Competitive Land Markets In A Non-monocentric Urban Area

A large portion of the urban economics literature has analyzed the operation of the competitive land market using a theoretical framework which presupposes a monocentric urban configuration, in which a central business district is surrounded by a residential area. In this thesis, it is argued that the monocentricity assumption does not describe current spatial distribution patterns of households and firms. While monocentricity may be an acceptable simplification for some applications, there are other important questions which can only be addressed within a model in which the spatial distribution of households and firms is endogeneously determined. One of these questions, the efficiency of competitive land markets, is the central focus of the thesis.;The thesis develops a linear model in which monocentricity is relaxed by the inclusion of an additional export transportation entrepot. There are seven possible configuration outcomes that can be generated by the model and the equilibrium conditions for each are derived. These seven configurations are all special cases of two general configuration types, each with a different household commuting pattern. It is then shown that the competitive market in long run equilibrium will allocate land to households and firms optimally, minimizing aggregate transportation costs.;The thesis concludes that competitive land markets can efficiently allocate land in a non-monocentric urban area and suggests areas for further research that could better assess the efficiency of competitive land markets