Urban Renewal: Interests, Actors, Structure

Abstract

As the central city’s downtown office economy grew, central city land-uses changed. In the world of urban economics, most of the upward and outward movement of the new downtown economy takes place quietly through the market. Firms and households weigh the benefits of downtown accessibility against their demands for space. Those who expect to benefit most from accessibility and who can make most intensive use of the relatively small downtown locations will tend to outbid others for the privilege of a central location. This power to command central locations is granted by the market, a noiseless outcome of one’s income and the relative benefits of downtown accessibility versus non-downtown space.