Course
Discontinued
No
Course Code
ECON 3445
Descriptive
Urban and Regional Economics
Department
Economics
Faculty
Commerce & Business Administration
Credits
3.00
Start Date
End Term
202030
PLAR
No
Semester Length
15 Weeks x 4 Hours per Week = 60 Hours
Max Class Size
35
Contact Hours
Lecture: 3 Hours
Seminar: 1 Hour
Total: 4 Hours
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Learning Activities
Lecture and seminar
Course Description
Urban economics is the study of the market forces behind the development of cities and the urban problems associated with this development. Students interested in the efficient design and implementation of local public policy, environmental policy, land use policy and urban studies will enjoy this course. Cities provide a spatial environment and location for production, innovation and trade to flourish, but in the process generate policy problems associated with congestion, pollution, transportation, poverty, crime, urban sprawl, and growth. This course describes the historical context of urban areas and develops the theoretical tools for analyzing and predicting how urban areas grow, evolve, and change and the role of public policy to deal with this growth. The course will examine how local government, land use regulation, financing, taxation, and spending policies influence the settlement pattern and characteristics of towns, cities, and regions.
Course Content
The course includes:
- Historical and current characteristics of city size and problems.
- Market forces in the existence and development of cities and urban areas.
- Model building: (equilibrium and dynamics)
- Urban land rent, housing prices, and neighborhood choice.
- Land use regulation, zoning, and growth.
- Transportation externalities: congestion, noise, pollution.
- Mass transit and urban infrastructure requirements.
- Urban problems: crime, poverty, pollution.
- Public policy toward housing and provision of public goods
- Role of local government. (revenues, spending, regulation.)
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
- Identify the economic forces and principles which explain why cities exist.
- Define the location orientations of firms. (ie. Clustering, economies of scale, etc)
- Explain how land and housing markets function and how rents are determined.
- Describe location equilibriums and analyze how they can change.
- Understand and analyze how land and housing markets function, and how land use regulation affects these markets.
- Identify and critique the different forms of land use regulation used in the Canada.
- Explain the economic consequences of different approaches to regulating urban land use (employment, spatial distribution, sprawl, etc)
- Identify reasons for poverty and crime concentration in urban areas.
- Identify different low-income housing assistance policies used in Canada, and evaluate the effects of different housing policies (subsidies, incentives, and government-provided housing).
- Evaluate urban environmental and transportation problems.
Means of Assessment
| Mid-term examination(s) | 25% - 30% |
| Essay, Project | 0% - 30% |
| Assignments (group and individual) | 0% - 15% |
| Final Examination | 30% - 40% |
| Total | 100% |
Textbook Materials
Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students
One of (instructor’s choice)
O’Sullivan. A. (latest Ed.) Urban Economics. McGraw-Hill.
Or text approved by the Economics department.
In addition, there will be readings assigned by instructor.