Showing papers on "Metropolitan area published in 2008"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify two place-based processes that both promote and constrain the emergence and development of alternative food networks (AFNs) and demonstrate the fragility and dynamism inherent in AFNs that are tied to metropolitan development and change.
541 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the recent process of urban growth against the background of urban compactness and extreme densification represented by the Barcelona Metropolitan Region (BMR) and conclude that polycentric metropolitan areas such as the BMR may be more adjusted to absorb the negative effects of dispersion than monocentric areas.
409 citations
TL;DR: The CCA is introduced, based on spatial distributions of the population at a fine geographic scale, defining a city beyond the scope of its administrative boundaries, and it is found that the mean growth rate of a cluster by utilizing the CCA exhibits deviations from Gibrat's law, and that the standard deviation decreases as a power law with respect to the city size.
Abstract: An important issue in the study of cities is defining a metropolitan area, because different definitions affect conclusions regarding the statistical distribution of urban activity. A commonly employed method of defining a metropolitan area is the Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), based on rules attempting to capture the notion of city as a functional economic region, and it is performed by using experience. The construction of MSAs is a time-consuming process and is typically done only for a subset (a few hundreds) of the most highly populated cities. Here, we introduce a method to designate metropolitan areas, denoted “City Clustering Algorithm” (CCA). The CCA is based on spatial distributions of the population at a fine geographic scale, defining a city beyond the scope of its administrative boundaries. We use the CCA to examine Gibrat's law of proportional growth, which postulates that the mean and standard deviation of the growth rate of cities are constant, independent of city size. We find that the mean growth rate of a cluster by utilizing the CCA exhibits deviations from Gibrat's law, and that the standard deviation decreases as a power law with respect to the city size. The CCA allows for the study of the underlying process leading to these deviations, which are shown to arise from the existence of long-range spatial correlations in population growth. These results have sociopolitical implications, for example, for the location of new economic development in cities of varied size.
374 citations
TL;DR: This paper found that by increasing trade, the highways raised the relative demand for skilled manufacturing workers in counties with a high endowment of human capital and reduced it elsewhere, consistent with the predictions of the Heckscher-Ohlin model.
Abstract: Since changes in trade openness are typically confounded with other factors, it has been difficult to identify the labor market consequences of increased international trade. The advent of the United States Interstate Highway System provides a unique policy experiment, which I use to identify the effect of reducing trade barriers on the relative demand for skilled labor. The Interstate Highway System was designed to connect major metropolitan areas, to serve national defense and to connect the United States to Canada and Mexico. As a consequence–though not an objective–many rural counties were also connected to the highway system. I find that these counties experienced an increase in trade-related activities, such as trucking and retail sales, by 7-10 percentage points per capita. Most significantly, by increasing trade the highways raised the relative demand for skilled manufacturing workers in counties with a high endowment of human capital and reduced it elsewhere, consistent with the predictions of the Heckscher-Ohlin model.
372 citations
TL;DR: Evidence of wholesale loss of canopy-forming algae on parts of the Adelaide metropolitan coast since major urbanisation is found, and the logic that smaller metropolitan populations of humans create impacts that are trivial relative to that of larger metropolitan centres is brought into question.
Abstract: There is concern about historical and continuing loss of canopy-forming algae across the world's temperate coastline. In South Australia, the sparse cover of canopy-forming algae on the Adelaide metropolitan coast has been of public concern with continuous years of anecdotal evidence culminating in 2 competing views. One view considers that current patterns existed before the onset of urbanisation, whereas the alternate view is that they developed after urbanisation. We tested hypothe- ses to distinguish between these 2 models, each centred on the reconstruction of historical covers of canopies on the metropolitan coast. Historically, the metropolitan sites were indistinguishable from con- temporary populations of reference sites across 70 km (i.e. Gulf St. Vincent), and could also represent a random subset of exposed coastal sites across 2100 km of the greater biogeographic province. Thus there was nothing 'special' about the metropolitan sites historically, but today they stand out because they have sparser covers of canopies compared to equivalent locations and times in the gulf and the greater province. This is evidence of wholesale loss of canopy-forming algae (up to 70%) on parts of the Adelaide metropolitan coast since major urbanisation. These findings not only set a research agenda based on the magnitude of loss, but they also bring into question the logic that smaller metropolitan populations of humans create impacts that are trivial relative to that of larger metropolitan centres. Instead, we highlight a need to recognise the ecological context that makes some coastal systems more vulnerable or resistant to increasing human-domination of the world's coastlines. We discuss challenges to this kind of research that receive little ecological discussion, particularly better leadership and administration, recognising that the systems we study out-live the life spans of individual research groups and operate on spatial scales that exceed the capacity of single research providers.
