The changes will be economically disruptive because they increase uncertainty in property markets, weaken the contractual nature of land development, and provide more opportunities for planners and the general public to delay development. The result will be more volatile property markets, reduced supply and higher prices and rents.

øThis groundbreaking book will prove to be an invaluable resource and a rewarding read for academics, practitioners and policymakers interested in the economics of urban policy, urban planning and development, as well as international studies and innov

It is predicted by some observers that the 21st century will be remembered as the 'Asian Century'. Many of the countries in the region seem to be able to take the economic and trade baton when one of the others experience problems. The region, in general, continues to grow economically, politically and militarily. The articles presented in this book examine the current political and economic situations in nations across Asia, particularly focusing on economic developments. Contents: Preface; The Challenge of Removing Administrative Barriers to FDI in China; Negative Externality, Tacit Bargaining and Cigarette Demand: The Case of Environmental Tobacco Smoke in Japan; Modelling Development Control of Residential Development: A Probit Analysis of Rent Seeking and Policy Autonomy in Town Planning in Hong Kong; Social(ist) Capital: Does it Pay? The Institutional Impact on Conditions and Consequences of Access to Social Capital: the Case of the Former GDR; The Role of Foreign Investment in Guangdong's Economic Development; Natural Disasters and Long-run Economic Growth in Asia and Around the World; The Role of Urban Policy in the Battle against Poverty: The Experience of the Philippines;

This book examines the rapid expansion of urban areas worldwide, especially within the previous 50 years, identifying the factors that have contributed to this phenomenon and exploring its many consequences. Global Urban Growth: A Reference Handbook examines urbanization and the challenges associated with rapid urban growth and urban sprawl from a truly global perspective, rather than presenting only a limited exploration of the subject by addressing a single city, country, or region. Investigating urbanization and related policy challenges as both a general phenomenon of all modern societies and one that varies greatly in different regions of the world, the book charts different growth trajectories in these societies and varying policy responses. Significant variations in culture, historical background, economic factors, and political and social development are considered. A chapter on the United States and Canada documents how urbanization trends have occurred in North America and presents our policy approaches in comparison and contrast with the rest of the world. The author offers a balanced overview by marshaling the facts and clearly presenting both the benefits and the drawbacks for readers.

World population growth and economic prosperity have given rise to ever-increasing demands on cities, transportation planning, and goods movement. This growth, coupled with a slower pace of transportation capacity expansion and deteriorated facility restoration, has led to rapid changes in the transportation planning and policy environment. These stresses are particularly acute for megacities where degradation of mobility and facility performance have reached alarming rates. Addressing these transportation challenges requires innovative solutions. Megacity Mobility grapples with these challenges by addressing transportation policy, planning, and facilities in a multimodal context. It discusses innovative short- and long-term solutions for meeting current and future mobility needs for the world’s most dynamic cities by addressing the influence of urban land use on mobility, 3D spiderweb transportation planning, travel demand management, multimodal transportation with flexible capacity, efficient capacity utilization driven by new technologies, innovative transportation funding and financing, and performance-based budget allocation using asset management principles. It discusses emerging issues, highlights potential challenges affecting proposed solutions, and provides policymakers, planners, and transportation professionals a road map to achieving sustainable mobility in the 21st century. Zongzhi Li is a professor and the director of the Sustainable Transportation and Infrastructure Research (STAIR) Center at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). Adrian T. Moore is vice president of policy at Reason Foundation in Washington, D.C., with focuses on privatization, transportation and urban growth, and more. Samuel R. Staley is the director of the DeVoe L. Moore Center in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy at Florida State University.

Planning and the Political Market argues that the enthusiasm for planning as an essential component of environmental protection is misplaced. Drawing on the experience of Britain and other Western democracies, the author uses public choice theory to explore the practical experience of land use planning as an example of government failure. The book opens by outlining the institutional focus of public choice theory, examining the central questions of market and government failure and the theoretical case for government intervention in the environment. Having explored the principal impacts of planning the book goes on to analyse the institutional structures which have produced these policy outcomes. The analysis suggests that institutional incentives within the 'political market' have frequently led to policies which favour special interest groups and public sector bureaucracy. The book concludes with an assessment of the potential for a private property rights, free market alternative to increase community involvement and access.

Implications of this study -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 7: Geographical evolution of railway network development -- Introduction -- China's railway speed-up and HSR development -- Implications of railway speed-ups on regional development -- Implications for local accessibility -- Conclusion -- Note -- References -- Chapter 8: Market reform, land development and urban vibrancy -- Introduction -- Economic implications of land and housing marketization -- Urban vibrancy pattern in a modern-day Chinese city -- Mechanisms -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- PART IV: Conclusions -- Chapter 9: Concluding remarks -- Transformation of Chinese cities in politically biased urban hierarchies -- Planning for spatial agglomeration -- Planning for infrastructure development -- Planning for city vibrancy -- Planning for reshaping the economic geography -- References -- Index

The book's aim is to draw together the economics literature relating to planning and set it out systematically. It analyses the economics of land use planning and the relationship between economics and planning and addresses questions like: What are the limits of land use planning and the extent of its objectives?; Is the aim aesthetic?; Is it efficiency?; Is it to ensure equity?; Or sustainability?; And if all of these aims, how should one be balanced against another?

This book is the first work dedicated to the key ideas of Nobel Laureate Ronald Coase on pollution and public goods with sustainable development in mind from the perspective of an economist-town planner. The seminal contributions of Ronald Coase, foretold in the form of the Coase Theorem by another Nobel laureate, George Stigler, have been much analyzed and often misinterpreted by friends and foes alike. In this book, Lawrence Lai attempts to revisit Coase's seminal works and bring to the fore their importance in economic and urban planning policy analysis. Coase's comparative institutional approach offers an important vehicle for the analysis of pressing social issues such as sustainable development, and all those interested in the creation of new platforms for performing policy analysis will welcome this important work.