We present a set of detailed evidence about the location patterns of service activities in the largest and most important Brazilian metropolitan region, the São Paulo Metropolitan Region (SPMR). Different from previous analysis of this big urban agglomeration, our results are obtained using a unique dataset of geocoded firms and a distance-based measure of firms’ location, thus not susceptible to the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP). We find that around 89% of 3-digit service sectors present significant defined location patterns and, based on maximum distances where significant location patterns are observed, identify spatial location of clusters of some activities. Our results also indicate that firms’ activities of FIRE (finance and real estate), IT-related services, and high human capital-based services present the highest probability of location at shorter distance from each other. The tendency for location at shorter distances between firms engaged in these activities contrasts with the more decentralized patterns observed for firms involved in retail and urban infrastructure services. Additional results indicate that both the location patterns of activities and the degree of proximity or agglomeration of firms are positively associated with human capital, the degree of product differentiation, and the degree of inter-sector dependence between activities.

我们提供了一组有关巴西最大和最重要的大都市区圣保罗大都市区（SPMR）中服务活动的位置模式的详细证据。与以前对这种大城市群的分析不同，我们的结果是使用经过地理编码的公司的唯一数据集和基于位置的公司位置的度量来获得的，因此不易受可修改的面积单位问题（MAUP）的影响。我们发现，大约89％的3位数服务行业呈现明显的定义位置模式，并根据观察到明显位置模式的最大距离，识别某些活动集群的空间位置。我们的结果还表明，企业在FIRE（财务和房地产），IT相关服务，高人力资本服务在相互之间的距离较短的情况下具有最高的位置概率。与从事零售和城市基础设施服务的公司相比，从事这些活动的公司之间的距离更短的趋势与分散的模式形成了鲜明的对比。附加结果表明，活动的区位模式和企业的亲近度或集聚度都与人力资本，产品差异化程度以及活动之间的部门间依存度呈正相关。