Monocentric City Research Articles

Urban sprawl, urban form, and urban land use pattern: examining urban planning response to the causes and effects of urban sprawl in Kumasi, Ghana

ABSTRACT Unplanned urbanization continues to threaten the sustainability of cities in the global south. This study seeks to assess the urban planning response to the effects of sprawl on the urban form and land use pattern of Kumasi. The study relied on geospatial techniques to determine changes in land use patterns, landforms, and sprawl. A qualitative research approach was used to examine urban planning response to the causes and effects of urban sprawl in Kumasi. The results of this study show that the higher the urbanization rate, the more the built-up area increases, causing a significant loss of natural assets such as farmlands. In terms of shape, the research showed that the Greater Kumasi Metropolis has shifted from the historically monocentric city structure to a polycentric city. The city currently has multiple centers or subcentres for commercial, cultural, and social activities. In spite of all the threats posed by urban sprawl on the metropolis, there no clear policy intervention put in place to address the adverse effects of sprawl in the Greater Kumasi Metropolis. The researchers recommend that city authorities should adopt the compact city approach to control the high rate of sprawl to promote densification.

Dynamics of urban sprawl: Deciphering the role of land prices and transportation costs in government-led urbanization

While the relationship among land price, transportation cost, and urban sprawl under the condition of local governments monopolizing land supply has been rarely discussed in the literature, this paper addresses this gap by hypothesizing based on the monocentric city model. The hypothesis suggests that due to increasing land prices and decreasing transportation costs, urban fringes are more likely to be developed, leading residents to move away from the city center and altering the demographic pattern of urban sprawl. An empirical analysis is conducted using panel data from 104 cities in China, including remote sensing data of urban land construction areas. The results show that high land prices and low transportation costs drive urban sprawl, with varying impacts across cities. The coupling coordination analysis indicates increasing influence of urban sprawl on land prices and transportation costs. These findings suggest the government should address the effects of unplanned urban expansion on these factors. The findings suggest that the government should pay more attention to the effects of unplanned urban expansion on land prices and transportation costs. Understanding the role of local governments in urban planning is crucial for comprehending China's urbanization strategy and its implications on social exclusion, gentrification, high housing prices, and other urban issues.

A Critical Analysis of the Standard Urban Model in the Context of Greater Manchester

This study critically examines the applicability of the Standard Urban Model (SUM) in the context of Greater Manchester, utilizing empirical data and spatial analysis to explore its operational limitations and potentials. Originally conceptualized by William Alonso, the SUM provides a theoretical framework to understand intra-urban economic dynamics predicated on a monocentric city structure. Through a comprehensive dataset encompassing census demographics, housing prices, and GIS-mapped land-use patterns from 2015, this paper investigates the models ability to predict and describe urban land rent gradients and residential distribution relative to the citys Central Business District (CBD). The findings indicate that while the SUM may provide a generalized view of urban structure, it significantly underestimates the socio-economic diversities, technological advancements, and cultural influences that are inherent in urban development. Particularly, the analysis reveals that rental price declines with distance from the CBD are not as pronounced as predicted by the SUM, with a low coefficient of determination (R=0.2551). Furthermore, the study highlights how urban development in Manchester deviates from the monocentric model due to historical shifts, regeneration efforts, and the emergence of multi-centric hubs. This research underscores the necessity for adapting urban economic models to reflect the complexities and dynamic nature of modern cities, suggesting a shift towards more nuanced and flexible frameworks that accommodate the multifaceted influences on urban landscapes.

Unravelling the spatial directionality of urban mobility.

