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Modeling Recreational Amenities in an Urban Setting: Location, Congestion, and Substitution Effects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2016

Frances R. Homans
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul
Elizabeth P. Marshall
Affiliation:
World Resources Institute in Washington, D. C.

Abstract

In this article, we introduce a recreational amenity—a greenbelt park—into a simple urban economic model. For multiple possible park placements, we solve for the associated equilibrium urban structure, including the equilibrium rent gradient, city boundary, total number of park visits, the overall utility level, and total vehicle miles traveled. We examine how these change with alternative park placement sites. We then show how two modifications of the basic model—allowing congestion at the site to affect site quality, and introducing the possibility of a substitute site at the city's periphery—affect our conclusions about how greenbelt location influences urban structure.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

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