Showing papers on "Metropolitan area published in 2015"

Relatedness and technological change in cities: the rise and fall of technological knowledge in US metropolitan areas from 1981 to 2010

Abstract: This article investigates by means of US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patent data whether technological relatedness at the city level was a crucial driving force behind technological change in 366 US cities from 1981 to 2010. Based on a three-way fixed-effects model, we find that the entry probability of a new technology in a city increases by 30% if the level of relatedness with existing technologies in the city increases by 10%, while the exit probability of an existing technology decreases by 8%.

Changing global patterns of urban exposure to flood and drought hazards

Abstract: The studies that quantify the human and economic costs of increasing exposure of cities to various natural hazards consider climate change together with increasing levels of population and economic activity, but assume constant urban extent. Accurate estimates of the potential losses due to changing exposure of cities, however, require that we know where they will grow in the future. Here, we present the first-ever estimates of the changing exposure of urban infrastructure to floods and droughts due to urban land expansion from 2000 to 2030. The percentage of the global urban land that lies within the low elevation coastal zone (LECZ) increases only slightly to 13% by 2030; nonetheless, this corresponds to a 230% increase in the amount of urban land within the LECZ (from 71,000 km 2 to 234,000 km 2 ). In 2000, about 30% of the global urban land (i.e., nearly 200,000 km 2 ) was located in the high-frequency flood zones; by 2030, this will reach 40% (i.e., over 700,000 km 2 ). The emerging coastal metropolitan regions in Africa and Asia will be larger than those in the developed countries and will have larger areas exposed to flooding. The urban extent in drylands will increase by nearly 300,000 km 2 , reaching almost 500,000 km 2 . Overall, without factoring in the potential impacts from climate change, the extent of urban areas exposed to flood and drought hazards will increase, respectively, 2.7 and almost 2 times by 2030. Globally, urban land exposed to both floods and droughts is expected to increase over 250%. There are significant geographical variations in the rates and magnitudes of urban expansion exposed to floods or droughts or both. Several policy options exist to safeguard urban infrastructure from flood and drought hazards. These range from directing development away from flood- or drought-prone zones to large-scale adoption of “green infrastructure” (or “eco-efficient infrastructure”). Decisions, taken today on managing urban growth in locations exposed to these hazards, can make a big difference in mitigating likely losses due to floods and droughts in the near future.

Relatedness, Industrial Branching and Technological Cohesion in US Metropolitan Areas

Abstract: Essletzbichler J. Relatedness, industrial branching and technological cohesion in US metropolitan areas, Regional Studies. Work by evolutionary economic geographers on the role of industry relatedness for regional economic development is extended into a number of methodological and empirical directions. First, relatedness is measured as the intensity of input–output linkages between industries. Second, this measure is employed to examine industry evolution in 360 US metropolitan areas. Third, an employment-weighted measure of metropolitan technological cohesion is developed. The results confirm that technological relatedness is positively related to metropolitan industry portfolio membership and industry entry and negatively related to industry exit. The decomposition of technological cohesion indicates that the selection of related incumbent industries complements industry entry and exit as the main drivers of change in metropolitan technological cohesion.

Cities and Sustainability Polycentric Action and Multilevel Governance

Abstract: Polycentric theory, as applied to sustainability policy adoption, contends that municipalities will act independently to provide public services that protect the environment. Our multilevel regression analysis of survey responses from 1,497 municipalities across the United States challenges that notion. We find that internal drivers of municipal action are insufficient. Lower policy adoption is explained by capacity constraints. More policy making occurs in states with a multilevel governance framework supportive of local sustainability action. Contrary to Fischel’s homevoter hypothesis, we find large cities and rural areas show higher levels of adoption than suburbs (possibly due to free riding within a metropolitan region).

