Urban form and agglomeration economies – the impact of “edge cities”
Last week, I took a look at the contribution of agglomeration to Auckland’s recent economic growth. Based on observed changes to employment density over the period, plus agglomeration elasticities calculated by David Maré and Daniel Graham, I estimated that 11-12% of Auckland’s recent productivity growth was due to increased urban scale and density.…
54 Comments The contribution of agglomeration to economic growth in Auckland
We’ve written quite a bit about agglomeration economies, as they’re one of the most important forces shaping urban life. Agglomeration economies refer to the benefits of proximity for economic and social interaction – when you’re around more people, it’s easier to meet the right person (for business or relationships!),…
Agglomeration, trade, and the prospects for Christchurch
This article was originally posted on Making Christchurch, a group blog set up by Barnaby Bennett in the wake of the 2011 Canterbury Earthquake, at the invitation of Transportblog commenter Brendon Harre. While it’s focused on Christchurch, many of the ideas in the article apply everywhere.…
Guide to economic evaluation part 3: What is agglomeration?
Debates over major transport investments often get caught up in arguments over benefit-cost ratios, or BCRs. In recent years, projects such as the Transmission Gully and Puhoi to Warkworth motorways and the City Rail Link have been criticised for their low BCRs.…
The two-sided density dividend: Agglomeration economies in *consumption*
Why are people – both in NZ and around the world – increasingly choosing to live in cities?
The answer usually advanced in response to this question, at least from an economic perspective, is “agglomeration economies”. In this post I want to unpack a few things about agglomeration economies, before discussing why I think our current understanding places too much focus on production as opposed to consumption.…
Christchurch’s roads are as fast as they will ever get
This is a guest post by Brendon Harre. It’s the first part of a post about Christchurch, it’s history, and what needs to change to fix it’s transport woes and and this part has been published on Brendon’s medium. Christchurch’s roads are getting slower, over a period of a year or two, this is relatively insignificant.…
Auckland, what is it good for?
Patrick Reynolds is deputy chair of the City Centre Advisory Panel
…and what can we do to increase its success?
Here at Greater Auckland it is axiomatic that cities are, or at least can and should be, forces for good for their inhabitants and host nations.…
National’s Urbanist Minister
On Friday, Chris Bishop, the Minister of Housing, Transport, Infrastructure and RMA Reform, gave an absolutely fantastic speech to the Committee for Auckland.
As a starter, he really sums up well why we need better cities with this line.
I make no apologies for being an urbanist.…
Going for Housing Growth: Filling the housing donut?
Hot take: it should be affordable to live in Auckland.
You may not be surprised to learn I’m not the only one with this hot take. Indeed, the Minister of Housing recently took the notable step of saying house prices should come down, something common wisdom says should be a politically toxic thing to proclaim out loud.…
Flashback Saturday: Better cities mean a wealthier New Zealand
Most Saturdays we dig into the archives. This post by Peter was originally published in September 2014.
Last week I took a look at whether government policy to support regional economies could divert growth away from Auckland. Based on the historical evidence, the answer seems to be no – people want to live in Auckland and start businesses here, and it’s senseless to try and stop that.…
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