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Urban Economics 1. Dr. Adnan A. Alshiha. The Nature And Function of Cities. City: is the permanent concentration of people in space. Why people concentrate in space? To attain higher standard of living. This is possible for two reasons: Concentration enhance productivity
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Urban Economics1 Dr. Adnan A. Alshiha
The Nature And Function of Cities • City: is the permanent concentration of people in space. • Why people concentrate in space? • To attain higher standard of living. • This is possible for two reasons: • Concentration enhance productivity • Concentration allows a grater variety of goods & services. • The key characteristic of a city is access • Workers are accessible to firms. • Buyers are accessible to retailers
Negative Aspect of Concentration • Being too close to each other is the basis of many cost. • Congestion. • Pollution.
What is Urban Economics • All problems of cities (slums, crimes, poverty, concentration, pollution) have economic aspect. • Most of these problems can be minimized or solved by means of economic tools • As a discipline, urban economics attempt to explain and predict the allocation of resources and distribution of real income (good & services) within and among urban area.
The Nature of Economic analysis • Interurban analysis: among cities • Why city grow and develop? • Do cities compete with each other? • Why firms and people migrate to certain cities? • Interaurban analysis: Within a city • How are location and land-use decisions are made? • Do residents choose location on a rational basis? • How can efficient transportation system be developed within urban area? • What is the most efficient structure of government? • How poverty and pollution affect by heavy concentration of people in space?
Models of Urban Development • Ad hoc Models • Culture-Base Approach • Stages of Urban Development
Ad hoc Models • Special Cases provide valuable insight into overall urbanization process. • Initial – advantage • such as: being near a needed resources. • Threshold Effect: small village grow into cities when the demand from the surrounding population reaches certain level strong enough to induce citification. • External or agglomeration Economics: firms are attracted to cities that produce input for their products and also if buyers near by. • Cumulative Causation: any economic change would lead to other changes.
Culture-Base Approach • Urbanization has its beginning in specialization and the division of labor. • Specialization and the division of labor are extended by technical innovation in a dynamic and cumulative process • Spatial ordering of economic activities is a direct result of this process. • Production and distribution are now concentrated in cities
Stages of Urban Development • Economic development divided into five stages: • 1- The traditional society • 2- The precondition for takeoff • 3- The takeoff • 4- The drive to maturity • 5- The age of high mass consumption
1- The traditional society • People may be concentrated. • Few if any internal or external economies of scale. • Everyone is a farmer or craftsman. • Little manufacturing occurs. • The major constrain of this stage is that a ceiling exists on productivity.
2- The precondition for takeoff • People not only concentrate on space, but also but also learn that specialization can reap rewards. • With the steady flow of innovation accompanying this stage, markets will expand. • Thus a free market system or efficient centralized government is a necessary condition for this stage. • During this stage the structure of the economy become export oriented.
3- The takeoff • Is characterized by growth • New industry appears linked to export sector. • Local services expand rapidly. • New technique in the export sector are induced by new suppliers. • The city is clearly an attractive force , thus urban agglomerates appear.
4- The drive to maturity • Technology is expanded to the whole economic activity. • Cities begin to be self-sufficient and to serve the surrounding region. • self-sufficient means that the majority of employment in a city is used in the production of goods and services for that city.
5- The age of high mass consumption • This is a period when per-capita income is high enough for many to purchase durable good beyond their basic needs. • Society begin to show care for something beside extending technology and growth. • Social welfare and security find their way into social utility function.