ABSTRACT
New techniques have been developed to analyze growth characteristics of urban areas. These techniques have been applied in ten American cities, Hartford, Baltimore, Washington, and a group of Iowa cities including Des Moines, Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, and Davenport. To establish past growth trends of manufacturing employment in the Hartford area, nine variables were used in the analysis. The variables considered were highway accessibility, availability of industrial land, tax rate, sewer and water service, rail service, proximity of industrial land to airports, size of existing industrial activities, and promotional aspects. Usually four or five formulas are developed to reflect aspects of urban growth. For example, in the Hartford area separate formulas were used to analyze manufacturing service and retail employment, as well as population. Almost all retail and service employment has shifted with population. Many governmental and office activities have moved out to be closer to the people they serve.
