Abstract
There can be little doubt that population increase and urban decay rank among the world’s biggest problems. The problems are severe in industrial countries with high population densities. In the United Kingdom, for example, the population increased from 27.4 million in 1870 to 57.2 million in 1991, and with an area of 22.7 million hectares the overall density of about 1 person per 0.4 ha is one of the highest in the world. For reasons of economic opportunity, over three-quarters of the rapidly growing population have left the countryside since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution to live in towns and cities — urban areas substantially increasing in size. An estimate by Best1 in 1964, showed that in 1900 about 5 per cent of England and Wales was urban, by 1939 this figure was 8.6 per cent, and by 1950 it had reached 10 per cent. It was forecast that by 2000 it could conceivably reach 15–16 per cent.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
R. Best, ‘The Future Urban Acreage’, Town and Country Planning, 32 (1964).
C. Doxiadix, Urban America and the Role of Industry (United States National Association of Manufacturers, 1971).
G. J. Roth, Paying for Roads (Penguin, 1967).
Ministry of Transport, Traffic in Towns (HMSO, 1963).
Ministry of Transport, Road Pricing: The Economic and Technical Possibilities (HMSO, 1964).
G. J. Roth, Paying for Roads.
M. E. Beesley, ‘Technical Possibilities of Special Taxation in Relation to Congestion Caused by Private Users’, Second International Symposium on Theory and Practice in Transport Economics (OECD European Conference of Ministers of Transport, 1968); L. K. Lemon, ‘An Economic Examination of Traffic Congestion in Towns’, Administration (1972); C. H. Sharp, Transport Economics (Macmillan, 1973).
H. W. Richardson, ‘A Note on the Distributional Effects of Road Pricing’, Journal of Transport Economics and Policy (1974).
C. Sharp, ‘Congestion and Welfare: An Examination of the Case for a Congestion Tax’, Economic Journal (1966).
D. L. Munby, ‘Management: The Economist’s Viewpoint’, Symposium on Traffic and Towns (Annual Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1971).
J. Hewitt, ‘The Calculation of Congestion Taxes on Roads’, Economica (1964); L. K. Lemon, ‘An Economic Examination of Traffic Congestion in Towns’, Administration (1972); G. J. Roth, Paying for Roads (Penguin, 1967); A. A. Walters, ‘Empirical Evidence on Optimal Motor Taxes for the United Kingdom’, Econometrica (1961).
Department of the Environment, Urban Transport Planning, Cmnd 5336 (HMSO, 1973).
Department of Transport, Paying for Motorways: Issues for Discussion, Cm 2200 (HMSO, 1993).
G. J. Roth, Paying for Parking, Hobart Papers (Institute of Economic Affairs, 1965).
J. Ardill, ‘Transport must face up to the future’, Guardian (11 December 1986).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1995 Paul N. Balchin, Gregory H. Bull and Jeffrey L. Kieve
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Balchin, P.N., Bull, G.H., Kieve, J.L. (1995). Urban Congestion. In: Urban Land Economics and Public Policy. Building and Surveying Series. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-13652-0_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-13652-0_7
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-62903-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-13652-0
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)