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A Spatial Economic Analysis of Urban Land Use and Obesity *
Author(s) -
Plantinga Andrew J.,
Bernell Stephanie
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of regional science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.171
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1467-9787
pISSN - 0022-4146
DOI - 10.1111/j.0022-4146.2005.00380.x
Subject(s) - sorting , economics , obesity , work (physics) , calorie , agricultural economics , econometrics , mathematics , medicine , endocrinology , mechanical engineering , algorithm , engineering
. We analyze an urban spatial model to examine the possible link between urban land use and obesity. Households maximize utility defined over housing, weight, and food subject to a fixed time budget allocated to commuting, calorie expenditure, and work. Our model explains the observed correspondence between high obesity rates and low development densities, but implies that these are determined endogenously in a spatial market equilibrium. We study the sorting of residents by attributes such as income, initial weight, and weight preferences, and examine the impacts on weight and density of urban design modifications that lower the costs of calorie expenditure.