Efficient Urbanisation: Economic Performance and the Shape of the Metropolis

Abstract

The influences of urban form and transport infrastructure on economic performance show up in several contemporary policy debates, notably 'sprawl versus compact city' and in the developing world, the future of mega-cities. This paper probes these relationships using two scales of analysis. At the macro scale, an econometric analysis using data across 47 US metropolitan areas reveals that employment densities and urban primacy are positively associated with worker productivity, suggesting the presence of agglomeration economies. Congested freeways are shown to be a consequence of strong economic performance. An intrametropolitan analysis using data on sub-districts of the San Francisco Bay Area generally reinforces the findings of the macro-scale analysis. In the Bay Area, labour productivity appears to increase with size of labour-marketshed and high accessibility between residences and firms. Higher employment density and well-functioning infrastructure also contribute positively to economic performance.