What question did this study set out to answer?

This paper aims to document the history and evolution of urban economics as a field, emphasizing its US origins and internationalization.

February 12, 2026

Land, Space, or Cities: A History of Urban Economics as a Field

Key Points

This paper aims to document the history and evolution of urban economics as a field, emphasizing its US origins and internationalization.
Conducted quantitative analysis of author citation networks and foundational contributions.
Performed archival research to identify key historical periods in urban economics.
Analyzed the impacts of socio-political events like urban riots and foundation grants on the field's development.
Identified significant growth of urban economics in the 1960s driven by various scholarly contributions.
Noted period of marginalization in the 1980s due to shifts in academic focus.
Highlighted a recent resurgence in urban economics, integrating new empirical techniques and theoretical frameworks from related fields.

Abstract

The field of “urban economics” is an elusive object whose US-based origins, development, and internationalization we attempt to document in this paper. To flesh out urban economists’ territory, we rely on a mix of quantitative analysis (networks of authors most cited alongside the foundational contributions of William Alonso, Richard Muth, and Edwin Mills) and archival research. We identify several periods in the development of American urban economics, including a taking-off in the 1960s, fueled by scholarly contributions, urban riots, and foundations’ grants; a marginalization in the 1980s; and a recent renewal where urban economists grappled with the theoretical legacy of the New Economic Geography, and with the transfer of new empirical techniques from neighboring fields.

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