Job Search, Migration, and Metropolitan Growth

While most current empirical urban-growth models emphasize the role of urban labor market dynamics, there has been little discussion of alternative theories of labor market behaviour. A review of theories of job search by labor force members and job creation by firms is undertaken. This reveals that current urban-growth models are based on, at best, an overly-simplified view of labor market processes. A better treatment of long-distance job search and the relationship between search and migration is seen as a high priority in future work. Without such work, a true test of industry versus household-initiated regional development is not possible

Alternative Land-Use Policy Tools for Green Area Preservation in Regional Development

Alternative land-use policy tools to effect green areas in a competitive market economy are investigated in this paper. A spatial equilibrium framework is used to identify and examine alternate tools. Specific conditions are derived under which such tools might operate effectively. While not providing immediate policy advice, such models indicate the kinds of variables and conditions which would be important to measure in an applied planning model

Regional Development and Land-Use Models: An Overview of Optimization Methodology

Progress in the development of optimizing land-use design models is evaluated in this paper. Eight methodological issues are raised concerning the theoretical foundations of such models and the transition from a theoretical to an applied planning tool. Five specific land-use models are evaluated in relation to these issues. A series of extensions to these models are proposed to help meet the methodological issues raised. The main conclusion reached is that the short-term, prospects for an improved design model, suitable for applied planning, are not good without more research into the areas noted

On Dualistic Equilibrium and Technical Change in a Simple Human Settlement Model

A formal micro-economic model of a simple dualistic spatial economy is outlined. The equilibrium solution to this model includes a measure of population density whose level is dependent on the technical parameters of the economy. Numerical experiments with the model highlight the importance of a saturation principle in determining how economic growth affects the spatial pattern of population density. Although the model is abstract, the saturation principle is seen to be an important concept for future applied behavioral models of regional development

Models of Urban Economic Growth: A Review

The processes by which cities come to exist and grow have been of great interest to both academics and policymakers. As with any such topic, the complexity, richness, and profusion of urbanization phenomena have led researchers with different disciplinary and cultural perspectives to offer a multitude of explanatory theories and models. Policymakers who try to distill something from the academic can be left very confused by this broad array of ideas. The purpose of the present paper is, in one sense, limited. It is beyond the scope here to assimilate and synthesize the complete range of ideas available about urbanization. Instead, we shall concentrate on the contributions of economists towards a model of urban growth. Further, we shall emphasize models relevant to current metropolitan growth in North America. Although the range of this study is limited in this way, we are better able to concentrate on specific economic mechanisms when other cultural and economic factors are held approximately constant. The currency and locational specificity of these concepts hopefully make this paper useful to contemporary urban policy-makers in these two countries

Security of tenure, costly tenants and rent regulation

Many jurisdictions give residential tenants legislated packages of rights known generically as 'security of tenure', and some protect tenants further by prohibiting unjustified rent increases. The paper considers the effects of security of tenure on a competitive rental housing market. To illustrate the concepts, the paper describes current security of tenure and rent regulation provisions in the province of Ontario, Canada. A model of rational behaviour by landlords is then presented in which landlords choose simultaneously a rent for a standard lease and the quality of tenant to be accepted. Heterogeneity among landlords and tenants and imperfect information are introduced. The effect of security of tenure legislation on this behaviour is assessed. The paper then considers the difficulty of defining an unjustified rent increase when some tenants are more costly to serve than others and when the landlords have imperfect information about prospective tenants

Private rental housing The Canadian experience

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