Toward a New Macro-Segregation? Decomposing Segregation within and between Metropolitan Cities and Suburbs

Abstract: This article documents a new macro-segregation, where the locus of racial differentiation resides increasingly in socio-spatial processes at the community or place level. The goal is to broaden the spatial lens for studying segregation, using decennial Census data on 222 metropolitan areas. Unlike previous neighborhood studies of racial change, we decompose metropolitan segregation into its within- and between-place components from 1990 to 2010. This is accomplished with the Theil index (H). Our decomposition of H reveals large post-1990 declines in metropolitan segregation. But, significantly, macro-segregation—the between-place component—has increased since 1990, offsetting declines in the within-place component. The macro component of segregation is also most pronounced and increasing most rapidly among blacks, accounting for roughly one-half of all metro segregation in the most segregated metropolitan areas of the United States. Macro-segregation is least evident among Asians, which suggests other mem...

Housing Constraints and Spatial Misallocation

Abstract: We quantify the amount of spatial misallocation of labor across US cities and its aggregate costs. Misallocation arises because high productivity cities like New York and the San Francisco Bay Area have adopted stringent restrictions to new housing supply, effectively limiting the number of workers who have access to such high productivity. Using a spatial equilibrium model and data from 220 metropolitan areas we find that these constraints lowered aggregate US growth by more than 50% from 1964 to 2009.

A review of the solar city concept and methods to assess rooftop solar electric potential, with an illustrative application to the city of Seoul

Abstract: Energy economy restructuring at the city level is an essential prong in any strategy that aims to address the dual energy and climate change challenges. Cities form hubs of human activity that are accompanied by high levels of energy consumption and emissions but also contain existing resources and infrastructure to transition to a greener energy economy. This paper reviews efforts to date to define the ‘solar city’ concept and assessment methods for estimating the solar electric potential of an often neglected but vital city resource in energy matters – its rooftop real estate. From this review, an application of the solar city concept is formulated and an assessment method is offered for its investigation. An illustrative case study is provided, using the City of Seoul, South Korea. Representing nearly one-quarter of South Korea’s population and a one-third of its economic activity, the application of the solar city concept to the city can have significant consequences for the future energy development pathway of the municipality and the country (the metropolitan area of Seoul encompasses nearly one-half of the national population). The research demonstrates that a technical potential equivalent to almost 30% of the city’s annual electricity consumption can be supplied by widespread deployment of rooftop-based distributed photovoltaic systems. Using the methodology developed in the paper, we estimate that sixty-six percent of the annual daylight-hours electricity needs of the City of Seoul can be served by distributed solar power systems on a typical day. It is additionally found that considerable peak shaving is possible, lessening the pressure on the city’s electricity grid. These findings can be expected to extend to other large cities when the solar city concept is thoughtfully applied.

A Research Note on Trends in Black Hypersegregation.

Abstract: In this note, we use a consistently defined set of metropolitan areas to study patterns and trends in black hypersegregation from 1970 to 2010. Over this 40-year period, 52 metropolitan areas were characterized by hypersegregation at one point or another, although not all at the same time. Over the period, the number of hypersegregated metropolitan areas declined by about one-half, but the degree of segregation within those areas characterized by hypersegregation changed very little. As of 2010, roughly one-third of all black metropolitan residents lived in a hypersegregated area.

Assessing Polycentric Urban Systems in the OECD: Country, Regional and Metropolitan Perspectives

Abstract: Contemporary urban systems in OECD countries are structured around functional regions, which often overcome established city-boundaries. Reading space in terms of functional regions allows assessing changes in urban hierarchies and spatial structures, including the polycentricity of urban systems at national, regional and metropolitan scales. By using a harmonized definition of functional urban areas in OECD countries, this paper first provides a sound definition of polycentricity at each spatial scale, highlighting for each of them the different links with policy. Second, it provides measures of polycentricity and explores the economic implications of different spatial structures. Results show that relatively more monocentric regions have higher GDP per capita than their more polycentric counterparts. At the country level, on the other hand, polycentricity is associated with higher GDP per capita.

Measuring Sprawl and Its Impacts: An Update

Abstract: Across the nation, the debate over metropolitan sprawl and its impacts continues decade after decade. To elevate the debate, a decade ago, researchers developed compactness/sprawl indices for metro...