320 citations
TL;DR: It is found that large metropolitan regions ranking highly on a quantitative index of sprawl experience a greater number of ozone exceedances than more spatially compact metropolitan regions, suggesting that urban spatial structure may have effects on ozone formation that are independent of its effects on precursor emissions.
315 citations
TL;DR: The built environment was found to have a significant but small effect on social capital and feelings of safety, particularly in relation to the number and perceived adequacy of destinations.
302 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the influence of family structure, socio-economic characteristics and accessibility at the place of residence on the number of cars owned by a household was examined, which can be used to advise the design of planning policies aiming at controlling the effects of excessive carownership and mobility.
262 citations
Abstract: This article is an expanded version of the 2008 American Educational Research Association’s Presidential Address. The purpose of the article is to describe the geography of opportunity in two metropolitan regions of the United States that are engaged in significant efforts to transform their local political economies. Both metropolitan regions have invested substantive resources into the development of an area of industrial science—one in telecommunications, one in biotechnology. A central underlying question in this article is, How does geography influence opportunity? The article’s two case studies investigate this question, using different methodological approaches. The article concludes with two important lessons learned from the research.
204 citations
TL;DR: This article examined how the college-educated population, from young adults to the elderly, differentially values quality-of-life (QOL) indicators of metropolitan areas in the United States.
Abstract: This paper examines how the college-educated population—segmented into selec- tive demographic groups, from young adults to the elderly—differentially values quality-of-life (QOL) indicators of metropolitan areas in the United States. Using data from the 2000 Census and the 1997 Places Rated Almanac, out-migration patterns are shown to depend jointly upon stage in the life course, the spatial-demographic setting, and QOL characteristics. An abundance of cultural and recreational amenities lowers out-migration rates of young college-educated. For the older college-educated population, the revealed preferences shift toward concerns for safety and a strong preference for milder climates. The study also finds significantly lower out-migration rates for metropolitan areas with growing human capital. In light of shifting age distributions and rising educational attainment levels, the results have important implications for the emergence of new migration patterns and the concentration of human capital.
203 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this paper, adjusted quality-of-life measures successfully predict how housing costs rise with wage levels, are positively correlated with popular "livability" rankings and stated preferences, and do not decrease with city size.
Abstract: The standard revealed-preference estimate of a city's quality of life is proportional to that city's cost-of-living relative to its wage-level. Adjusting estimates to account for federal taxes, non-housing costs, and non-labor income produces more plausible quality-of-life estimates than in the previous literature. Unlike previous estimates, adjusted quality-of-life measures successfully predict how housing costs rise with wage levels, are positively correlated with popular "livability" rankings and stated preferences, and do not decrease with city size. Mild seasons, sunshine, hills, and coastal proximity account for most inter-metropolitan quality-of-life differences. Amendments to quality-of-life measures for labor-market disequilibrium and household heterogeneity provide additional insights.
Book•
09 Dec 2008
TL;DR: Li et al. as discussed by the authors provided a new model for the analysis of ethnic and racial settlement patterns in the United States and Canada, and examined the opportunities and challenges that occurred as a result of these changes.
Abstract: This innovative work provides a new model for the analysis of ethnic and racial settlement patterns in the United States and Canada. Ethnoburbs - suburban ethnic clusters of residential areas and business districts in large metropolitan areas - are multiracial, multiethnic, multicultural, multilingual, and often multinational communities in which one ethnic minority group has a significant concentration but does not necessarily constitute a majority. Wei Li documents the processes that have evolved with the spatial transformation of the Chinese American community of Los Angeles and that have converted the San Gabriel Valley into ethnoburbs in the latter half of the twentieth century, and she examines the opportunities and challenges that occurred as a result of these changes. Traditional ethnic and immigrant settlements customarily take the form of either ghettos or enclaves. Thus the majority of scholarly publications and mass media covering the San Gabriel Valley has described it as a Chinatown located in Los Angeles' suburbs. Li offers a completely different approach to understanding and analyzing this fascinating place.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze the impact of urbanization on the preservation zone of Mexico City and conclude that this peri-urban process shows, a marked environmental damage, lack of effectiveness of planning norms and of increasing living standards of the poor, all of which show an ineffective urban governance, that does not contribute to sustainability in the Preservation Zone and in the city in general.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined metropolitan area commitment to the Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) campaign and found that high stressor areas are significantly less likely to participate in the CCP campaign, and metros high in civic capacity are significantly more likely to commit to the campaign.
