ABSTRACT

It has been observed that a key factor shaping urban land use patterns is the dominant mode of use during the initial stage of development. Cities that have adopted fixed rail (above ground and underground) have developed a quite different urban form than cities that use buses, trams and private cars as their predominant modes. However, this modal effect on urban growth pattern tends to abate as cities reach maturity and rate of suburbanization growth far exceeds the rate of development of this mode. In the analysis in Chapter 8, we assume an in-place transportation system and focus on the effect of an incremental development of this system on local economic growth. This system can be a highway network or fixed rail provided its capacity serves as a constraint on travel times and flow.