Developers at Google and Amazon are among those working diligently to produce a near future full of autonomous cars and delivery devices. Economics professor Casey B. Mulligan suggests such advances will increase the value of urban land.
"As technology helps with moving goods and people more cheaply, it might seem that urban real estate would give up some of its price premium because distance becomes less of an obstacle to economic transactions," writes Mulligan. But the University of Chicago professor argues that such advances could have the opposite effect.
"New technologies might allow [people] to use urban properties on a part-time basis, or use less urban property to accomplish the same tasks, which would make urban property more valuable." And, he adds, technologies such as driverless cars and delivery drones will likely emerge in urban areas first.
"Thus, while cities already give their residents access to more goods and services, technology may further shift that advantage and thereby increase urban property values."
FULL STORY: Robots and Property Values
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