As it is central to sustainable urban development, urban mobility has primarily been scrutinised for its scaling and hierarchical properties. However, traditional analyses frequently overlook spatial directionality, a critical factor in city centre congestion and suburban development. Here, we apply vector computation to unravel the spatial directionality of urban mobility, introducing a two-dimensional anisotropy-centripetality metric. Utilising travel data from 90 million mobile users across 60 Chinese cities, we effectively quantify mobility patterns through this metric, distinguishing between strong monocentric, weak monocentric, and polycentric patterns. Our findings highlight a notable difference: residents in monocentric cities face increasing commuting distances as cities expand, in contrast to the consistent commuting patterns observed in polycentric cities. Notably, mobility anisotropy intensifies in the outskirts of monocentric cities, whereas it remains uniform in polycentric settings. Additionally, centripetality wanes as one moves from the urban core, with a steeper decline observed in polycentric cities. Finally, we reveal that employment attraction strength and commuting distance scaling are key to explaining these divergent urban mobility patterns. These insights are important for shaping effective policies aimed at alleviating congestion and guiding suburban housing development.

Residential location choices and commuting patterns considering telecommuting

The COVID-19 pandemic has initiated more telecommuting (or working from home) than ever. This paper provides an economic analysis of the impacts of telecommuting on the residential location choice equilibrium. In particular, this paper employs a simplified monocentric city model of urban spatial structure to analytically examine the impacts of telecommuting on residential location choices and the associated commuting pattern in a city, considering that telecommuting may have positive, zero, or negative impact on individual income level. We found that the income effect of telecommuting and its relative magnitude against the commuting cost govern whether telecommuting will attract more to live in the suburb or the downtown. Moreover, the impacts of housing supply and commuting costs on the residential location choice equilibrium are dependent on the level of telecommuting, where such impacts diminish when the level of telecommuting increases. Furthermore, this paper derives and examines analytical solutions for the optimal level of telecommuting, the optimal housing supply and the optimal transport investment (that reduces commuting cost) in order to improve social welfare or the housing operator’s profit in the context of telecommuting. How these optimal solutions are related to the level of telecommuting is also analyzed. This study provides understanding on how telecommuting may affect the joint equilibrium of residential location choice and commuting and how housing supply and transport investment should be adjusted in response to telecommuting.

Maximization of equilibrium utility vs minimization of resources in the urban equilibrium

We study welfare and the role of absentee landlords’ rent capture in one of the building blocks of urban economics: the monocentric city model. If only a fraction (but not all) of the absentee landlords’ land rents is captured and then redistributed, the market outcome minimizes resource usage but does not maximize residents’ utility. Therefore, when the utility-maximizing planner is unable to implement full taxation of land rents, she would prefer to intervene in the market outcome, while a planner minimizing resources would not. This difference implies that policy prescriptions crucially depend on the chosen welfare function (utility vs resources) and the land rent taxation rate.

Simulating influences of land use/land cover composition and configuration on urban heat island using machine learning

Urban heat island (UHI) has become a worldwide concern under global warming and urbanization waves, which pose significant threats to human health and urban sustainability. Despite Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) being regarded as a crucial factor influencing UHI, few studies simulated the nonlinear influences from LULC compositions and configurations, especially considering the difference between monocentric and polycentric cities. Therefore, we measured the patterns of LULC and UHI from 2006 to 2022 using cases of a monocentric city (Chengdu) and a polycentric city (Chongqing). Further, we simulated future and land surface temperature (LST) using Machine Learning (ML) models, and further calculated the simulated UHI in 2030 by urban-rural LST differences. The results showed that Chengdu had prominent UHI intensity in cores and the surrounding satellite towns. Chongqing's main center and subcenters had high UHI intensity under clustered patterns. ML results indicated that built-up percentage was the most crucial factor driving LST. Configuration factors dominated in impacting Chengdu's LST, while composition factors were more critical in Chongqing. Moreover, future UHI is estimated to decrease in Chongqing's core, compared with the remaining high UHI in Chengdu's core. These results might provide insights for understanding and mitigating future UHI effects.

