Expanding the quantitative spatial equilibrium model and toolkit
This project considers how structural spatial models can help policymakers discern which policies or projects yield the highest economic returns balanced against construction and operational costs.
Policymakers in cities around the world grapple daily with challenging decisions on how to allocate scarce resources. Large and costly infrastructure investments, such as new roads or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems, as well as new planning regulations or urban regeneration projects, can have large and long-lasting implications for the spatial form of the city, its residents, and its economy.
Recent academic research using structural spatial models has brought economic insights to urban policy and investment decisions. Such models aim to shed light on how urban policies and investments change, for example:
- Where people live and work and the resulting commuting patterns in the city
- The price of floor space and the wages that are paid to workers
- The overall economic productivity and population welfare
The IGCities package operationalises this model in a user-friendly format on open-source software and is available for download on the CRAN repository. It aims to enable policymakers in cities across the world to apply this framework to several different policy questions with minimal data inputs and programming knowledge. Through simulation, policymakers can discern which policies or projects yield the highest economic returns, balancing these benefits against construction and operational costs.