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Working Paper

The Relationship between City Center Density and Urban Growth or Decline

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In this paper we contrast the spatial patterns of population density and other demographic changes in growing versus shrinking MSAs from 1980 to 2010. We find that, on average, shrinking MSAs show the steepest drop in population density near the Central Business District (CBD). Motivated by this fact, we explore the connection between changes in population density at the core of the MSA and MSA productivity. We find that changes in near-CBD population density are positively associated with per capita income growth at the MSA-level.
Topics
Urban economic conditions
06.01.2012ISSN 2573-7953 WP 12-13DOI 10.26509/frbc-wp-201213
Keywords urban growth, agglomeration, spatial distribution
JEL Classification Codes R11, R12

Working Papers of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland are preliminary materials circulated to stimulate discussion and critical comment on research in progress. They may not have been subject to the formal editorial review accorded official Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland publications. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not represent the views of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland or the Federal Reserve System.

Suggested Citation

Fee, Kyle D., and Daniel A. Hartley. 2012. “The Relationship between City Center Density and Urban Growth or Decline.” Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Working Paper No. 12-13. https://doi.org/10.26509/frbc-wp-201213