This paper considers the role of developers in the formation of cities. Existing treatment of the location of economic activity between cities either ignore developers entirely (e.g. Stiglitz 1977) or endow them with limitless power (e.g., Henderson 1988). Reality lies somewhere in between; most...

Skyscrapers are urbanism in the extreme, but they have received surprisingly little direct attention in urban economics. The standard urban model emphasizes differentials in access across locations, which determine land price differentials and building heights. This explanation leaves out an...