Working Papers and Reports

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The Dynamics of Global Urban Expansion This study examined the dynamics of global urban expansion by defining a new universe of 3,943 cities with population in excess of 100,000 and drawing a stratified global sample of 120 cities from this universe. Data for 90 cities out of the global sample of 120 are presented and analyzed in this report. Ten econometric models that sought to explain the variation in urban extent and expansion in the universe of cities are constructed, and several hypotheses postulated by neoclassical theories of urban spatial structure were tested. The policy implications of the analysis are presented and discussed. 21MB 15MB 14MB 25MB
The Impacts of Terrorism on Urban Form This paper exploits two relatively new and rich datasets to explore the impact of terrorism on urban form since 1990. By employing the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism’s (MIPT) Terrorism Knowledge Base, we are able to precisely identify the intensity, target and type of terrorism in urban centers. This permits us to explore the impacts of terrorism with greater precision, and potentially to distinguish between different types of terrorist incidents. We integrate this information into a complete sample of cities selected as representative of the global urban population in cities having more than 100,000 inhabitants. We find that an increase in the number of terrorist incidents is associated with reduced levels of urban expansion – holding population and income growth constant. That is, increasing terror is associated with delaying or foregoing urban development and increasing urban density. This in contrast to a variety of claims post-9/11 suggesting that terrorism would act as a dispersing force in cities. We employ an instrumental variables strategy using geographic and environmental structure as instruments to address the endogeneity of terrorist attacks.