The urban and regional economics specialization is a cooperative venture led by faculty from the Departments of Economics and Geography, with the participation of several faculty members from the Departments of Sociology and Political Science, and the Law School and Urban Planning.
The urbanization of the world’s population, (causing traffic congestion, urban flight, crime, the concentration of poverty in major cities, and the intensity of environmental pollution in some densely-developed areas) continues to be a major force and a significant source of problems of resource allocation requiring the attention of economists. Solutions to these pressing problems and charting public policy aimed at urban and regional development require basic understanding of the workings of land and housing markets, urban transportation systems, the regulation of environmental effects and land use, and other problems affecting the functioning of local public sectors. This specialization teaches students to understand the economic processes that shape the development of urban areas and their surrounding regions.