Frank E. Horton

On place utility and the normative allocation of intra-urban migrants

This paper arises out of the fact that place utility, a basic factor in behavioral conceptualizations of migration processes, has not been specified in operational terms. This is done here through a model that assigns intraurban migrants to destination areal units within the city, using a normative linear programming framework based on behavioral considerations. Measures of place utilities for each areal unit and of comparative place utilities for each pair-wise permutation of areal units are provided by the shadow prices of the dual of the linear programming model. The primal of the model allocates migrants so as to maximize the household’s gain from migration. This is measured by the increase in its realized aspirations with respect to a residence site, tempered by the search effort involved in acquiring the site. Implementation of the model utilizes both questionnaire and published data from Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the year 1966 to 1967. Conformity between predictions of the model and real-world characteristics is such that it is concluded that the basic form of the model is sound. It is also concluded that the posited relationships between place utility and behavior in searching for and selecting a new residential site are reasonable and can lead to valuable insights into place utility and its functioning in the intra-urban system. Due to some misallocation of migrant flows, however, we further conclude that the model should be revised into a recursive format for future use.

Urban-change detection systems: Remote-sensing inputs

Abstract This paper explores the application of remote-sensing technology to provide inputs to systems for urban-change detection and as such focuses primarily on the urban data user environment. Urban-change detection refers to the general problem of monitoring the urban system and discerning changes that are occurring within that system that are of use to urban planners, managers, and researchers. Conventional aerial photography and, more recently, color-infrared imagery have proved extremely useful in providing inventories of changes in various urban subsystems at more frequent time intervals than conventionally collected data. The problem addressed here is to integrate remote-sensing data with conventionally collected data in a system that describes and reports urban change. As research continues into the utility of remote sensing for the acquisition of data concerning specific urban phenomenon an increasing proportion of the data requirements of urban-change detection systems can be supplied by remote-sensing technology. However, the cost parameters related to these elements in some cases are unknown. Remote-sensing technology must be considered within the context of user needs, which determines the appropriate imagery scale, size of aerial unit of obsevation, any necessary classification schemes, and the need for appropriate data items. This paper attempts to define the general environment which remote-sensing data inputs in an urban context must operate. In the final analysis the utility of remote sensing in this area rests on stark economic conditions in the trade-off between costs and data-delivery-time requirements.

UNDERSTANDING URBAN GEOGRAPHY: THE ROLE OF TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH AND PLANNING

THE AUTHOR SUGGESTS THAT TRANSPORTATION OF URBAN AREAS IS CLOSELY RELATED TO THE URBAN TRANSPORT PLANNING PROCESS, WHICH IS ITSELF IN PERPETUAL TRANSFORMATION. THE CURRENT METHODS USED TO INITIATE AND CONSTRUCT ADDITIONS TO THE ROAD NETWORK ARE CRITICALLY DISCUSSED (INVENTORY, ANALYSES (TRIP GENERATION, TRIP DISTRIBUTION, AND TRIP ASSIGNMENT), AND EVALUATION). THE NEED FOR GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR BEFORE A NEW TRANSPORT PLANNING PROCESS CAN BE DESIGNED IS EMPHASIZED. /TRRL/

Urban Growth and Development Models: Transition and Prospect

Abstract This paper focuses on comprehensive activity allocation models for purposes of predicting and planning the future of our cities. The general nature of urban models is discussed and the contributions of geographers to these endeavors is assessed. The strategies used to handle the various problems in urban modeling are considered in the general case. This includes such topics as equilibrium assumptions, allowance for both growth and decline, and time intervals (or lags) for development cycles. An evolutionary comparison of several models is then presented with an emphasis on spatial properties. It is suggested that if we, as a nation, can specify desirable characteristics of our future cities, then these can effectively be encouraged by the priming decisions of public policy. The consideration of urban growth and development models by geographers will facilitate the education and training of individuals capable of intelligently approaching alternative decisions and their impact on the quality of ur...

Information needs of the continuing urban transportation planning process

Urban transportation is identified as a functional element in the broader context of urban facilities and services. From this point of view, the relative merits of separate information systems for transportation planning and general urban planning, as contrasted to unified systems for all urban management functions, are discussed. The overriding need to make the most effective use of urban resources argues strongly for the unification of urban information systems to the greatest possible extent consistent with the special data requirements of various functional programs. The need to identify and correlate data items for very small areal units and to keep current records of the constantly shifting patterns of social and economic activities in urban areas present difficult, but not insurmountable technical problems. However, the most serious barrier to the development and implementation of comprehensive urban information systems is concluded to be institutional, rather than technical, in nature.