Testing the monocentric standard urban model in a global sample of cities

TL;DR

This study evaluates the monocentric standard urban model across 192 cities worldwide, finding it effectively explains city structures and their variations based on economic and transportation factors.

Contribution

It provides the first large-scale empirical validation of the monocentric urban model using diverse global city data.

Findings

Cities spread out with higher income, population, and cheaper transportation or farmland.

100% of cities show negative density gradients; 87% show negative rent gradients.

A 1% income decrease leads to a 21% drop in densities and 3% in rents per m2.

Abstract

Using a unique dataset containing gridded data on population densities, rents, housing sizes, and transportation in 192 cities worldwide, we investigate the empirical relevance of the monocentric standard urban model (SUM). Overall, the SUM seems surprisingly capable of capturing the inner structure of cities, both in developed and developing countries. As expected, cities spread out when they are richer, more populated, and when transportation or farmland is cheaper. Respectively 100% and 87% of the cities exhibit the expected negative density and rent gradients: on average, a 1% decrease in income net of transportation costs leads to a 21% decrease in densities and a 3% decrease in rents per m2. We also investigate the heterogeneity between cities of different characteristics in terms of monocentricity, informality, and amenities.