Urban Sprawl, Job Decentralization, and Congestion: The Welfare Effects of Congestion Tolls and Urban Growth Boundaries

This paper develops a spatial general equilibrium model to explore the endogenous relations between urban sprawl, job decentralization, and traffic congestion, and then compares the efficiency and welfare impacts of anti-congestion policies. Differing from many existing non-moncentric models, the model in this paper fully endogenizes both production and congestion externalities, relaxes the assumption of fixed city/metropolitan boundary, and relies on values of travel and work time. Simulation results suggest that congestion spurs firms to decentralize and agglomerate away from the urban center, with households living more centrally. A congestion-toll policy brings slightly more compact urban form and job decentralization, and serves as an effective strategy for correcting congestion externalities, by maximally improving social welfare. Urban growth boundary (UGB) strategies tested here alleviate congestion externalities and lower travel times, vehicle-miles traveled, and travel costs; but the UGBs carry certain loss of social welfare owning to land rent escalation and UGBs’ limitations on job decentralization.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Features: Figures; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: 21p
  • Monograph Title: TRB 93rd Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01516276
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: 14-1785
  • Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
  • Created Date: Feb 28 2014 1:32PM