Multi-gated perimeter flow control for monocentric cities: Efficiency and equity

A control scheme for the multi-gated perimeter traffic flow control problem of monocentric cities is presented. The proposed scheme determines feasible and optimally distributed input flows for various gates located at the periphery of a protected network area. A parsimonious model is employed to describe the traffic dynamics of the protected network. To describe traffic dynamics outside of the protected area, the basic state-space model is augmented with additional state variables to account for vehicle queues at store-and-forward origin links at the periphery. The multi-gated perimeter flow control problem is formulated as a convex optimisation problem with finite horizon, and constrained control and state variables. This scheme aims to equalise the relative queues at origin links and to maintain the vehicle accumulation in the protected network around a desired set point, while the system’s throughput is maximised. For real-time control, the optimal control problem is embedded in a rolling-horizon scheme using the current state of the whole system as the initial state as well as predicted demand flows at origin/entrance links. Furthermore, practical flow allocation policies for single-region perimeter control strategies without explicitly considering entrance link dynamics are presented. These policies allocate a global perimeter-ordered flow to a number of candidate gates at the periphery of a protected network area by taking into account the different geometric characteristics of origin links. The proposed flow allocation policies are then benchmarked against the multi-gated perimeter flow control. A meticulous study is carried out for a 2.5 square mile protected network area of San Francisco, CA, including fifteen gates of different geometric characteristics. The results showed that the proposed approach is able to manage excessive queues outside of the protected network area and to optimally distribute the input flows, which confirms its efficiency and equity properties. Similar policies are expected to be utilised for dynamic routing and road pricing.

Can polycentric cities provide more and higher-order consumer amenities? Evidence from shopping malls in China

It remains unclear whether a polycentric city can support more and higher-order consumer amenities. This paper presents new evidence from shopping malls in China and includes the effect of urban spatial structure on the order of consumer amenities and the moderating effect of transportation infrastructure, both of which have been neglected in previous empirical studies. We find that a monocentric city can provide a greater number and higher order of shopping malls than a polycentric city. Additionally, better transportation infrastructure can compensate for the disadvantage of polycentricity in the provision of low-order shopping malls, while it reinforces the merit of monocentricity in higher-order shopping malls. The findings advance the understanding of the relationship between polycentricity and the quantity and quality of consumer amenities and provide insights into polycentric structure policies.

Suitability of the Monocentric City Model for Analysing Suburbanization Processes in the Czech Republic

Suitability of the Monocentric City Model for Analysing Suburbanization Processes in the Czech Republic

The Zoom city: working from home, urban productivity and land use

Abstract This article investigates the impact of working from home (WFH) on the emergence and structure of monocentric cities. In the long run, WFH raises urban productivity only in sufficiently large cities. Business land rents fall while residential land rents decrease near the business district. Workers have incentives to adopt inefficiently high WFH schemes. In the short run, WFH yields mixed benefits for commuters and firms, which corroborates the low WFH adoption before the pandemic. Advances in digital technology increase the welfare benefits of WFH. Calibration exercises on European capital cities shed light on the quantitative impact of WFH.

Discovering the long-term effects of COVID-19 on jobs–housing relocation

Jobs–housing relocation plays a crucial role in urban spatial restructuring and development. As the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered the form of human mobility, it is likely to have affected individual relocation patterns. This study uses mobile phone signalling data from 2018 to 2022 in Beijing to examine and compare intra–urban jobs–housing relocation behaviours among commuters before and after the pandemic. This study captures the pandemic’s long–term effects via an event study design. Despite prevalent negative impressions of the pandemic, this study found that it may have unexpected positive influences on our cities. The pandemic decelerated suburbanisation in young middle–income home relocators but encouraged suburbanisation in relatively older high–income home relocators, which may have helped to preserve inner city vitality. The pandemic accelerated the decentralisation of spatial distribution of employment, which may have helped to further break the monocentric city structure. The pandemic also accelerated inverse jobs–housing separation and improved jobs-housing balance, which may have made the city greener. It is suggested that policy makers seize this opportunity to guide cities towards structural improvement and sustainability.

