Emil E. Malizia

Urban Containment and Central-City Revitalization

Abstract Planners throughout the 20th century have advocated containment of urban sprawl through a variety of means. Urban containment is incorporated into the growth management programs of several states, and growth management policies exist in at least 95 metropolitan areas. One objective of containment is to concentrate development within areas that are already urbanized, particularly in central cities. In this article, we examine the effects of the first round of urban containment programs (adopted prior to 1985) on the amount of development activity taking place in central cities and on the ratio of central-city to metropolitan-area development activity. Our findings indicate that central cities in contained metropolitan areas are attracting more development activity than cenral cities in uncontained areas. However, suburban areas in both contained and uncontained metropolitan areas continue to grow. We surmise that containment shifts development from exurban and rural areas to suburban and urban ones because of containment boundaries. One potential limitation of our ordinary least squares (OLS) regression modeling is that the relationship between containment and development activity may be multidirectional. That is, since central cities in metropolitan areas with higher growth rates in previous years are more likely to adopt policies to constrain future growth, containment programs may affect and be affected by the rate of central-city residential construction activity.1 Although we control for this fact to some degree by restricting our definition of the presence of urban containment to those metropolitan areas that adopted policies prior to the study period, any correlation between lagged construction rates and current construction rates would reintroduce the problem.

Which indicators explain metropolitan economic performance best? Traditional or creative class.

Problem: As Richard Floridas writings about the creative class garnered attention across the globe, planners and local government officials responded by enacting policies to attract and retain creative workers, often favoring spending for amenity and lifestyle attractions over more established economic development approaches. It is not clear, however, if the presence of these workers drives regional growth and development as effectively as more traditionally accepted place-based and institutional factors. Purpose: In this article we explore the relationships between the presence of the creative class and regional economic performance, contrasting measures of regional creative capacity with traditional competitiveness factors. Methods: We examine how Floridas creative class measures correlate with each other and with common indicators of economic performance for U.S. metropolitan areas. We also estimate multivariate regression models to compare the influence of Floridas measures to those of more traditional indicators of economic competitiveness on metropolitan job growth, income growth, and job instability. Results and conclusions: We find that differences in Floridas measures of creativity are not generally associated with differences in metropolitan economic performance. Indicators of human capital and industry composition perform as well or better than talent, tolerance, and technology in explaining metropolitan job and income growth and job instability. Takeaway for practice: Since we find measures derived from Floridas creative class hypotheses to be no more associated with positive economic outcomes than traditional competitiveness measures, we do not advocate replacing traditional economic development strategies with those based primarily on attracting the creative class. Programs supporting education, business creation, and industrial diversity are more likely to be effective tools for promoting economic well-being. Research support: We received support from the Center for the Study of the American South and the Office of Economic and Business Developments Program on Southern Politics, Media, and Public Life, both of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Building code enforcement burdens and central city decline

Abstract Since the enactment of Hammurabis Code in ancient Babylon, building regulations have been relied upon to protect the public from the hazards of substandard building materials and slipshod construction techniques. Unnecessary building code requirements and strict enforcement practices, however, have been widely criticized for increasing the costs of new construction and rehabilitation, particularly within central cities. These burdens reduce the ability of central cities to compete successfully with surrounding suburban areas for population and economic development. In this article, we address the linkage between enforcement of building codes and construction activity. We show that central cities can capture a larger share of the market for single-family detached housing in their metropolitan areas and also spur commercial rehabilitation if they adopt more “business-friendly” approaches to building code enforcement. These gains can be achieved without reducing the degree of compliance with building regulations as long as enforcement efforts are strong. In short, one key to increasing economic development in central cities is to foster the right kind of enforcement, rather than having weak enforcement of building regulations.

Economic development in smaller cities and rural areas

Abstract This article argues for an approach local leaders and professionals should use for economic development in smaller cities and rural areas. They should define economic development explicitly, using theory to articulate the public goals they want to pursue. They may locate the economic development function in public or private agencies, but they should use local development organizations—private entities created to achieve public economic development goals—to carry out economic development activities. Rural professionals should formulate a range of economic development strategies intended to achieve public goals and should establish priorities among them. For any rural area, unique strategies based on careful, unbiased analysis and appropriate theory hold the most economic development potential.

