Showing papers by "Urban Institute published in 1976"

Housing consumption disequilibrium and local residential mobility.

Abstract: An economic theory of local residential mobility is developed and empirically examined. The theory predicts that local mobility is most likely to occur among households whose actual housing consumption deviates the most from their utility-maximizing levels and whose monetary and psychic costs of moving are least. Two separate models are used in applying the theory to data obtained from a national household survey in the USA. The inclusion of variables designed to capture the needs of families to adjust their housing adds little explanatory power compared with more conventional predictors of mobility, although the housing-consumption variables generally have plausible effects on household mobility. Not all local moves are motivated primarily by housing considerations—nearly a third of all local moves are associated with new household formation, marriage, or divorce.

The incubator hypothesis : Evidence from five SMSAs

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to review the past evidence and to offer some new data to assess whether the incubator hypothesis can be empirically supported. In particular the two general aspects of the hypothesis will be tested. First, we will examine the proposition that highly centralized locations are attracting a disproportionate number of new firms and/or the employment associated with new firms. Second, we will test the hypothesis that new firms which are formed in high density areas move outward from such sites in their early years of existence in order to expand their productive activities. We refer to these as the "simple and "dynamic" hypotheses in the rest of the paper. Our analysis is based on the experience of all manufacturers in several U.S. cities. We recognize that it is quite possible that the hypothesis could hold for certain industries even if it is unsupported for all firms together. Our intent, however, is to test the validity of the hypothesis as a general theory of intraurban location behavior. The paper consists of three sections. The first two present evidence on the "simple" and "dynamic" hypotheses. The final section summarizes our findings and offers some conclusions.

Race and home ownership: is discrimination disappearing?

Abstract: Racial differentials in home ownership rates are examined using data on households in the twenty-four largest metropolitan areas. considerable recent reduction in racial discrimination is indicatd, in contrast to the findings of a previous analysis of the St. Louis housing market. The results are maintained under a number of modifications of the model and estimation technique.

Disaster Caused Increases in Unit Repair Cost

Abstract: Disaster damage estimates customarily assume that labor and materials will be readily available for repairs. When major disasters do more damage than the local building industry can repair, the resultant shortage of repair resources causes prices to escalate. Examination of the factors that effect the supply of and demand for repair services in the context of such recent disasters as Hurricane Camille and Tropical Storm Agnes suggests the amount of direct damage divided by the annual volume of contract construction in the local BEA Economic Area as a reasonable index to the degree of escalation. Information on 15 disasters suggests that serious escalation begins at an index value of about 1.0. Information on damages caused by Agnes to Wilkes-Barre, Pa., indicates that an event of index value 9.1 increased repair costs by a factor of 2.7 and total damages (including relief programs) by a factor of 4.0, an effect that more than doubled average annual flood damages.

Urban transportation and the press: A survey of editorial opinion

Abstract: The editorial opinions expressed in the news press can provide information on which issues are currently prominent concerns of the public, and on how public opinion may be aligned on those issues. A survey of all urban transportation-related editorials appearing in a sample of 155 U.S. newspapers during a period of 19 months in 1973–74 revealed that a number of issues related to transit financing, transit and highway investment, bicycles, and the transportation planning process were currently under debate in the urban press. This paper presents the survey's findings regarding the incidence and viewpoint of articles on these and other issues. Transit financing concerns clearly emerged as the most frequently discussed, and some agreement in editorial viewpoint was also found. The paper concludes with the authors' subjective observations on the scope and style of editorial discussion of urban transportation issues.