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Amphitheaters, cathedrals and operas: The role of historic amenities on suburbanization

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  • Viladecans-Marsal, Elisabet
  • Garcia-Lopez, Miquel-Angel
  • Pasidis, Ilias

Abstract

We estimate the causal effect of highway and railroad improvements on the suburbanization of population in Europe’s cities focusing on the role of their historic amenities. Using the variation in the origins and the endowments of these historic amenities in the centers of Europe’s cities, our results suggest that the effect of transportation networks on suburbanization was significantly lower in cities with historic amenities. Specifically, cities of Roman, Medieval or Renaissance-Baroque origins that maintained their historical heritage were more resilient to suburbanization caused by highway construction.

Suggested Citation

  • Viladecans-Marsal, Elisabet & Garcia-Lopez, Miquel-Angel & Pasidis, Ilias, 2018. "Amphitheaters, cathedrals and operas: The role of historic amenities on suburbanization," CEPR Discussion Papers 13129, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:13129
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    Cited by:

    1. Morgan Ubeda, 2020. "Local Amenities, Commuting Costs and Income Disparities Within Cities," Working Papers halshs-03082448, HAL.
    2. Arribas-Bel, Daniel & Garcia-López, M.-À. & Viladecans-Marsal, Elisabet, 2021. "Building(s and) cities: Delineating urban areas with a machine learning algorithm," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    3. Garcia-López, Miquel-Àngel, 2019. "All roads lead to Rome … and to sprawl? Evidence from European cities," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Historic amenities; Suburbanization; European cities; Transportation; Architecture;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R4 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics
    • R2 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis
    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity

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