The Five Economies of Cities
"Cities are the absence of physical space between people and companies. They are proximity, density, closeness. They enable us to work and play together, and their success depends on the demand for physical connection."
— Edward Glaeser, Triumph of the City
The Five Economies of Cities
- Economy of Scale
- Economy of Agglomeration
- Economy of Density
- Economy of Association
- Economy of Extension
The Five Economies of Cities
- Economy of Scale
- Economy of Agglomeration
- Economy of Density
- Economy of Association
- Economy of Extension
The Five Economies of Cities
1. Economy of Scale
- Cities increase the size of your market
- A bigger market splits fixed costs among more customers
- Niche markets become big enough to target
The Five Economies of Cities
1. Economy of Scale
"The scale of cities increases the range of opportunities and level of ambition that can be viably pursued in them, and thereby the scale of the impacts that urban pursuits can have on the world."
— Jeb Brugman, Welcome To The Urban Revolution
The Five Economies of Cities
- Economy of Scale
- Economy of Agglomeration
- Economy of Density
- Economy of Association
- Economy of Extension
The Five Economies of Cities
2. Economy of Agglomeration
- Multiple firms share suppliers, specialty suppliers, shipping nodes
- Larger, more expert pool of employees
- Local schools start to specialize
- Positive feedback loops
The Five Economies of Cities
2. Economy of Agglomeration
"Creative people and companies cluster because of the powerful productivity advantages, economies of scale, and knowledge spillovers such density brings."
— Richard Florida, Who's Your City?
The Five Economies of Cities
- Economy of Scale
- Economy of Agglomeration
- Economy of Density
- Economy of Association
- Economy of Extension
The Five Economies of Cities
3. Economy of Density
- Infrastructure costs go down: roads, water, wastewater, power
- Communications costs go down: courier, phone, cable, broadband, wifi
- More service for the same money
The Five Economies of Cities
3. Economy of Density
- Destinations are closer
- More destinations are nearby
- Transportation costs go down
- You have a choice of modes
The Five Economies of Cities
3. Economy of Density
"The shortest distance between two points is moving them together; every trip from then on is shorter. That's an efficiency multiplied thousands of times."
— Richard Register, Ecocities
The Five Economies of Cities
2. Economy of Density
The Five Economies of Cities
- Economy of Scale
- Economy of Agglomeration
- Economy of Density
- Economy of Association
- Economy of Extension
The Five Economies of Cities
4. Economy of Association
- More people in contact more frequently
- Exponential increase in variety and efficiency of ways to collaborate
- Innovation rate goes up
The Five Economies of Cities
4. Economy of Association
Cities produce novel combinations:
The Five Economies of Cities
4. Economy of Association
"The more different means a system possesses for recapturing, using, and passing around energy before its discharge from the system, the larger are the cumulative consequences of the energy it receives."
— Jane Jacobs, The Nature of Economies
The Five Economies of Cities
- Economy of Scale
- Economy of Agglomeration
- Economy of Density
- Economy of Association
- Economy of Extension
The Five Economies of Cities
5. Economy of Extension
- Grow big enough and you can expand into new markets
- Cities develop around ports to facilitate trade
- Extension lets cities share innovations
How is Hamilton Doing?
Downtown Hamilton
How is Hamilton Doing?
Expressway-Style City Streets
How is Hamilton Doing?
Extensive Surface Parking Downtown
How is Hamilton Doing?
Support for Mid-Peninsula Highway
