Not offered 2007-2008
ECON 235 Urban Centers and Urban Systems (Q)
Cities, systems of cities, and the interactions between cities are the outcome of human decisions and reflect their social structure and desire for interaction. The form of these urban
areas is determined by the choices made by the people who reside in, work in, and travel
between cities. Economic forces influence and constrain these choices, and economic
models of decision-making can help us to explain and predict the patterns that result. These
models help us to comprehend the structure of urban areas. This course will introduce the
ideas and some of the analytic tools that assist in understanding the economic foundations of
urban centers and urban systems. Topics addressed in the course will include the
determinants of land use, location of firms, choice of transportation mode, flows of capital
investment into real estate, housing prices and housing availability and regulation of housing
markets, movement of population from one city to another, and public policies designed to
deal with urban problems.
Format: lecture/discussion. Requirements: two "policy memoranda" on assigned topics,
midterm, and final exam.
Prerequisites: Economics 110. Enrollment limit: 40.
S. SHEPPARD