Measuring the Scale of Segregation Using k‐Nearest Neighbor Aggregates

Abstract: Nearly all segregation measures use some form of administrative unit (usually tracts in the United States) as the base for the calculation of segregation indices, and most of the commonly used measures are aspatial. The spatial measures that have been proposed are often not easily computed, although there have been significant advances in the past decade. We provide a measure that is individually based (either persons or very small administrative units) and a technique for constructing neighborhoods that does not require administrative units. We show that the spatial distribution of different population groups within an urban area can be efficiently analyzed with segregation measures that use population count-based definitions of neighborhood scale. We provide a variant of a k-nearest neighbor approach and a statistic spatial isolation and a methodology (EquiPop) to map, graph, and evaluate the likelihood of individuals meeting other similar race individuals or of meeting individuals of a different ethnicity. The usefulness of this approach is demonstrated in an application of the method to data for Los Angeles and three metropolitan areas in Sweden. This comparative approach is important as we wish to show how the technique can be used across different cultural contexts. The analysis shows how the scale (very small neighborhoods, larger communities, or cities) influences the segregation outcomes. Even if microscale segregation is strong, there may still be much more mixing at macroscales.

The Rise and Fall of Urban Economies: Lessons from San Francisco and Los Angeles

Abstract: Today, the Bay Area is home to the most successful knowledge economy in America, while Los Angeles has fallen progressively further behind its neighbor to the north and a number of other American metropolises. Yet, in 1970, experts would have predicted that L.A. would outpace San Francisco in population, income, economic power, and influence. The usual factors used to explain urban growth?luck, immigration, local economic policies, and the pool of skilled labor?do not account for the contrast between the two cities and their fates. So what does? The Rise and Fall of Urban Economies challenges many of the conventional notions about economic development and sheds new light on its workings. The authors argue that it is essential to understand the interactions of three major components?economic specialization, human capital formation, and institutional factors?to determine how well a regional economy will cope with new opportunities and challenges. Drawing on economics, sociology, political science, and geography, they argue that the economic development of metropolitan regions hinges on previously underexplored capacities for organizational change in firms, networks of people, and networks of leaders. By studying San Francisco and Los Angeles in unprecedented levels of depth, this book extracts lessons for the field of economic development studies and urban regions around the world.

Using the SLEUTH Urban Growth Model to Simulate Future Urban Expansion of the Isfahan Metropolitan Area, Iran

Abstract: Accelerating urban growth and land use/cover changes places increasingly pressure on the natural environment and human welfare and have become a global concern. Iran, as a developing country, is also experiencing growth of its urban areas during the last decades by high rate of rural–urban migration along with rapid socio-economic and political changes that has resulted in degrading environmental quality in many parts of Iran, particularly in the metropolitan areas such as Isfahan. Therefore, developing methods for assessing different urban growth planning scenarios and simulating urban expansion is critically important. The main goal of this study was simulating future urban expansion of Isfahan Metropolitan area from 2010 to 2050, by making use of cellular automata methodology in the SLEUTH modelling. The model was calibrated using historical data extracted from a time series of satellite images. The input data required by the model including Slope, Land use, Exclusion, Urban extent, Transportation and Hillshade were obtained from satellite images based on supervised classification. This research used the four images of Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) and Thematic Mapper (TM) acquired 1976, 1990, 2001, and 2010. Two scenarios were planned to simulate the spatial pattern of urban growth. The first scenario was historical urban growth, which permitted urban development maintenance of the historical trend and the second scenario was a more compact growth as an answer to hypothetical policies and the lack of land to decrease urban spreading. Calibration of the SLEUTH model for Isfahan metropolitan area showed a high spread coefficient, which means that the predicted mode of growth in Isfahan is “organic” or edge growth. In Isfahan metropolitan area, topography was also shown to have an enormous effect in controlling the urban development. The results of this study invites many opportunities for further studies in many other regions which are experiencing growth of their urban areas and can be useful for planners, and policy makers to implement preventative or controlling factors in advance and make more informed strategic decisions.

