Advantages of Edge Cities - Essay Example

Edge Cities Advantages of Edge Cities over Historic Cities According to the definitions commonly given to edge cities, they are developed by one or more developers with a common objective and they are built over a comparably long time period. Unlike, historical cities, the developers plan for the cities using current and future considerations. Historical cities on the other hand just begin and grow due to external factors. Therefore edges cities have some advantages over historic cities Edge cities have the advantage of being strategically located. Since the developer plans for the cities, they are able to determine the best location for an edge city depending on their objectives. The developer is able to make considerations on what they would want for the city and using this, they are able to choose a strategic location for the city. They developer can choose a location that will be close to the resources needed by the city or even a location that is close to the developer’s target market. A location can reduce the costs of raw materials, transportation costs and costs of delivering products to the market place. The edge city can also be located to close to social service points. Edge city developers are also able to provide proper and efficient social services and supplies such as water, electricity and medical services. In historic cities, the quality of social services is determined by the other factors such as finances, population size and geographical size. Edge cities enjoy the benefit of better planning over historic cities. This is because the developers plan for the expected population size in the edge city. When the population is determined the city planners are able to optimally determine the infrastructure needed and the layout of the various structures in the edge city. Historic cities chronically suffer from social-fiscal problems such as poverty and crime and capacity problems such as congestion. Another advantage of edge cities over historic cities is that they have flexibility in terms of redevelopment and restructuring. Since the developer has control over the layout and operations in the city, they can change the layout of the city so that it meets the desired objective. This would only need enough finances and it is done. Historic cities are quite inflexible as redeveloping them would require a lot huge amounts of funds for compensating owners of different structures as well as lots of documentation on policy and legislation. Trade-offs Involved in Choosing CBD Capacity and Location When edge city developers are choosing the location and capacity for their mega-projects, they have to make several considerations. These considerations include making decisions on what factors are to be given priority during decision-making for the location and capacity. This means that there are things that the developers have to forego in order to achieve much more. One of the trade-offs is cost of land. Most edge cities are located away from core and major cities. The capacity of the planned edge cities also determines the size of land required for development of the city. Size of land determines it price but the developer is more concerned with other factors. Edge city developers usually have an objective of maximizing profits. Feasibility studies carried out during the planning stage usually give an optimal capacity for the city. The developers have to go by the results of the financial analysis. Thus cost of land does not feature much in consideration for the location of CBDs. Edge cities developers also forego availability of resources and climatic conditions. This is because developers are increasingly favouring proximity to complementary firms and access to highways. According to the plans for the city, developers know what the city needs at present and in the future. Developers who plan cities that will have industrial firms determine before-hand the requirements for these industries. Some industries rely on other industries either for raw materials or for market for their products. Thus proximity to such towns will be a key consideration for edge city developers. Another trade-of for edge city developers short term gains. Edge cities are built with an adequate allowance for expansion. This means that developers’ plans have to consider long term gains as well. In instances where short term and long term gains are in conflict, the developers will consider long term gains as they have time value. The short term gains in the present are worth much more in the future. These considerations are aided by the fact that land will always appreciate in value. Many firms also favour locations where labour supply is in excess so that they can acquire cheap labour. Areas where cheap labour is available are decentralised areas. In such areas, he developers will have to forego low transportation costs as such areas are distant for major cities. Edge cities developers are willing to forego low transportation costs as there are innovations that have lowered transportation costs significantly (Bingham, 2013). Agglomeration and Fortunes of Edge Cities Developers Edge city developers have been able to exploit the opportunities presented by agglomeration. According to the agglomeration theory, developers are able to create economies of scale in many aspects. Since one of the goals of edge city developers is to maximise profits, then the developers use these economies to create fortunes form themselves. Such economies are some of the reasons why edge cities are success stories. These economies can be as a result of proximity of people, proximity of goods and proximity of ideas. For example proximity of people creates a pool of human resource which the firms in the city can utilize. Specialised firms have the advantage of having proximity of a specialised pool of man power that can help in efficient operations. Other firms as well have the advantage of proximity of a readily available workforce that can be easily recruited during peak production. Proximity of people gives the advantage of there being resourceful people form which others can learn from. Edge cities concentrate people together and they are able to share ideas to advance themselves and the city as a whole. This creates economies that bring huge contributions to success of edge cities (Pacione, 2002). Works Cited Audirac, I. (2013). Shrinking cities in the fourth urban revolution?. In Shrinking Cities: International Perspectives and Policy Implications (pp. 42-58). Routledge New York, NY. Bingham, R. (2013). Beyond Edge Cities. New York: Routledge. Marcuse, P., & Van Kempen, R. (Eds.). (2011). Globalizing cities. John Wiley & Sons. Pacione, M. (2002). The City: The city in global context. London: Psychology Press. Sultana, S. (2011). Edge Cities in the Era of Megaprojects. In Engineering Earth (pp. 1071-1088). Springer Netherlands. Read More