Conceptual limitations and data problems in the fashioning of growth pole strategies: The case of Ontario, Canada

Growth pole strategies have been discussed extensively in the literature of regional planning and in certain countries they actually form the basis of regional planning policy. This paper contends that such applications are premature since a theory of spatial growth-pole development, which will yield predictions, simply does not exist. The paper identifies some of the building blocks for such a theory and also discusses briefly, the data problems and statistical estimation questions that will be difficult even assuming that the theory eventually is developed.