SPATIAL HEDONIC MODELS OF AIRPORT NOISE,PROXIMITY, AND HOUSING PRICES*

ABSTRACT Despite the refrain that housing prices are determined by “location, location, and location,” few studies of airport noise and housing prices have incorporated spatial econometric techniques. We compare various spatial econometric models and estimation methods in a hedonic price framework to examine the impact of noise on 2003 housing prices near the Atlanta airport. Spatial effects are best captured by a model including both spatial autocorrelation and autoregressive parameters estimated by a generalized moments approach. In our preferred model, houses located in an area in which noise disrupts normal activities (defined by a day–night sound level of 70–75 decibels) sell for 20.8 percent less than houses located where noise does not disrupt normal activities (defined by a day–night sound level below 65 decibels). The inclusion of spatial effects magnifies the negative price impacts of airport noise. Finally, after controlling for noise, houses farther from the airport sell for less; the price elasticity with respect to distance is −0.15, implying that airport proximity is an amenity.     

A HEDONIC MODEL OF INTERREGIONAL WAGES,RENTS, AND AMENITY VALUES*

ABSTRACT This paper develops a general multimarket hedonic model appropriate for a national, interregional study of wages, housing prices, and location-specific amenities. The model encompasses the effects of interregional location, intraurban location, and city size. Typically, hedonic studies focus on a single market such as labor or housing and ignore interactions implicit in a more global compensation mechanism. Examination of the comparative statics of our model indicates that single-market differentials are partial prices and are unreliable measures of amenity values in an interregional context. Unbiased amenity values are estimated for a comprehensive set of amenities using data on housing prices for 34,414 households and wages for 46,004 workers from the 1980 Census of Population and Housing. Statistically significant differences in housing prices and wages are found due to amenities.     

Automatic fitting of quasi-parabolic segments to ionospheric profiles with application to ground range estimation for single-station location

A method of automatically fitting a quasi-parabolic segment (QPS) model to measured profiles of electron concentration is described. The model consists of many smoothly joined quasi-parabolic segments. The base of the ionosphere is represented by a quasi-linear segment. This model has the advantage of possessing analytic solutions for ray quantities in a spherical ionosphere (neglecting the effect of the Earth's magnetic field). It is also able to represent measured vertical ionospheric profiles to within a few percent in electron concentration.The usefulness of the model is illustrated by an application to the single-station location (SSL) of a distant radio transmitter from angle-of-elevation measurements. The no magnetic field results can represent the ordinary mode and approximate results for the extraordinary mode can be obtained using a frequency scaling technique.     

REPRESENTATION AND IMAGES OF PEOPLE, PLACE AND NATURE IN GRENADA'S TOURISM

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this paper is to examine the visual images occurring in Grenada's place promotion materials. Tourism has become Grenada's principal source of foreign exchange and employment generation. With the increasing popularity of eco- and nature-tourism, the island has looked to this form of specialty tourism as a way to diversify its tourism product. Tourism is a uniquely visual industry; thus semiotics, the study of signs, was chosen for this study because of its ability to analyze the representations a tourist would encounter prior to reaching a destination or prior to participating in activities at the destination that would influence his or her expectations. Emphasis was placed on the images found in promotional materials and advertisements of Grenada to determine the mythology and ideology behind them. These images fell broadly into one of three categories: people, place or nature. Each category was represented as an 'other' that may be discussed in terms of dualities such as natural–artificial, exotic-familiar, and active-passive. The study concludes that images take on the myth of something different breaking the routine of the tourist's ordinary, daily life.     

社区的邻里性本质：内涵、特征及其实践意义

社区作为社会与城市发展的践行单元,如何回归本质并形成可持续的驱动力,是社区发展的关键。基于相关研究总结,邻里性强调关系的联结、情感的认同与归属、内嵌着“我向”意识等,极具内化性特征,是社区本质的重要体现。为此,本研究结合广州15个社区的案例调研,通过因子分析法(EFA、CFA)来探究邻里性的因子结构,进而剖析现代城市语境下邻里性的深层内涵与特征,分析各类型社区的邻里性特征差异及可能的影响因素,回应相关的共同体本质理论,综合探讨邻里性的实践意义。研究总体认为,邻里性内含了“家园感”、“凝聚力”、“行动力”三大主因子,蕴含了丰富的内生驱动能量;社区应回归其邻里性本质,根据各类型社区的问题、特征与资源,培育社区自身的能量与资本,推动“内生驱动”式的良性发展。     

GEOGRAPHIC FORECASTING FOR OPTIMIZING NATURE MANAGEMENT AS A BASIS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE KANSK-ACHINSK FUEL AND ENERGY COMPLEX

A program for forecasting the possible environmental consequences of industrial development in the Kansk-Achinsk Fuel and Energy Complex (KATEK) is described, the resulting forecasts providing the basis for recommendations for future resource development. Attention is focused on the projected impacts of the location of two state regional power stations (GRES) and one large strip mine in the Sharypovo area, the authors recommending that this represent the maximum capacity to be concentrated at any one location for environmental reasons. [Apparently, planners took this into consideration, as recently announced plans for the basin have been scaled back to include only two stations (see S.G., April 1988)—Ed., S.G.] One variant calls for the resiting of one of the GRES units to the eastern part of the KATEK area (translated by Natalia B. Barbash, Brooklyn, NY 11209).     

