Urban Economics

by Arthur O'Sullivan

Arthur O’Sullivan’s Urban Economics is the leading text for this small, but exciting market. This book covers urban economics as the discipline that lies at the intersection of geography and economics. The sixth edition is a thorough revision of previous incarnations—the author has reorganized and rewritten every chapter to produce a sleek and up-to-date text that will bring renewed attention to the Urban Economics course. This sixth edition offers an extreme makeover from previous editions while also incorporating the remarkable progress in the field of urban economics in the last ten to fifteen years. Part I of the book explains why cities exist and what causes them to grow or shrink. Part II examines the market forces that shape cities and the role of government in determining land-use patterns. Part III looks at the urban transportation system, exploring the pricing and design of public transit systems and the externalities associated with automobile use (congestion, environmental damage, collisions). Part IV uses a model of the rational criminal to explore the causes of urban crime and the spatial consequences. Part V explains the unique features of the housing market and examines the effects of government housing policies. The final part of the book explains the rationale for our fragmented system of local government and explores the responses of local governments to intergovernmental grants and the responses of taxpayers to local taxes. All of the economic concepts used in the book are covered in the typical intermediate microeconomics course, but a Tools of Microeconomics appendix is included that covers the key concepts for students whose exposure to microeconomics is limited to an introductory course or who could benefit from a review of intermediate concepts.

Genres: Economics, Urban Planning, Nonfiction, Urbanism, Urban Studies, Urban, College

432 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Arthur O'Sullivan is an economist. Currently, he is a Professor of Economics at Lewis & Clark College. He has written several college textbooks on economics.

Reviews

[Jake Losh]

Urban Economics is a comprehensive and accessible text for anyone interested in applied microeconomics, public policy and urban planning. Ultimately, it's a catalog of cute applications of the tools of microeconomic theory. It should be required reading for anybody attempting to enter public service or politics.

[Rishabh Kori]

It is a great book for the one who is curious to know about the economy and market values. It provides detailed information about demand and supply curves and also about land rent and land use patterns.
purely a must read for every guy who is seeking his future towards business and management.

[Mj]

exceedingly boring prose. boring graphs. makes me want to scrape my eyes out with a blunt knife and fake my death and frame the author.

[Daniel]

An interesting and pretty zippy read that gives decent treatment to applied economics in an urban setting.

A few warnings, however. First, it is helpful to have previous or concurrent exposure to basic microeconomic theory before reading this (the book's appendix is decent, but short) as it's written with that assumption.

Second, this seems intended to be an introduction to the subject as simplifying assumptions are rife throughout (a la frictionless, airless environments in elementary physics).

Finally, this is understandably heavy on the economic interpretation of urban activities while giving short shrift to the challenges of actually implementing economically efficient solutions (if that would even be desirable by politicians). In their favor, the author does acknowledge that limitation and sells to address it in the latter few chapters.

To summarize, it's a quick and informative introduction to urban economics that should be paired with complimentary texts or lessons on urban policy or decision making.

[Shemoul]

if i get to read this book it may acuire knowledge to me

[Md Ebadat]

nice

[Bob]

If you like pretty graphs that show land rent gradients and auto externalities this is the book for you! Unfortunately this is a textbook that costs more than the gross national product of Zimbabwe. Save your money and buy the electronic version or the international edition.

[Sarah Wulan]

intersting