Spatial transformation in cities of the developing world: Multinucleation and land-capital substitution in Bogotá, Colombia

• Published in: Regional science and urban economics Vol. 21; no. 2; pp. 201 - 224
• Main Authors: Dowall, David E., Alan Treffeisen, P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.07.1991; Elsevier; North-Holland; Elsevier Sequoia S.A
• Series: Regional Science and Urban Economics
• Subjects: Bogota, Colombia; Capital; Change; Cities; Comparative studies; Developing countries; Developing Nations; Economic models; Enterprise zones; Housing developments; Property values; Real estate; Spatial Behavior; Spatial dimension; Statistical analysis; Urban development; Colombia
• ISSN: 0166-0462; 1879-2308
• DOI: 10.1016/0166-0462(91)90034-K

Bogotá has undergone a significant spatial transformation in recent years. Subcenters of employment and commerce have formed at peripheral locations, and these have become surrounded by high-density residential activity. This paper uses several large data sets to describe and analyze these changes. We estimate multicentric density and land value gradients for the years 1973 and 1985, and then explore how housing producers respond to changes in land prices, by calculating a land-capital substitution elasticity. The results slow clearly the declining relevance of the monocentric model over time, and also provide an explanation for the densification of the city.