COVID and Cities, Thus Far

Key reasons for the existence of cities are the externalities created when people cluster together in close proximity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, such interactions came with health risks and people found other ways to interact. This article documents how cities changed during COVID-19 and considers how the persistence of new ways of interacting, particularly remote work, will shape the development of cities in the future. It first summarizes evidence showing how residential and commercial prices and activity adjusted at different distances from dense city centers during and since the pandemic. The analysis employs a textbook monocentric city model to demonstrate that two adjustments associated with remote work—reduced commuting times and increased housing demand—generate the patterns observed in the data. The authors then consider how these effects might be magnified by changes in urban amenities and agglomeration forces, and what such forces might mean for the future of cities.

City affordability and residential location choice: A demonstration using agent based model

Who lives where and why? – is a prominent issue studied in the field of urban economics. With urbanization on the rise, housing and transportation policies must strive to strike a balance between accessibility and affordability. The study builds an economic rational agent-based model, for a hypothetical monocentric city, to simulate the urban pattern that emerges from households' residential location choice as they aim to minimize their expenditure on rent and commute under different scenarios. The model highlights the significance of housing and transportation costs as a spatial policy tool in shaping urban growth. By manipulating these costs, cities can promote compactness, increase affordability, and result in a more homogeneous density and income distribution pattern. The study also finds that mode of travel plays a crucial role in determining residential choice, with private transportation users tending to reside in the city's inner areas and public transportation users opting for outer areas. However, when public transportation is heavily subsidized, this pattern is reversed. We also find that an increase in income inequality and plot size variability can lead to income-based segregation in the city. Our study findings, validated through a review of the relevant empirical literature, provide valuable policy directions into the underlying mechanisms that shape the urban growth pattern.

Understanding active transportation accessibility's impacts on polycentric and monocentric cities' housing price

Active transportation (AT) accessibility, specifically walking and cycling accessibility, has a significant impact on housing prices and equity. However, the spatial variation of the impacts of both walking and cycling accessibility and the influence of urban structure on housing submarkets are often overlooked in existing studies. This research aims to fill this gap by investigating the impacts of eight types of AT accessibility, inherent and locational attributes on housing prices in polycentric and monocentric cities. Geographically weighted regression models were estimated using housing price data from 3496 communities in Shanghai (a monocentric city) and 1100 communities in Wuhan (a polycentric city), China. The results illustrate the spatially varying impacts of AT accessibility on housing prices and highlight the existence of housing submarkets within cities due to varying factors such as urban structure, job-housing imbalance, consumer demand, public and private investment, and residential self-selection process. These findings provide valuable insights for investing in residential properties and designing policies and projects to improve AT accessibility in a way that promotes equity.

Spatial Diffusion Waves of Human Activities: Evidence from Harmonized Nighttime Light Data during 1992–2018 in 234 Cities of China

This study investigates whether the intensity of human activities conducted by urban populations and carried by urban land follows a wave-shaped diffusion rule using a harmonized DMSP-like NTL dataset during 1992–2018 in 234 cities of China. The results show that variations in the intensity of human activities are diffused in a wave-shaped manner from the urban center to the periphery in cities of different sizes and structures. The results demonstrate that variations in the intensity of human activity also exhibit a wave-shaped diffusion pattern, which is best modeled by a Gaussian function with an average R2 of 0.79 and standard deviation of 0.36 across all fitted functions. The outward movement of these waves in monocentric cities with an urban population <8 million occurred at a pace of ~0.5–1.0 km per year, reaching an average distance of ~18 km from the urban centers. While the pace decreased to ~0.2–0.6 km per year in larger or polycentric cities, the average distance of the waves from the urban centers increased to ~22–25 km in these larger cities. In addition, a process-pattern link between the distance-decayed rule and the wave-shaped rule of human activity dynamics was established. Moreover, a spatiotemporal Gaussian function was further discussed to enable modelers to forecast future variations in the intensity of human activities. The disclosed wave-shape rule and model can benefit the simulation of urban dynamics if integrated with other simulation technologies, such as agent-based models and cellular automata.

