IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/rjusxx/v23y2019i1p88-104.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The determinants of urban sprawl: theory and estimation

Author

Listed:
  • Joseph S. DeSalvo
  • Qing Su

Abstract

We argue that a well-articulated theory, by which we mean a set of structural equations equal in number to the endogenous variables and from which testable hypotheses may be drawn, should be the basis for any effort to estimate the determinants of urban sprawl. Without such a theory, it is not possible to know why a particular determinant ‘works’ to explain a particular definition of urban sprawl, nor is it possible to know whether any particular policy to combat sprawl, however defined, will be successful in achieving that objective without also creating other, possibly adverse, effects. To illustrate our argument, we contrast Burchfield, et al. [2006. Causes of sprawl: A portrait from space. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 121, 587–633], which is not based on a well-articulated theory, with the urban monocentric model [Brueckner, 1987. The structure of urban equilibrium: A unified treatment of the Muth-Mills model. In E. S. Mills (Ed.), Handbook of regional and urban economics, Vol. II, “urban economics” (pp. 821–845). Amsterdam: Elsevier], which is a well-articulated theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Joseph S. DeSalvo & Qing Su, 2019. "The determinants of urban sprawl: theory and estimation," International Journal of Urban Sciences, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(1), pages 88-104, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rjusxx:v:23:y:2019:i:1:p:88-104
    DOI: 10.1080/12265934.2018.1452627
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/12265934.2018.1452627
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/12265934.2018.1452627?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Qing Su, 2020. "Urban Spatial Expansion, Urban Compactness, and Average Travel Demand in the US Urbanized Areas," International Journal of Regional Development, Macrothink Institute, vol. 7(1), pages 1-1, December.
    2. Nae-Young Choei & Hyungkyoo Kim & Seonghun Kim, 2020. "Improving Infrastructure Installation Planning Processes using Procedural Modeling," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-15, February.
    3. Stephan Schmidt & Angelika Krehl & Stefan Fina & Stefan Siedentop, 2021. "Does the monocentric model work in a polycentric urban system? An examination of German metropolitan regions," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(8), pages 1674-1690, June.
    4. Uijeong Hwang & Myungje Woo, 2020. "Analysis of Inter-Relationships between Urban Decline and Urban Sprawl in City-Regions of South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-23, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:rjusxx:v:23:y:2019:i:1:p:88-104. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/rjus20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.