Understanding urban sub-centers with heterogeneity in agglomeration economies—Where do emerging commercial establishments locate?

Abstract

This paper investigates the formation of employment sub-centers from a new perspective of heterogeneity in agglomeration economies. Using highly granular commercial and residential land-use data (2001-2011) in Chicago, we measure how the locations of jobs, population, quality-of-life amenities, and transportation networks shape specific and heterogenous sub-centers. First, the results suggest that the CBD as it was traditionally defined is no longer the primary source of agglomeration externalities for the new economic sectors; sub-centers with sectorspecific positive agglomeration externalities have stronger correlations with new commercial establishments. Secondly, residents appear to give the highest weight to quality-of-life amenities in choosing where to live. Both trends imply dis-incentives for CBD agglomeration. These findings connect the heterogeneous production theories with land use planning and urban design, through new empirical insights into how urban sub-centers grow. Furthermore, we put forward a method for forecasting of future sub-center growth through measuring changes in the probability of commercial development, and discuss its practical implications for planning and design in Chicago.

Measuring Urban Spatial Activity Structures: A Comparative Analysis

“…This supports the theory of multi-center urban layout. That is, as the scale of the city expands, the urban spatial layout gradually develops into multi-centers [59], which have also been reported in other studies in China [60,61] and other countries [62]. It is argued that a city with polycentric characteristics is more sustainable than the traditional metropolis with one central business district (the core of the city) [63].…”

Understanding interactions between urban development policies and GHG emissions: A case study in Stockholm Region

“…Carbon decision. The PSS can also enable ''continuous planning'' whereby data and models are continuously accessed, examined, and communicated, so that the success/failure pathways of alternative and complementary policies can be determined and re-assessed (Kalantari et al 2017a(Kalantari et al , b, 2019Pan and Deal 2019;Yang et al 2019). The LEAM-PSS model can readily be updated as new land-use or census data, or new information on planning decisions and followup monitoring, become available.…”

City Branding Evaluation as a Tool for Sustainable Urban Growth: A Framework and Lessons from the Yangtze River Delta Region

“…It is noteworthy that a shift to the network paradigm emphasizing the interactions between local development, regional coalition, and globalization processes has become increasingly important in understanding city branding and sustainable growth. A complementary or synergic relationship through multipolar territorial organization gives rise to strategic, integrated, and sustainable development via a trans-territorial network of relationships [33][34][35]. Despite the significance of the adopted branding tool of a particular city, the effective functioning of the network and joint implementation of cooperation activities among cities can further reinforce the cities' image [36], promote social inclusion [37], and sustain regional growth [38,39].…”