The Rise and Fall of Urban Economies

Abstract: Today, the Bay Area is home to the most successful knowledge economy in America, while Los Angeles has fallen progressively farther behind its neighbor to the north and a number of other American metropolises. Yet, in 1970, experts would have predicted that L.A. would outpace San Francisco in population, income, economic power, and influence. The usual factors used to explain urban growth—luck, immigration, local economic policies, and the pool of skilled labor—do not account for the contrast between the two cities and their fates. So what does? The Rise and Fall of Urban Economies challenges many of the conventional notions about economic development and sheds new light on its workings. The authors argue that it is essential to understand the interactions of three major components—economic specialization, human capital formation, and institutional factors—to determine how well a regional economy will cope with new opportunities and challenges. Drawing on economics, sociology, political science, and geography, they argue that the economic development of metropolitan regions hinges on previously underexplored capacities for organizational change in firms, networks of people, and networks of leaders. By studying San Francisco and Los Angeles in unprecedented levels of depth, this book extracts lessons for the field of economic development studies and urban regions around the world. [Publisher's abstract]

The Political Consequences of Spatial Policies: How Interstate Highways Facilitated Geographic Polarization

Abstract: In the postwar era, Democratic voters have become increasingly more likely than Republican voters to live in urban counties. Public policies that shape geographic space have been a major contributor to this geographic polarization. This article examines the effect of the Interstate Highway System, the largest public works project in American history, on this phenomenon. Drawing on a database of US highway construction since the passage of 1956 highway legislation, it shows that suburban Interstate highways made suburban counties less Democratic, especially in the South and where highways were built earlier. Metropolitan areas with denser Interstate networks also became more polarized. Analysis of the Youth-Parent Socialization Panel Study (1965–97) reveals individual-level mechanisms underlying these changes: Interstates drew more white and affluent residents, who tended to be Republican, to the suburbs.

IoT based dynamic road traffic management for smart cities

Abstract: All metropolitan cities face traffic congestion problems especially in the downtown areas. Normal cities can be transformed into “smart cities” by exploiting the information and communication technologies (ICT). The paradigm of Internet of Thing (IoT) can play an important role in realization of smart cities. This paper proposes an IoT based traffic management solutions for smart cities where traffic flow can be dynamically controlled by onsite traffic officers through their smart phones or can be centrally monitored or controlled through Internet. We have used the example of the holy city of Makkah Saudi Arabia, where the traffic behavior changes dynamically due to the continuous visitation of the pilgrims throughout the year. Therefore, Makkah city requires special traffic controlling algorithms other than the prevailing traffic control systems. However the scheme proposed is general and can be used in any Metropolitan city without the loss of generality.

Soft spaces in Europe : re-negotiating governance, boundaries and borders

Abstract: I. A Conceptual Framework for Soft Spaces 1. Soft spaces, planning and emerging practices of territorial governance Phil Allmendinger, Graham Haughton, Jorg Knieling and Frank Othengrafen II. Soft Spaces in France, Germany, The Netherlands and England 2. Merseybelt (Manchester-Liverpool) Ian Deas, Stephen Hincks and Graham Haughton 3. Governance Arrangements in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region: Between Hard and Soft Institutional Spaces Marta Jacuniak-Suda, Cormac Walsh and Jorg Knieling 4. The Sillon Lorrain (Nancy, Metz, Epinal, Thionville) Anna Geppert 5.Evolving regional spaces: shifting levels in the southern part of the Randstad Marjolein Spaans and Wil Zonneveld 6. Ashford and Cambridge - two Growth Areas, three soft spaces Phil Allmendinger III. Cross-Border Soft Spaces 7. Soft Spaces across the Fehmarn Belt: Cross-border Regionalism in Practice Cormac Walsh, Marta Jacuniak-Suda and Jorg Knieling 8. Cross-border soft spaces of the Upper Rhine. Overlapping initiatives from the Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Orthenau to the Trinational Metropolitan Region of the Upper Rhine Anna Geppert 9. Creating a Space for Cooperation: Soft Spaces, Spatial Planning and Cross-Border Cooperation on the Island of Ireland Cormac Walsh IV. Conclusions and Outlook 10. Conclusion: What difference do soft spaces make? Frank Othengrafen, Jorg Knieling, Graham Haughton and Phil Allmendinger