Shrinking population and the urban hierarchy

This paper examines whether population shrinkage leads to changes in urban hierarchy in terms of their relative size and function from the standpoint of the new economic geography. We find some salient patterns in which small cities in the agglomeration shadow become relatively bigger as medium industries spill over on them. This appears to be quite robust against a variation in the rate of natural change among cities. Thus, rank-size relationship and the urban hierarchy are partly disrupted as population shrinks. Regarding the welfare of the residents, a lower demand for land initially causes rent to go down, which boosts the utility. However, the illusion is short-lived because markets soon begin to shrink and suppress wages. We also find that it is better to maintain a slow pace of overall population decline in the long-term perspective. More importantly, it is crucial to sustain the relative livability of smaller cities to minimize the overall loss of utility.

Debating contemporary urban conflicts: A survey of selected scholars

This survey presents the results of a questionnaire sent to a list of key scholars and professionals in fields related to urban processes and planning – town planning, geography, sociology, architecture and anthropology. The survey raised four simple, straightforward questions. What are the most pressing conflicts with regard to contemporary cities? What are the main fields of action for solving them? How can your discipline contribute with respect to this task? Could you mention an intervention that could serve as an example of that line of work? The response represents a plural and multidisciplinary perspective on contemporary urban issues from which a series of research and intervention perspectives emerges.

Evaluating the equity effects of road-pricing in the European urban context - The Madrid Metropolitan Area

The paper identifies the potential spatial and social impacts of a proposed road-pricing scheme for different social groups in the Madrid Metropolitan Area (MMA). We appraise the accessibility of different districts within the MMA in terms of the actual and perceived cost of using the road infrastructure ‘before’ and ‘after’ implementation of the scheme. The appraisal framework was developed using quantitative survey data and qualitative focus group discussions with residents. We then simulated user behaviours (mode and route choice) based on the empirical evidence from a travel demand model for the MMA. The results from our simulation model demonstrated that implementation of the toll on the orbital metropolitan motorways (M40, M30, for example) decreases accessibility mostly in the districts where there are no viable public transport alternatives. Our specific study finding is that the economic burden of the road-pricing scheme particularly affects unskilled and lower income individuals living in the south of the MMA. The focus groups confirmed that low income drivers in the south part of the MMA would reduce their use of tolled roads and have to find new arrangements for these trips: i.e. switch to public transport, spend double the time travelling or stay at home. More generally, our research finds that European transport planners are still a long way from recognising the social equity implications of their policy decisions and that more thorough social appraisals are needed to avoid the social exclusion of low income populations when road tolling is proposed.

Rural-urban continuum codes for metro and nonmetro counties /

"April 1990"--P. iii.

The role of migration in urban transition : studies of the relationship between migration and modernisation for Brisbane and Stockholm

Wilbur Zelinsky formulated a Hypothesis of Mobility Transition in 1971,in which he tried to relate all aspects of mobility to the Demographic Transition and modernisation. This dissertation applies the theoretical framework, proposed by Zelinsky and extended to encompass a family of transitions, to understand migration patterns of city regions. The two city regions, Brisbane and Stockholm, are selected as case studies, representing important city regions of similar size, but drawn from contrasting historical settings. A comparison of the case studies with the theoretical framework aims to determine how the relative contributions of net migration, the source areas of migrants, and the migration intensity change with modernisation. In addition, the research also aims to identify aspects of modernisation affecting migration. These aspects of migration are analysed with a "historical approach" and a "multivariate approach". An extensive investigation into the city regions' historical background provides the source, from which evidence for a relationship between migration and modernisation is extracted. With this historical approach, similarities and differences in migration patterns are identified. The other research approach analyse multivariate data, from the last two decades, on migration flows and modernisation. Correlations between migration and key aspects of modernisation are tested with multivariate regression, based on an alternative version of a spatial interaction model. The project demonstrates that the changing functions of cities and the structural modernisation are influential on migration. Similar patterns are found, regarding the relative contributions of net migration and natural increase to population growth. The research finds links between these changes in the relative contribution of net migration and demographic modernisation. The findings on variations in urban and rural source areas of migrants to city regions do not contradict the expected pattern, but data limitations prevent definite conclusion to be drawn. The assessment of variations in migration intensity resulted in the expected pattern not being supported. Based on Swedish data, the hypothesised increase in migration intensity is rejected. Interactional migration data also show patterns different from those derived from the theoretical framework. The findings, from both research approaches, suggested that structural modernisation affected migration flows more than demographic modernisation. The findings lead to a formulation of hypothesised patterns for migration to city regions. The study provides an important research contribution by applying the two research approaches to city regions. It also combines the study of internal and international migration to address the research objectives within a framework of transitional change.