LUTI模型原理、实现及应用综述

经济全球化背景下可持续发展已成为当今世界发展的主题。快速城镇化下的中国,城市空间的可持续性发展提上日程。为此,期待有力的、可操作的工具用于定量模拟城市空间演化过程、预测不同政策下城市空间的发展趋势,为城市化持续健康发展提供决策支持。本文分析了LUTI模型的基本原理、构建思路、实现框架和建立中国城市LUTI模型面临的问题,并回顾了国内外利用LUTI模型模拟城市空间演化过程,以辅助表明城市空间决策的研究现状,希望能为中国的城市空间可持续发展模拟分析研究提供参考。     

LOCATION‐SPECIFIC HUMAN CAPITAL,LOCATION CHOICE AND AMENITY DEMAND*

ABSTRACT The role of amenities in the flow of migrants has long been a subject of debate. This paper advances an original model of amenities that work through household production instead of directly through utility. Area characteristics (amenities) affect household production, causing certain kinds of human capital investments to be rewarded more than others. Area heterogeneity thus makes such investments location‐specific. This specificity—along with a period of exogenous location—increases the opportunity costs of moving, diminishes migration flows between dissimilar locations and increases valuation of amenities that were present in the originating area. These theoretical results emphasize people's sorting across areas and thus differ from the results of the standard model of compensating differentials. Empirical tests of the model's predictions using NLSY79 data show that childhood investments affect migration flows in the way proposed by the model.     

构建汽车产业区位竞争优势--以长春市为例

区位建立竞争优势才能主动迎接经济全球化的挑战,由此,本文提出"区位竞争优势"这一概念。中国正处于工业社会向知识经济社会的转型过程中,制造业所需的区位竞争优势内容具有两种社会的交叉特点,极富代表性。本文选取受跨国公司影响巨大的汽车产业为分析对象,将区位竞争优势的内容分析落实到具体的产业;并以长春市为例,对条件并非最好的区位提出构建区位竞争优势的思路。     

TRAFFIC CONGESTION,POLYCENTRICITY, AND INTRAURBAN FIRM LOCATION CHOICES: A NESTED LOGIT MODEL FOR THE LOS ANGELES METROPOLITAN AREA

This study empirically investigates traffic congestion effects on agglomeration through the lens of firm location decisions. A discrete choice model is applied to examine new establishments’ location choices within the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Employment centers are defined as the choice set to explore the nature and role of intraurban agglomerations. The results show that metro‐wide congestion negatively affects the location choices of firms in the high‐order office‐related activities, while local congestion have positive impacts on those firms’ location decisions. In contrast, firms in production‐related activities are positively influenced by regional congestion but are negatively affected by local congestion levels.     

CHANGES IN THE NATURE OF URBAN SPATIAL STRUCTURE IN THE UNITED STATES, 1890–2000*

ABSTRACT This paper documents the long‐run trends in the average densities and density gradients of urban areas in the United States. The data show that between 1890 and 2000 the average densities of cities and metropolitan areas rose and fell but that the density gradients of urban areas generally declined monotonically over time. While it is beyond the scope of this paper to estimate the causes of these changes, this paper argues that a complete understanding of the changes in the nature of US urban spatial structures is likely to go beyond the standard explanations based on the monocentric city model such as decreases in transportation costs and increases in household incomes.     

The Agroindustry: A Neglected Aspect of the Location Theory of Manufacturing

The agroindustry, that is, the industry of processing of agricultural products, plays an important role in the economy of a developing country. However, the location theory of manufacturing, as developed to date, is not applicable to this type of manufacturing. This paper attempts to examine this neglected aspect of the location theory of manufacturing. The model is built on a framework that is adopted by most previous studies on production location, except that one of the inputs is of the von Thunen type, that is, produced over space and initially sold to consumers in the town. The location behavior of an agroindustrial firm is systematically analyzed. Moreover, and more importantly, a comparison of an agroindustrial firm with its non-agroindustrial counterpart is presented, demonstrating clearly that in many respects, the location behaviors of these two categories of manufacturing are significant different.     

Producer Services, Economic Geography, and Services Tradability

We investigate how the incorporation of producer services linkages affects the outcome of an economic geography model. We specify the production of manufactures such that a variety of producer services is needed to transform tradable unfinished goods into final consumption goods. We find that service linkages promote the concentration of economic activity in a single region, but whether full concentration is achieved depends on the costs and mode of services trade. Applying the model to a multiregion world shows that incorporating producer services may also give rise to regions that specialize in different economic activities.     

