Title: Urbanisation and sustainability: the role of the spatial allocation of property rights and public investment

Authors: Tomaz Ponce Dentinho

Addresses: University of the Azores, Angra do Heroísmo, Rua Capitão João d'Ávila 9700-042, Portugal

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to perceive the sustainability of urban development around the world looking into the effect on urbanisation of unsustainable factors such as the spatial distribution of rents from natural resources and the spatial allocation of public investment. First, a principal component analysis on World Bank data is undertaken to understand the specific contexts where cities emerge. Second, a regression analysis is done to relate the level and rate of urbanisation not only with the GDPpc, as suggested by the literature, but also with the variables that differentiate the specific contexts of urbanisation. It is concluded that, beyond the importance of the GDPpc, the level of urbanisation can be explained by less sustainable factors such as the spatial allocation of property rights of natural resources and the spatial distribution of public investment. It is also shown that remittances from migrants and population aging have a crucial impact on the rate of urbanisation.

Keywords: urban policy; urbanisation; property rights; sustainable development; sustainability: spatial allocation; public investment; urban development; spatial distribution; principal component analysis; PCA; cities; natural resources; migrant remittances; immigrants; population aging.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGENVI.2014.064498

International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 2014 Vol.13 No.2/3/4, pp.189 - 205

Published online: 10 Sep 2014 *

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