Population Growth and Cities

Abstract

"The growth of urban populations throughout the world has led to calls for government regulation to prevent urban sprawl and create land-use patterns that are less auto-dependent. Such regulations are costly: by significantly increasing the cost of housing, they turn urban areas in to enclaves for a wealthy elite. At the same time, the regulations have little effect on transportation patterns. Despite having more compact cities, Europeans drive for 79 percent of their travel, compared with 84 percent in the United States. Rather than increasing regulation, urban leaders should focus on reducing it in order to create opportunities for people of all incomes to build wealth."