energy, Mines and Resources; Unemployment Insurance; Manpower and Immigration; and Fisheries and Environment departments. The major methodological conclusion is that the Criteria Check List provides a much needed framework for clear thinking on, and examination of, the broad range of inter-related factors which affect office locational flexibility. Its use in the process of office location decision-making and/or planning could provide a rational basis with which perceived locational needs and preferences of offices could be called into question. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

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No description available.

published_or_final_version / Real Estate and Construction / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Real Estate and Construction / Master / Master of Science in Real Estate and Construction

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

Beginning from the premise that there is a positive correlation between form and process, this study undertakes to uncover patterns of office location in the Vancouver CBD. It is hypothesized that intra-CBD location of offices reflect the functional or interactive relationships that exist between offices. It is possible to infer the existence of linkages by identifying groups or sets of office types which are typically found in close physical proximity. Two main statistical techniques are utilized in the case study: principal components analysis and grouping analysis. The former is used to identify groups of office types which exhibit tendencies to locate in close proximity; the latter to identify sub-areas in the CBD where the clustering of interrelated office types is most conspicuous. The results, although generally consistent with the hypothesis, cannot be regarded as conclusive as direct confirmation of the hypothesis is not possible. The results are, however, encouraging and indicate the need for additional research in this important, but often neglected, area of urban location theory / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Cover title. Includes bibliographical references.