Stephan Schmidt's Research Group

For example, in a comparative analysis of the effect of planning institutions on urban structure, we constructed a composite index to measure institutional planning frameworks through objective criteria—restrictive versus permissive; binding versus nonbinding; nationally versus locally oriented—that enables comparison between countries. We also estimate a series of models to evaluate the relationship between institutional frameworks and patterns. The evidence suggests that a more centralized and coordinated planning framework produces more compact development, whereas a more decentralized and uncoordinated planning framework results in less compact development. Our simulation predicted that the average urbanized area for a hypothetical metropolitan area would increase by over 50 km2 over a roughly 15 year period if a U.S. planning framework is adopted, 35 km2 under the Spanish scenario, and 27 km2 under the German scenario (Schmidt et al, 2021).