Urban structure is increasingly characterized by decentralization, dispersion, and multiple employment centers. Much is known empirically about such patterns, and about how the interplay between agglomerative and dispersive forces generates spatial structures that are complex and prone to...

We investigate employment subcenters in the Los Angeles region using’1980 Census journey-towork data. A simple subcenter definition is used, based solely on gross employment density and total employment. We find a surprising dominance of downtown Los Angeles and three large subcenters...

Traffic congestion is a classic externality, especially pervasive in urban areas. The theoretical and empirical relationships governing it have been thoroughly studied. As a result, most urban economists and a growing number of other policy analysts agree that the best policy to deal with it...

This paper reports results from evaluations of two recent road pricing demonstrations in Southern California. These demonstration projects provide particularly useful opportunities for measuring commuters’ values of time and reliability. Unlike most revealed preference studies of value of...

Basic to several key issues in current urban economic theory and public policy is a presumption that local imbalances between employment and residential sites strongly influence people's commuting patterns. We examine this presumption by finding the commuting pattern for the Los Angeles region...

The economic theory behind congestion pricing relies on using the revenues to help compensate highway users. But can practical methods of using revenues come close to achieving this compensation, and still have salient appeal to important political groups? This paper investigates the...