
Black Rock City versus Manhattan: An economist’s view
Author(s) -
John Ýinger
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0244331
Subject(s) - population , grid , geography , grid cell , economic geography , agricultural economics , demography , economics , sociology , geodesy
Urban street networks take many forms, from the circular streets in Black Rock City (which is built and removed every year as part of the Burning Man Festival) to the streets and avenues in the Manhattan grid. This paper compares the traits of cities with different street networks using the tools of urban economics. When both cities have commuting arteries of the same length, cities with circular streets have higher population densities unless access to these arteries is expensive and the number of arteries is large. Cities with arteries set at a 45 o angle to the grid have smaller population densities under all circumstances.