Miquel-Àngel Garcia–López
Biographic Data
| ID | 5808192 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Miquel-Àngel Garcia–López |
| GIVEN NAMES | Miquel-Àngel |
| FAMILY NAME | Garcia–López |
| SIGNATURE | LÓPEZ M G |
| AFFILIATIONS | Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0515-2922 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 130 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Transportation and housing markets in cities
This paper surveys recent literature estimating the causal effects of urban transport investments and urban mobility policies on housing markets. We synthesise evidence along three dimensions: the capitalisation of accessibility gains, the internalisation of transport-related externalities, and the rise of green mobility initiatives. Results indicate that while improved accessibility is generally capitalised into higher property values, negative …
The role of historic amenities in shaping cities
Suburbanization and transportation in European cities
We study whether highway and railroad improvements cause population suburbanization in Europe’s cities. We construct a unique population and transportation dataset covering 579 cities from 29 European countries for the period 1961–2011. In order to make a causal inference, we rely on historical instruments. Our average results indicate that highways, but not railroads, were responsible for the suburbanization process: each additional highway ray …
Real estate prices and land use regulations: Evidence from the Law of Heights in Bogotá
Between 2015 and 2017, the Law of Heights (Policy-562) regulated areas of urban renewal in specific locations of Bogotá (Colombia). Using a novel dataset based on detailed information at the block level between 2008 and 2017, we study whether this policy affected real estate prices. Our empirical strategy compares the price per square meter before and after Policy-562 in treated blocks and in control blocks with similar pre-treatment traits. Resu…
Paving the way to modern growth: The Spanish Bourbon roads
This paper analyses the impact that Spanish road construction had on local population growth between 1787 and 1857. We find that the increase in market potential associated to road accessibility had a substantial effect on local population growth. The impact was substantially higher on the municipalities that had a more diversified occupational structure. By contrast, the effect of the new network on population growth was negative in municipaliti…
What do divided cities have in common? An international comparison of income segregation
This paper provides a comparative assessment of income segregation in cities of 12 countries. We use spatial entropy indexes based on small‐scale gridded income data and consistent definition of city boundaries to ensure international comparability of our segregation measures. Results show considerable variation in the levels of income segregation across cities, even within countries, reflecting the diversity within urban systems. Larger, more af…
Congestion in highways when tolls and railroads matter: Evidence from European cities
Using data from the 545 largest European cities, we study whether the expansion of their highway capacity provides a solution to the problem of traffic congestion. Our results confirm that in the long run, and in line with the ‘fundamental law of highway congestion’, the expansion in cities of lane kilometres causes an increase in vehicle traffic that does not solve urban congestion. We disentangle the increase in traffic due to the increases in …
Building(s and) cities: Delineating urban areas with a machine learning algorithm
This paper proposes a novel methodology for delineating urban areas based on a machine learning algorithm that groups buildings within portions of space of sufficient density. To do so, we use the precise geolocation of all 12 million buildings in Spain. We exploit building heights to create a new dimension for urban areas, namely, the vertical land, which provides a more accurate measure of their size. To better understand their internal structu…
Do short-term rental platforms affect housing markets? Evidence from Airbnb in Barcelona
In this paper, we assess the impact of Airbnb on housing rents and prices in the city of Barcelona. Examining very detailed data on rents and both transaction and posted prices, we use several econometric approaches that exploit the exact timing and geography of Airbnb activity in the city. These include i) panel fixed-effects models, where we run multiple specifications that allow for different forms of heterogeneous time trends across neighborh…
Segregation and urban spatial structure in Barcelona
How does transportation shape intrametropolitan growth? An answer from the Regional Express Rail
This paper analyzes the influence of transportation infrastructure, and in particular of the Regional Express Rail (RER), on employment and population growth in the Paris metropolitan area between 1968 and 2010. In order to make proper causal inference, we rely on historical instruments and control for all other transportation modes that could be complement or substitute to the RER. Our results show that proximity to an RER station increases empl…
Estructura espacial y densidad de población en la ZMVM 1995-2010: Evolución de un sistema urbano policéntrico