Abstract: Climate change and mitigation policies adopted by a locality indelibly impact urban form, landscape, and economy. The Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) has become a dominant movement organizing the localities to proactively address climate change. This study examines metropolitan area commitment to the CCP. Geographic information systems (GIS) and statistical techniques are used to analyze metros on dimensions of climate change risk, stress, and civic capacity. “Climate change risk” measures a metro area’s coastal proximity, ecosystem sensitivity, and susceptibility to extreme weather events. “Climate change stress” summarizes transportation, energy, and production practices that adversely affect climate systems. “Civic capacity” estimates human capital and environmental concern variables that constitute a metro area’s ability to commit to policy initiatives. Statistical results indicate that high stressor areas are significantly less likely to participate in the CCP campaign, and metros high in civic capacity are significantly more likely to commit to the CCP campaign.
TL;DR: A French small-area index of socioeconomic deprivation derived from a principal component analysis of 1999 national census data from the Strasbourg metropolitan area in eastern France is developed and validated and its successful application to another French metropolitan area confirmed its transposability.
TL;DR: This article examined a new chapter in the evolution of the entrepreneurial city; one distinguished by its reliance on Richard Florida's thesis about the relationship between the creative class and economic growth, using Milwaukee, Wisconsin as a representative case study, and scrutinized the actions of image-makers, planners, and municipal actors, who together orchestrated a new round of urban promotional activities and planning strategies.
TL;DR: In this paper, an analysis of the interdependencies of the impacts of climate change and adaptation strategies upon infrastructure systems in the Metro Boston urban area in the northeastern USA found that taking anticipatory actions well before 2050 results in less total adaptation and impact costs to the region than taking no actions.
Abstract: An analysis of the interdependencies of the impacts of climate change and adaptation strategies upon infrastructure systems in the Metro Boston urban area in the northeastern USA found that taking anticipatory actions well before 2050 results in less total adaptation and impact costs to the region than taking no actions. Because of the interrelations among infrastructure systems, it is critical to take account of the impacts that adaptation actions have on each other and other systems. For the most part these cross-system effects are complementary in nature. But there are important exceptions, so an integrated approach to adaptation policy formulation is needed. Furthermore, adaptation efforts must be designed so as not to confound mitigation efforts.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the separate effects on metropolitan patenting of inventor agglomeration and the structure of social networks linking inventors within and across metropolitan areas in the United States between 1977 and 2002.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used a novel geographical information system database of county-urban proximity measures to examine the nexus between poverty in rural U.S. counties and their remoteness, particularly in regard to their geographical proximity to larger urban centers.
Abstract: Despite strong growth during the 1990s economic expansion being accompanied by significant reductions in measures of U.S. poverty, high poverty persisted in remote rural areas. Therefore, this study uses a novel geographical information system database of county-urban proximity measures to examine the nexus between poverty in rural U.S. counties and their remoteness, particularly in regard to their geographical proximity to larger urban centers. We find that poverty rates are positively associated with greater rural distances from successively larger (higher-tiered) metropolitan areas ( ceteris paribus ). We explain this outcome as arising from the attenuation of urban agglomeration effects at greater distances and incomplete labor supply adjustments in remote rural areas in the form of commuting and migration. Yet, although our results suggest that they are at a disadvantage in terms of reduced benefits from urban agglomeration economies, remote rural areas also may particularly benefit from place-based economic development policies in terms of their effect on poverty.
TL;DR: The Metropolitan Seoul Subway system, consisting of 380 stations, provides the major transportation mode in the metropolitan Seoul area, and the flow weight distribution exhibits a power-law behavior.
Abstract: The Metropolitan Seoul Subway system, consisting of 380 stations, provides the major transportation mode in the metropolitan Seoul area. Focusing on the network structure, we analyze statistical properties and topological consequences of the subway system. We further study the passenger flows on the system, and find that the flow weight distribution exhibits a power-law behavior. In addition, the degree distribution of the spanning tree of the flows also follows a power law.
Book•
18 Dec 2008
TL;DR: A toolkit for urban risk reduction in Africa is presented in this paper, where the authors propose a vision of a safer urban future for Africa by conceptualizing urbanisation, disaster risk and climate change.