The Effects of Localization on Economic Performance: Analysis of Spanish Tourism Clusters

The sun, sea and sand model that has characterized the Spanish tourism sector and has caused Spain's tourist sector to become a world-class industry is actually undergoing drastic changes. This model is based on the existence of major tourism destinations characterized by high levels of industry specialisation, which makes them a target of analysis as tourism clusters in which the geographic concentration of synergies reinforces the competitive position. In this study, Spanish tourism clusters are identified using quantitative methods and the current validity of the economies of location that have made them possible are also analysed. Although all the identified clusters can be defined as mature and became less significant during the last decade in Spanish tourism, according to the results the creation of externalities measured in terms of higher generation of profit is higher in companies belonging to the tourism clusters than in those outside of them.     

Country Roads: Travel,Visibility, and Late Classic Settlement in the Southern Maya Mountains

Mayanist archaeology has long been concerned with creating and evaluating explanatory models for the locations of ancient sites relative to one another and to the physical geography of the Maya world. This study combines epigraphic data and spatial analyses to explore motivations for settlement location and to interrogate territorial strategies in Late Classic (a.d. 600–830) kingdoms in the southern Maya Mountains, around the modern towns of Dolores and Poptún, Guatemala. Least-cost path analyses were used to model natural travel corridors and their relationship with site location was assessed. In conjunction, viewshed analyses were applied to evaluate the importance of visual connections to likely travel routes. The results are considered in the context of the socio-politics and economics of the region, and raise questions about the character of and interconnections between travel, exchange, settlement location, and mechanisms for reinforcing territorial claims in the Late Classic Southern Maya Mountains.     

Optimal Timing and Location in Competitive Markets

The choice of a good location strategy is one of the most crucial decisions facing a retailer. While a number of recent articles have addressed the issue of site selection, the related issue of optimal timing and preemption has been largely ignored. In this paper, we present an integrated location allocation model that allows a retailer to formulate an overall location strategy by addressing the questions of how many stores to open, where to open them, and when to open them. In addition, the model explicitly incorporates demand growth scenarios and takes into account the dynamics of competitive actions. As an illustration of its use, the model is applied to a simple yet realistic decision scenario.     

Clusters versus Cluster Initiatives,with Focus on the ICT Sector in Poland

The article focuses on the topic of clustering, which has become a popular concept, both from the academic and political perspective, and as an efficient business model. The distinction between clusters, understood as geographical concentrations of specific industries, and cluster initiatives, understood as more formalized actions undertaken by regional actors, is proposed. The primary objective of this study is to verify if these two types of structures are overlapping each other. This problem arises because the motivation for forming some cluster initiatives may be different economic policy instruments rather than existing market potential of a specific regional economy. The study finds that not all of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) cluster initiatives in Poland represent real concentration of ICT-related divisions included in statistical classification of economic activities in the European community Rev. 2 classification, as measured by location quotients (LQs) for indicators on employment, firms' incomes and number of enterprises. However, there is a visible pattern that the LQs are higher in smaller geographic areas (NUTS 4 (Nomenclature of units for territorial statistics)), which usually represent big cities, being the cores of cluster initiatives. The study also discusses the phenomenon of the internationalization of clusters and the value added to that process from forming formalized cluster initiatives, which create favourable institutional framework for transborder cooperation.     

Probabilistic, Maximal Covering Location—Allocation Models forCongested Systems

When dealing with the design of service networks, such as health andemergency medical services, banking or distributed ticket-selling services, the location of servicecenters has a strong influence on the congestion at each of them, and, consequently, on thequality of service. In this paper, several probabilistic maximal coveringlocation—allocation models with constrained waiting time for queue length are presentedto consider service congestion. The first model considers the location of a given number ofsingle-server centers such that the maximum population is served within a standard distance, andnobody stands in line for longer than a given time or with more than a predetermined number ofother users. Several maximal coverage models are then formulated with one or more servers perservice center. A new heuristic is developed to solve the models and tested in a 30-node network.     

Down by the Water's Edge: Modelling Shipyard Locations in Maryland, USA

Shipbuilding in the Chesapeake, while explored extensively in historical literature, has been largely absent from the reported archaeological record, the primary cause being the ephemeral nature of shipyard-sites. In an attempt partially to rectify this situation a study was undertaken to quantitatively identify the environmental and cultural factors which influenced the location of shipyards. Following the construction of a GIS predictive model, selected shipyard locations were investigated to assess the validity of the model. It is believed that the results of this study will help archaeologists to investigate these important industrial resources.
© 2006 The Author     

3. NATURE,RELIGION, AND IMAGINATION: COMMENTS ON IMAGES OF HISTORY

After sharing some reflections, I raise three questions. The first asks about the role of nature and reason according to Kant's teleological history, and the extent to which Kant's essays written before the Critique of the Power of Judgment (1790) are “dogmatic,” as his phrase “aim of nature” might suggest. The second asks about Kant's “impure” ethics and the role of religion. What would Kantian religion look like today? The last question concerns the relation between images and ideas—a thornier issue than Kant's initial definitions of imagination and reason would seem to suggest.