Sprawl

Here's a fun 2006 QJE paper that recently ran into. I especially like that they authors made a free down-loadable poster to go along with the paper!

CAUSES OF SPRAWL: A PORTRAIT FROM SPACE
MARCY BURCHFIELD, HENRY G. OVERMAN, DIEGO PUGA, MATTHEW A. TURNER

Abstract: We study the extent to which U. S. urban development is sprawling and what determines differences in sprawl across space. Using remote-sensing data to track the evolution of land use on a grid of 8.7 billion 30 30 meter cells, we measure sprawl as the amount of undeveloped land surrounding an average urban dwelling. The extent of sprawl remained roughly unchanged between 1976 and 1992, although it varied dramatically across metropolitan areas. Ground water availability, temperate climate, rugged terrain, decentralized employment, early public transport infrastructure, uncertainty about metropolitan growth, and unincorporated land in the urban fringe all increase sprawl.

Mountain bike races as commentary on urban infrastructure?

I don't think the organizers of this meant for this to be commentary, but what does it say about the design/organization of your urban infrastructure when professional athletes are using it as a venue for mountain bike racing?  A corollary: if professional athletes find your "walk to school/work" this challenging, what does that mean for normal people who are just trying to get themselves or their goods/services to market?







[I hope my cynicism doesn't ruin these videos for you, since they are amazing athletic/artistic feats.  Thanks to Mina for sending these.]