Urban Economics 5 Polycentric City and Edge City

1
Urban Economics (5)Polycentric City and Edge
City

• Dr. Sieglinde Amelia Walter
• Ingolstadt 2008

2
Contents
Polycentric City and Edge City

• Polycentric city
• The phenomenon
• Edge city
• The phenomenon
• Monocentric vs. polycentric city
• The performance of polycentric cities
• - transport
• - poverty

3
Definition City
Polycentric City and Edge City

• City is defined as a single continuous and
  contiguous area of urban delevopment (McCann
  2001).
• City refers to the area over which a local
  government exercises political authority
  (Sullivan 1990).

4
Definition Polycentric City
Polycentric City and Edge City

• Polycentric city is defined as a city with
  multiple centers.
• Center means either main center or subcenter.

5
Edge City
Polycentric City and Edge City

• Generally a subcenter in a polycentric city
• Characterized by a large concentrations of office
  and retail space, including residential areas, at
  the nodes of major express highways
• Developed after 1960

6
Criteria for the Identification of a Subcenter
Polycentric City and Edge City

• Built-up density
• Employment data
• minimum gross density of 10 employees per acre
• minimum total employment of 10.000

7
Journey to Work Patterns in Metropolitan Areas
Polycentric City and Edge City
8
Economies of agglomeration
Polycentric City and Edge City

• Urbanisation concentration of firms of the same
  industry
• Localisation concentration of firms of different
  industries with potentially complementary
  competences

9
Firm's Advantages Offered by Subcenters
Polycentric City and Edge City

• costs of land
• access to highways
• lower wages for employees

10
Monocentric vs. Polycentric Cities Advantages

• Monocentric cities
• high ratio of public transport trips
• shorter average trips
• higher density and therefore less pressure on the
  natural environment

• Polycentric cities
• cheaper land
• for the same reason, easier conditions for small
  businesses

11
Characteristcs of Polycentric Cities
Polycentric City and Edge City

• Historical business center with low level of
  amenities
• High private-car ownership
• Cheap land
• Flat topography
• Grid street design

12
Shapes of Polycentric Cities
Polycentric City and Edge City

• satellites around the main center
• subcenters arrayed in corridors

13
Spatial Distribution in Polycentric Cities
Polycentric City and Edge City

• relationships between subcenters
• - centers are perfect substitutes
• - centers are complements
• - the accessability of a location is determined
  by the sum of exponentially declining influences
  from various centers
• relationship between the main town and subcenters

14
Density Profile of 9 Cities
Polycentric City and Edge City
15
Density Profile Three Examples
Polycentric City and Edge City
16
Daily Trip Patterns within a Metropolitan Area
Polycentric City and Edge City
17
The Built-up Area of Atlanta and Barcelona (1990)
Polycentric City and Edge City
18
Distributions of Density in a City with Constant
Average Density and Built-up Area
Polycentric City and Edge City
19
Spatial Structure and Poverty
Polycentric City and Edge City

• Greater access to job opportunities in dense,
  monocentric cities
• Land is cheaper and consequently low-income
  households are more able to afford land and floor
  space in a polycentric city
• The quality of the environment is higher in low
  density polycentric cities

20
Average Population Densities in Built-Up Areas
Polycentric City and Edge City
21
Urban Economics

• sieglinde.walter_at_ku-eichstaett.de