Abstract: Introduction * Conceptualising Urbanisation, Disaster Risk and Climate Change * Part I * A Safer Urban Future for Africa? * A Tool Kit for Urban Risk Reduction * Part II * Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Building Disaster Resilient Communities * Algiers, Algeria: Evaluating Seismic Vulnerability * Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana: Environmental Health and Disaster Monitoring * Kisii and Kisumu, Kenya: Road Traffic Accidents as an Everyday Hazard * Saint Louis, Senegal: Multi-actor Governance for Flood Risk Reduction * Cape Town, South Africa: Fire Risk in Informal Settlements * Part III * A Vision of a Safer Urban Africa * Index
TL;DR: The standard revealed-preference estimate of a city's quality of life is proportional to that city's cost-of-living relative to its wage-level Adjusting estimates to account for federal taxes, non-housing costs, and non-labor income produces more plausible qualityof-life estimates than in the previous literature Unlike previous estimates, adjusted quality oflife measures successfully predict how housing costs rise with wage levels, are positively correlated with popular "livability" rankings and stated preferences, and do not decrease with city size as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The standard revealed-preference estimate of a city's quality of life is proportional to that city's cost-of-living relative to its wage-level Adjusting estimates to account for federal taxes, non-housing costs, and non-labor income produces more plausible quality-of-life estimates than in the previous literature Unlike previous estimates, adjusted quality-of-life measures successfully predict how housing costs rise with wage levels, are positively correlated with popular "livability" rankings and stated preferences, and do not decrease with city size Mild seasons, sunshine, hills, and coastal proximity account for most inter-metropolitan quality-of-life differences Amendments to quality-of-life measures for labor-market disequilibrium and household heterogeneity provide additional insights
Book•
02 Sep 2008TL;DR: A map of Monterrey and Houston can be found in this paper, where the authors discuss the migration of urban Mexicans to the United States and the economic incorporation of immigrants in Mexico.
Abstract: List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Map of Monterrey and Houston 1. The Migration of Urban Mexicans to the United States 2. Urban-Industrial Development in Mexico, 1940-2005 3. Restructuring and International Migration in a Mexican Urban Neighborhood 4. The Monterrey-Houston Connection: The Social Organization of Migration and the Economic Incorporation of Immigrants 5. The Migration Industry in the Monterrey-Houston Connection 6. Metropolitan Migrants: A New Dimension of Mexico-U.S. Migration Methodological Appendix Notes Bibliography Index
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors conducted field interviews with street vendors, consumers, shop owners, and metropolitan authorities to explore the geographical dimensions of street vending activities in Ghana and found that there were no noticeable socio-economic differences amongst street vendors operating within the study areas.
Abstract: In recent years the activities of street vendors have become a topical issue within the urban spaces of the developing world. Still, research that explores the geographical dimensions of street vending activities in Ghana is limited. Based on field interviews with street vendors, consumers, shop owners, and metropolitan authorities, a number of findings emerged. First, there were no noticeable socio-economic differences amongst street vendors operating within the study areas. However, noticeable differences in the areas of origin of vendors were observed, with most of them originating from the Eastern, Ashanti and Central Regions of the country. The study also shows a progression amongst trades over time, in terms of the types of goods which the vendors trade in. As may be expected, a shift to higher value items takes place as traders build up capital. Another important finding is that most of the vendors were continuously on the run due to constant harassment, assault and seizure of goods by metropolitan...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the impact of institutions on financial development by analyzing the financial behavior of immigrants in the United States and find that immigrants from countries with institutions that more effectively protect private property are more likely to own stock in United States.
Abstract: We investigate the impact of institutions on financial development by analyzing the financial behavior of immigrants in the United States. We find that immigrants from countries with institutions that more effectively protect private property are more likely to own stock in the United States. The effect of home-country institutions is persistent and absorbed early in life. The impact of institutions is amplified for immigrants who live in metropolitan areas with many other immigrants from the same country. These findings are robust to alternative measures of institutional effectiveness and to various methods of controlling for unobserved individual characteristics, including specifications with country fixed effects.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the relationship between the presence of the creative class and regional economic performance, contrasting measures of regional creative capacity with traditional competitiveness factors, and examine how Florida's creative class measures correlate with each other and with common indicators of economic performance for U.S. metropolitan areas.
