The attraction of urban cores: Densification in Dutch city centres

• Published in: Urban studies (Edinburgh, Scotland) Scotland), 2020-07, Vol.57 (9), p.1920-1939
• Main Authors: Broitman, Dani, Koomen, Eric
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cities; City centres; Data analysis; Demographic change; Densification; Density gradients; Economic analysis; Economic models; Empirical analysis; Expansion; Housing; Monuments; Population; Population density; Population density gradients; Population growth; Transport costs; Transportation; Urban areas; Urban development; Urban growth; Urban population; Urban populations; Urban sprawl
• ISSN: 0042-0980; 1360-063X
• DOI: 10.1177/0042098019864019

Urban growth is typically considered a process of expansion. As population grows and transport costs decrease urban density gradients are expected to gradually flatten. This is a basic feature of cities, explained by urban economic models and empirically supported by a plethora of studies about urban density development from all over the world. However, additional forces, such as changes in demographic composition and locational preferences of the urban population acting at local levels, may counteract the flattening tendency of urban gradients. In this paper, we suggest a methodology to test the impact of local density changes on urban gradients, looking at spatiotemporal developments in terms of housing and population. Using highly detailed data on individual housing units and inhabitants in major Dutch cities, we first assess and compare urban density gradients during the period 2000–2017. In all the analysed Dutch cities, both dwelling and population density gradients are becoming steeper over time, contradicting standard predictions from urban economic literature and empirical reports worldwide. The observed trend of steepening urban gradients is partly explained by the presence of historical monuments and urban amenities. 城市发展通常被认为是一个扩张的过程。随着人口增长和运输成本降低，城市密度梯度 预计将逐渐扁平。这是城市的一个基本特征，由城市经济模型解释，并由世界各地关于 城市密度发展的大量研宄实证支持。然而，额外的力量，如在地方一级行动的城市人口 的人口构成和位置偏好的变化，可能抵消城市梯度的扁平趋势。在这篇文章中，我们提 出了一种方法来测试局部密度变化对城市梯度的影响，即从住房和人口的角度来看时空 发展。我们首先使用荷兰主要城市的个人住房单元和居民的非常详细的数据来评估和比 较 2000_2017年期间的城市密度梯度。在所有被分析的荷兰城市中，随着时间的推移，居住和人 口密度梯度都变得越来越陡，这与世界范围内城市经济文献和经验报告的标准预测相矛 盾。观察到的城市梯度变陡的趋势部分是由历史遗迹和城市便利设施的存在来解释的。