An Introduction to Healthy Places

The environment consists of the external (or nongenetic) factors—physical, nutritional, social, behavioral, and others—that act on humans, and the built environment is made up of the many aspects of their surroundings created by humans, such as buildings, neighborhoods, and cities. Health can be defined as complete physical mental, and social well-being This definition extends beyond the absence of disease to include many dimensions of comfort and well-being. While clinicians care for individual patients public health professionals aim to improve health at the level of populations The design professions include urban planning architecture, landscape architecture, and transportation planning Each of these focuses on an aspect of the built environment. Both the public health profession and the design professions took modern form during the nineteenth century in response to rapid population growth, industrialization and urbanization, and the resulting problems of the urban environment. Leading causes of morbidity and mortality include heart disease cancer, diabetes, stroke, injuries, and mental illness. Many of these are related to community design choices. Even though public health has evolved as a distinct field from planning and architecture, these domains have numerous opportunities to collaborate, and this collaboration can lead to improved health, well-being, and sustainability in many ways.

The Economic Development–Vibrant Center Connection: Tracking High-Growth Firms in the DC Region

Guided by empirical observation of recent downtown redevelopment, we conduct spatial analysis between urban vibrancy and economic growth at the census tract level. To measure the level of urban vibrancy of live work and play environments, we rely on the Environmental Protection Agencys Smart Location Database with measures of density, land use diversity, urban design, distance to transit, and destination accessibility. We further measure economic growth by the concentration of high-growth firms and employ descriptive statistics and spatial regressions to analyze the correlations. We first find the presence of vibrant centers in both urban and suburban areas. More important, we observe that vibrant centers have captured more of these high-growth firms. These results suggest the need for more refined theoretical and empirical analysis of urban vibrancy, economic development, and place attractiveness at the intrametropolitan scale.

Does downtown office property perform better in live–work–play centers?

Live–work–play (LWP) centers in US metro markets are attracting young workers and employers, and downtowns are the locations often providing LWP. These centers are compact, diverse, mixed-use, and walkable places that improve economic, environmental, fiscal, public health, and social outcomes. This empirical analysis examines the dimensions and features of LWP centers, considers alternative LWP measures, and determines whether real estate performance increases when LWP centers improve. We find that downtown office rents are higher and capitalization rates are lower in better LWP centers ceteris paribus. However, the expected cap rate relationship is not statistically significant.

The Application of Financial Analysis and Market Research to the Real Estate Development Process

James A. Graaskamp developed and adapted analytical techniques to increase the reliability and accuracy of real estate feasibility analysis. He supported the use of discounted cash-flow analysis as a powerful tool to assist in the implementation of methodologies for appraisal and risk analysis. However, Graaskamp was fully aware of the need to increase the competence of real estate market research and the depth of real estate information gathering to justify the use of discounted cash-flow analysis. In this chapter, we integrate Graaskamp’s concepts of financial feasibility, appraisal and risk analysis, and real estate market research in the context of the real estate development process. We introduce an approach to real estate development feasibility analysis that matches information quality with a series of financial-analysis techniques. Our approach employs static analysis tools to make initial cost-to- value comparisons and select the most promising projects among those under consideration. Appraisal-based tools are used to demonstrate how to incorporate assumptions about the future into value estimation and provide a bridge from static to dynamic analysis. With appropriate information, discounted cash-flow analysis is shown to be the logical tool for use in analyzing solvency, minimum yield, and profit maximization. We demonstrate an effective use of discounted cash-flow analysis to address timing issues and handle the variable cash flows associated with the development process. A simple case study is provided to illustrate the application of this financial feasibility methodology to the real estate development process

Measurement tests for evaluation of social indicators

Abstract An evaluation methodology is developed in this paper based upon two criteria: correspondence and correctness. Four qualitative tests—construct-indicator correlation, construct dimensions-referents correlation, comparability of units and levels of analysis, and utilization of explicit weighting variable—apply the correspondence criterion. The correctness criterion is used in one test in order to compare relative errors in indicator and referents with a quantitative analysis of cumulative error.

Demand pull or supply push? Metro-level analysis of start-ups in the United States

Abstract This paper examines factors related to higher regional start-up activity. Two hypotheses are formulated to explain start-ups: the demand-pull hypothesis argues that the amount, growth and density of aggregate demand will stimulate start-ups in any sectors; and the supply-push hypothesis argues that factors including high-tech industry concentrations, patent generation, industrial and university research activities, and government funding will stimulate high-tech start-ups. Both hypotheses support the importance of human capital factors, such as a highly educated or skilled workforce and thick labour markets. The paper incorporates these various measures and employs cross-sectional multivariate analysis of start-up rates in all sectors and in high-tech sectors in 366 metropolitan areas as defined by the US Census Bureau in 2009. Overall, very strong support is found for the demand-pull hypothesis, but only modest support for the supply-push hypothesis, which provide substantial caveats for public policy to promote start-up activities.