Abstract: Problem: As Richard Florida's writings about the creative class garnered attention across the globe, planners and local government officials responded by enacting policies to attract and retain creative workers, often favoring spending for amenity and lifestyle attractions over more established economic development approaches. It is not clear, however, if the presence of these workers drives regional growth and development as effectively as more traditionally accepted place-based and institutional factors. Purpose: In this article we explore the relationships between the presence of the creative class and regional economic performance, contrasting measures of regional creative capacity with traditional competitiveness factors. Methods: We examine how Florida's creative class measures correlate with each other and with common indicators of economic performance for U.S. metropolitan areas. We also estimate multivariate regression models to compare the influence of Florida's measures to those of more traditi...
TL;DR: The impact of Tiebout's work and subsequent scholarship in public choice can be traced in this paper, identifying important lessons and lingering issues, and proposing that, commensurate with the growing salience of equity among the pillars of public administration, interjurisdictional spillovers and their attendant equity impacts will be the central challenge for thinkers studying metropolitan governance in the 21st century.
Abstract: More than five decades have passed since Charles Tiebout wrote his seminal 1956 paper, often cited as the classic apologetic for locally based systems of metropolitan governance. This essay traces the impact of Tiebout’s work and subsequent scholarship in public choice, identifying important lessons and lingering issues. Although public choice has demonstrated that polycentric systems are adept and flexible in producing and providing municipal services and a variety of interlocal agreements, the presence of municipal boundaries gives rise to a host of spillover problems, such as urban sprawl and segregation. These spillovers are particularly nefarious because, unlike the natural cooperation that seems to occur in service provision, municipalities tend to assert narrow self-interest in the face of these types of externalities. The essay proposes that, commensurate with the growing salience of equity among the pillars of public administration, interjurisdictional spillovers and their attendant equity impacts will be the central challenge for thinkers studying metropolitan governance in the 21st century.
01 Dec 2008
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report on a study analyzing changing driving patterns in the United States between 1991 and 2008, using the measurement used to determine driving patters was vehicle miles of travel.
Abstract: This paper reports on a study analyzing changing driving patterns in the United States. The measurement used to determine driving patters was vehicle miles of travel, between 1991 and 2008. Results of the study include the following: 1. Vehicle miles of travel began to plateau in 2004, and decreased in 2007, for the first time since 1980. 2. Urban and rural vehicle miles of travel have been decreasing since 2007 and 2004, respectively, even though total driving in both urban and rural areas increased between 1991 and 2008. 3. The highest per person driving takes place in low density Southwestern and Southeastern metropolitan areas, even though total driving on main arterial highways is concentrated in the 100 largest metropolitan areas. 4. Passenger vehicles had the highest share of national travel, though all vehicle types increased driving from 1991 to 2006. 5. Driving in the Pacific, Great Lakes, and Northeastern states grew at a slower rate than driving in the Intermountain West and Southeastern states between 1991 and 2006.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the types of urban residential processes according to temporal relations with HSTs and spatial relations (HST station location) and conduct a household survey and review of building permits and mortgage valuations to analyse the urban process which these cities undergo with the development.
Abstract: The proliferation of High Speed Trains (HSTs) in European countries has caused small, isolated cities within one hour's distance by HST to become partially integrated into metropolitan processes. These cities may be considered as a combination of small provincial centres and suburban metropolitan districts. Scientific literature suggests that subcentres in polycentric urban regions are becoming more numerous and diverse, that there are doubts whether HSTs are facilitating decentralization or concentration from/to metropolises, and that fewer HST effects are taking place in big cities than small ones, where HST contribution to accessibility amelioration is greater. The article discusses the types of urban residential processes according to temporal relations with HSTs (before and after HSTs) and spatial relations (HST station location). The conduct of household survey and review of building permits and mortgage valuations was done to analyse the urban process which these cities undergo with the development...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used the Neighborhood Change Database (NDB) to find evidence of a significant shift in the fortunes of lower-income, urban neighbourhoods during the 1990s.
Abstract: This paper offers new empirical evidence about the prospects of lower-income, US urban neighbourhoods during the 1990s. Using the Neighborhood Change Database, which offers a balanced panel of census tracts with consistent boundaries from 1970 to 2000 for all metropolitan areas in the US, evidence is found of a significant shift in the fortunes of lower-income, urban neighbourhoods during the 1990s. There was a notable increase in the 1990s in the proportion of lower-income and poor neighbourhoods experiencing a gain in economic status. Secondly, in terms of geographical patterns, it is found that this upgrading occurred throughout the country, not just in selected regions or cities. Finally, it is found that the determinants of changes in lower-income, urban neighbourhoods shifted during the 1990s. In contrast to earlier decades, both the share of Blacks and the poverty rate were positively related to subsequent economic gain in these neighbourhoods during the 1990s.