Nicolai Wendland

Game of Zones: The Political Economy of Conservation Areas

Provided there are positive external benefits attached to the historic character of buildings, owners of properties in designated conservation areas benefit from a reduction in uncertainty regarding the future of their area. At the same time, the restrictions put in place to ensure the preservation of the historic character limit the degree to which properties can be altered and thus impose a cost to their owners. We test a simple theory of the designation process in which we postulate that the level of designation is chosen to comply with interests of local homeowners. The implication of the model is that a) an increase in preferences for historic character should increase the likelihood of a designation, and b) new designations at the margin should not be associated with significant house price capitalization effects. Our empirical results are in line with these predictions.

The IOC’s midas touch: Summer Olympics and city growth:

Hosting a mega-event is a costly activity of short duration. Still, cities frequently compete to become host of all types of events. This paper examines the effect of staging the largest and most important sporting event in the world, the Summer Olympic Games, on the host city. Applying a difference-in-differences methodology, we analyse the population size of Olympic cities, candidate cities and other large cities in host and candidate countries over the period from 1860 to 2010. We find that, following the Games, host cities do not experience a measurable increase in population size relative to cities in the control group. On the contrary, to the extent that any effect of hosting the Games is identifiable, our results indicate that being awarded the Summer Olympics has a negative impact on cities.

Die Zentralität war schon da!: Die Bedeutung des öffentlichen Schienennahverkehrs für die Entstehung der Berliner City West

This paper employs a multilevel mar- ket potential indicator to represent urban cen- trality generated by the urban railway network in Berlin from 1875-1935. Data on population are collected for the whole study period on the level of city districts (Ortsteile) and disaggregated to the level of 15 937 statistical blocks to enable detailed mapping and spatial aggregation on a micro-level. Disaggregation is conducted re- ferring to built-up areas available in the form of historic maps which were digitized and geo- referenced. The urban railway system, including network and stations, was digitally reproduced for the whole study period and merged with micro-level population data within a GIS envi- ronment to generate the centrality indicator. We find that preceding the emergence of West Ber- lins central business district during the 1920s, the area was excellently accessible by means of rail-based public transport. These findings con- firm theoretical expectations that processes of urban decentralization lead to the emergence of sub-centers at those locations that are char- acterized by good accessibility and large mar- ket potential. For cities suffering from exces- sive congestion within their central business districts, our results suggest that city planners may successfully support the transformation of monocentric into polycentric cities by providing alternative sites with large market access based on an excellent transport infrastructure.

The Micro-Cosmos of German Cities: New Insights into the Supply of and Demand for Urban Amenities

The value of location, arguably the most important determinant of real estate prices, is a composite of a broad range of characteristics such as access to labor markets, natural amenities like parks and waterfronts, urban amenities like restaurants and cultural facilities and the socio-economic characteristics of the resident population. To consumers searching for new living space, the cost of collecting relevant information on neighborhoods they are not familiar with is high. For developers, real estate agents and policy makers, the changing nature of consumer preferences for the various types of amenities are typically hard to observe, creating uncertainty as to where and how to best provide and promote desirable living space. The results are frictions like higher moving costs and reduced mobility, imperfect product differentiation and welfare losses. A new application, POTENTIALSPACES, aims at reducing these frictions by developing (a) micro-geographic indices that capture the endowment with such amenities covering the whole of Germany, (b) a web interface to search for a preferred combination of amenities, and (c) a real-time monitoring system of the demand for amenities. Using POTENTIALSPACES as an example, this article introduces the theoretical underpinnings and practical applications of “big data” in the realm of real estate.