Topographical constraints and urban land supply indexes

Abstract

This paper develops and applies a method for measuring the extent to which large bodies of water restrict urban land supply. The amount of land available for urban use is the sum of weighted annular areas, net of water, around the urban center. The weights exponentially decrease toward zero with distance from the center at a rate determined by the population density gradient. The method of measurement and the weights are derived from the theory of a monocentric city with a perfectly competitive land market. The method is applied to calculate land supply indexes for the 40 most populous U.S. urban areas in 1980, and indexes over time for two land-filled urban areas. Such indexes can be constructed to account for restrictions imposed by mountains and by zoning. They are useful in empirical studies of land, housing, transportation, and population density.