Irwin
AEDE 680
Fall 2001
10/25/01
Undergraduate
students: Choose three of the following five questions to answer.
Graduate
students: Choose four of the following five questions to answer.
General
guidelines for answers: Structure each of your answers as a short essay (2-3
pages in length). Use complete
sentences, logical arguments, and graphs when appropriate. Each answer should be comprehensive, but not
exhaustive. Please type and
double-space all answers (graphs can be hand drawn). Include full citations for any articles, books, websites, etc.
that you reference. You are expected to
work on your own. No collaboration
please. If you have questions regarding
clarification of terms, etc., email me.
I will forward the question and my answer to everyone in class.
Grading:
You will be graded based on: (1) correctness and applicability of the
information, economic theory, concepts, and examples that you present; (2)
logical structure of answer; (3) clarity of your writing; (4) ability to
integrate theory and examples; and (5) use of graphs where appropriate.
1.
“Preserving
open space causes sprawl.”
a.
Drawing
upon the theories of suburbanization that we have studied in class, what
arguments would you use to either support or contradict this statement?
b.
What
real-world evidence supports your argument?
2.
“With
the advent of wireless communications, cities will eventually become obsolete
and the dominant residential form will be rural, comprised of small villages
and towns connected via a sophisticated telecommunications network.”
a.
Do
you agree or disagree? Explain your answer.
b.
What
implications does your answer have for rural economic development
strategy? In other words, should rural
areas invest heavily in information technology infrastructures to attract
growth to their area?
3.
There
is a debate regarding the extent to which population increases in exurban areas
have caused urbanization (i.e. conversion of non-urban land such as agriculture
to residential and other urban uses).
One side argues that the unprecedented loss of farmland in recent years
is due largely to rapid population growth in exurban regions. The other side argues that farmland loss is
due primarily to structural changes in the agricultural economy, e.g. low
commodity prices and technological changes, that have driven farmers out of
agriculture.
a.
Use
land rent theory to explain both hypotheses.
b.
How
would you go about collecting evidence and/or testing hypotheses that would
shed light on the extent to which farmland loss is driven by population
pressures vs. a poor agricultural economy?
c.
How
do the policy implications of the two different hypotheses differ?
4.
A
ballot initiative in May 2002 in Franklin County will decide whether to place a
five-year moratorium on extending water and sewer lines into the Big Darby
Creek watershed. The Big Darby
watershed is located just west of the City of Columbus on the border between
Franklin and Madison Counties.
Advocates of the moratorium want Columbus to work with suburbs and
townships on a growth plan for the Big Darby watershed area. They say that
extending water and sewer lines farther west of Columbus will result in “urban
sprawl” that will threaten the Big Darby and its tributaries and argue that a five-year
moratorium will give Columbus the time to create a plan with other
communities. Opponents of the
initiative say that Columbus has already have taken a number of steps to
protect the watershed, including the creation of an environmental conservation
district that limits development in the area. The city also must approve plans
by suburban communities to extend water and sewer lines into the
watershed. They argue that the best
available technology to protect the area is with central sewer systems and that
if the city can't provide sewers, then someone else could provide an
alternative sewage system that could be worse for the Big Darby's
environment. New technology has enabled
the development of “mini” sewage treatment facilities that are independent of
public sewer lines and that can service individual residential subdivisions.
a.
Give
an explanation for why public sewer and water lines would influence the pattern
of urban development.
b.
The
opponents of the ballot initiative argue that withholding sewer and water lines
from the Big Darby area would lead to development patterns that would be worse
for the environment than if the area were serviced by a central sewer
system. Under what conditions would
this be true?
c.
What
do you think the right policy solution is in this case? Why?
5.
“Traffic
congestion on the roads means that there aren’t enough roads to service the
people who are using them. Road
building is the answer to traffic congestion problems.” Do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer.