Amenities and how they affect urban economic growth

Abstract

Do amenities contribute to urban growth? The contribution of amenities to urban economic growth has increasingly become an area of study for academics, ecomonomists and policy analysts. Policy makers seeking to promote urban economic growth have increasingly invested in amenities, spending billions of dollars in various urban regions of the world. This dissertation examines the evidence - comprising the 'Amenity Model', statistics and survey data - for the argument that amenities drive urban economic growth. The statistical evidence is examined to ascertain which amenities are seen to contribute to urban economic growth, how much they contribute to growth and what the return on investment might be. The ideas of the major theorists in the field are compared and contrasted. The conclusion is that while there is some statistical evidence that amenities contribute to urban growth, policy makers need to look for the underlying causes. They also need to be aware that for the 'Amenity Model' to work there needs to be a 'thick' labour market. Policy makers seeking to use urban amenites to promote regional economic should be circumspect in their approach.