Working Paper: NBER ID: w28287
Authors: Edward L. Glaeser
Abstract: Cities are shaped by transportation infrastructure. Older cities were anchored by waterways. Nineteenth century cities followed the path of streetcars and subways. The 20th century city rebuilt itself around the car. The close connection between transportation and urban form is natural, since cities are defined by their density. Physical proximity and transportation investments serve the common cause of reducing the transportation costs for goods, people and ideas. The close connection between transportation and urban form suggests the need for spatial equilibrium models that embed a full set of equilibrium effects into any evaluation of transportation spending. Their connection implies that restrictions on land use will change, and often reduce, the value of investing in transportation infrastructure. Future transportation innovations, including autonomous vehicles and telecommuting, are likely to also change urban form, although cities often take decades to adapt to new forms of mobility.
Keywords: infrastructure; urban form; transportation; cities; policy
JEL Codes: F61; N70; R14; R41
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Transportation infrastructure investments (R42) | transportation costs (L91) |
| transportation costs (L91) | urban population distribution (R23) |
| Future innovations (e.g., autonomous vehicles) (O39) | urban form (R14) |
| Land use restrictions (R52) | value of transportation investments (R42) |
| Transportation technology (e.g., steam engine, car) (L92) | urban expansion (R11) |
| Transportation innovations (L92) | urban density (R11) |
| Transportation innovations (L92) | living space consumption (R21) |