Cities, Regions And The Decline Of Transport Costs

The authors of this academic article challenge conventional wisdom regarding the economic inefficiency of recent urban development patterns.

1 minute read

August 12, 2003, 1:00 PM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"The theoretical framework of urban and regional economics is built ontransportation costs for manufactured goods. But over the twentieth century, the costs of moving these goods have declined by over 90% in real terms, and there is little reason to doubt that this decline will continue. Moreover, technological change has eliminated theimportance of fixed infrastructure transport (rail and water) that played a critical role in creating natural urban centres. In this article, the authors document this decline and exploreseveral simple implications of a world where it is essentially free to move goods, but expensive to move people." [Editor's note: The link below is to a 1MB PDF document.]

Thanks to Urban Policy Listserv

Monday, August 11, 2003 in Harvard University

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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