Housing supply in the presence of informality

Informal housing refers to the unauthorized residential use of public or private land. In this paper, we study housing supply in markets where informal housing is common. Using a combination of census and satellite data, we estimate housing supply for more than 90 metropolitan areas in Brazil. We find that widespread informal housing increases the housing supply elasticity, partially offsetting the downward pressure of geographical constraints. Our empirical approach is guided by a monocentric city model that includes informal housing. Our identification strategy relies on the use of two novel instruments, combining demographic data and public land ownership.

Effects of Public Transport Accessibility and Property Attributes on Housing Prices in Polycentric Beijing

The public transit system is often developed in tandem with urban growth, bringing improved accessibility and raising housing prices around stations. The impact of public transport accessibility on housing prices demand in-depth empirical studies to understand the underlying factors. The confounding influence of polycentric cities, contrasting with monocentric ones, deserves more attention. We studied the effects of metro and bus accessibility on housing prices along metro lines 6, 7, 9 and 14 in Beijing under the polycentric scenario. Other property attributes, including building features, location characteristics and neighborhood amenities, served as explanatory variables. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and geographically weighted regression (GWR) were used to build the global (whole-study area) and local hedonic price models, respectively. The results indicated that GWR performed better than OLS in predicting the effects of public transport accessibility on housing prices. Residential properties with access to more metro lines and stations and bus stops were associated with higher housing prices, with metro stations exerting more effects. The premiums of monocentric and polycentric models showed similar spatial patterns. In polycentric Beijing, the premiums of metro accessibility were higher in the eastern part, and the effect of bus accessibility showed circular distribution. Beijing could be regarded as a monocentric city on a global scale, but the influence of subcenters should be considered in a local polycentric regression model. The findings can inform urban planning concerning land use and public transport provision in Beijing and selecting research models in cognate studies.

CAFE in the city — A spatial analysis of fuel economy standards

We identify and examine a new effect of fuel economy (CAFE) standards on welfare through a long-run spatial expansion of the urban form (“urban adjustment effect”) caused by lower per-mile driving costs and the distortion in the vehicle market due to CAFE standards. By integrating household-level vehicle choice and the automobile market into a calibrated monocentric city model, we find that, for a carbon emission decrease of 80 percent, the long-run urban adjustment effect adds a relevant monthly welfare cost of up to 20 Dollars to the medium-run welfare cost of CAFE compliance of 128 Dollars per month (+15 percent). This welfare cost can be alleviated by about one third through the combination of CAFE with urban growth boundaries. For fuel taxes, on the other hand, the urban adjustment effect causes a welfare gain of a similar magnitude.

Tradable mobility permits in a monocentric city with pre-existing labor taxation: A general equilibrium perspective

This paper studies tradable mobility permit schemes in a monocentric city with a distorting labor tax, considering spatially differentiated allocations of permits to households. Numerical results show that an allocation of permits proportional to labor supply reaches about 99.9% of first-best welfare, clearly outperforming a scheme with lump-sum allocation of permits, and being more efficient than the second-best tax for levels of the labor tax of 20% or higher. This is due to the welfare gains of incentivizing labor supply, which has an effect similar to the revenue recycling effect of conventional road pricing, and that can be optimized by the social planner by exploiting spatial differences. Other alternatives, such as an allocation of permits proportional to distance from the CBD and a cordon-based scheme do not reach those high levels of efficiency. Our results provide insights into the efficiency of tradable driving permit schemes as an alternative to road pricing to tackle present externalities, showing that a spatial differentiation of the allocation of permits can be a powerful instrument in the hands of the regulator.