Contents:

Preface

1. Why Cities Exist

2. Analyzing Urban Spatial Structure

3. Modification of the Urban Model

4. Urban Sprawl and Land-Use Controls

5. Freeway Congestion

6. Housing Demand and Tenure Choice

7. Housing Policies

8. Local Public Goods and Services

9. Pollution

10. Crime

11. Urban Quality-of-Life Measurement

Exercises

References

Index

Description:

This book offers a rigorous but nontechnical treatment of major topics in urban economics. To make the book accessible to a broad range of readers, the analysis given is diagrammatic rather than mathematical. The book, though nontechnical, relies on rigorous economic reasoning. In contrast to the cursory theoretical development often found in other textbooks, it offers a thorough and exhaustive treatment of models relevant to each topic, with the goal of revealing the logic of economic reasoning while also teaching urban economics.

The book contains footnotes throughout pointing to relevant exercises, which appear at the back of the book. These 22 extended exercises (containing 125 individuals parts) develop numerical examples, based on the models analyzed in the chapters.

“This book is a very nice presentation of basic urban material. Brueckner has a great talent for taking complex ideas and models and putting them in readily accessible frameworks that capture the key points. Moreover, he uses simple examples to illustrate the issues. The material should be accessible to advanced undergraduates and will provide insights for graduate students as well.”

J. Vernon Henderson, Eastman Professor of Political Economy and
Professor of Economics and Urban Studies, Brown University

“Jan Brueckner’s lucid Lectures on Urban Economics is a rigorous, but non-technical, analysis of the major topics in the field. The lectures survey topics of broad appeal to students, and they provide just enough detail—clear diagrams and tightly written prose—to support a definitive analysis. This slim volume has the hallmark of an excellent undergraduate text.”