En este trabajo se estima el efecto del policentrismo sobre la densidad de poblacin en la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de Mxico (zmvm) entre 1995 y 2010. esta hiptesis a pesar de la fuerte inercia monocntrica del rea
Suburbanization and highways in Spain when the Romans and the Bourbons still shape its cities
Anatomía de la dispersión urbana en Barcelona
No existe una definición comúnmente aceptada de dispersión urbana (urban sprawl), de modo que la investigación aplicada ha trabajado con diferentes indicadores que pretenden a su vez capturar los distintos significados con que se ha dotado al término. En este trabajo se mide cómo ha evolucionado la dispersión de la población y del empleo de la Región Metropolitana de Barcelona (RMB) entre 1986 y 2001. Las dimensiones exploradas se dividen en dos …
Urban spatial structure, suburbanization and transportation in Barcelona
Urban spatial structure, agglomeration economies, and economic growth in Barcelona: An intra‐metropolitan perspective
The Polycentric Knowledge Economy in Barcelona
This study focuses on the employment decentralization process in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region (BMR) between 1991 and 2001. Disaggregating employment data among four categories of knowledge-intensive activities (Knowledge-Intensive Services; High- Technology Industries; Producer Services; and Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate) and two groups of other employment (Other Manufacturing and Other Services), the aim is to test whether these four …
Employment Decentralisation: Polycentricity or Scatteration? The Case of Barcelona
At the present time, most large cities in the world are polycentric and, at the same time, they are undergoing processes of employment decentralisation and deconcentration. It has been argued that polycentricity is just an intermediate stage between monocentricity and a more unstructured, chaotic and amorphous location model, scatteration. For the case of the polycentric Barcelona, the aims of this study are to test: whether its employment is mov…
The Effect of Employment Sub-centres on Population Density in Barcelona
The polycentric models of the new urban economics (NUE) predict that population density decreases while increasing the distance to employment centres. In contrast with this, some studies have calculated non-significant gradients or even positive ones, which appear to threaten seriously the usefulness of these theoretical models. Does this mean that this theoretical framework should be given up in order to understand the decision-making processes …
Employment Decentralisation: Polycentricity or Scatteration? The Case of Barcelona
At the present time, most large cities in the world are polycentric and, at the same time, they are undergoing processes of employment decentralisation and deconcentration. It has been argued that polycentricity is just an intermediate stage between monocentricity and a more unstructured, chaotic and amorphous location model, scatteration. For the case of the polycentric Barcelona, the aims of this study are to test: whether its employment is mov…
Do short-term rental platforms affect housing markets? Evidence from Airbnb in Barcelona
In this paper, we assess the impact of Airbnb on housing rents and prices in the city of Barcelona. Examining very detailed data on rents and both transaction and posted prices, we use several econometric approaches that exploit the exact timing and geography of Airbnb activity in the city. These include i) panel fixed-effects models, where we run multiple specifications that allow for different forms of heterogeneous time trends across neighborh…
Suburbanization and highways in Spain when the Romans and the Bourbons still shape its cities
Urban spatial structure, agglomeration economies, and economic growth in Barcelona: An intra‐metropolitan perspective
Urban spatial structure, suburbanization and transportation in Barcelona
The Effect of Employment Sub-centres on Population Density in Barcelona
The polycentric models of the new urban economics (NUE) predict that population density decreases while increasing the distance to employment centres. In contrast with this, some studies have calculated non-significant gradients or even positive ones, which appear to threaten seriously the usefulness of these theoretical models. Does this mean that this theoretical framework should be given up in order to understand the decision-making processes …
Building(s and) cities: Delineating urban areas with a machine learning algorithm
This paper proposes a novel methodology for delineating urban areas based on a machine learning algorithm that groups buildings within portions of space of sufficient density. To do so, we use the precise geolocation of all 12 million buildings in Spain. We exploit building heights to create a new dimension for urban areas, namely, the vertical land, which provides a more accurate measure of their size. To better understand their internal structu…
Congestion in highways when tolls and railroads matter: Evidence from European cities
Using data from the 545 largest European cities, we study whether the expansion of their highway capacity provides a solution to the problem of traffic congestion. Our results confirm that in the long run, and in line with the ‘fundamental law of highway congestion’, the expansion in cities of lane kilometres causes an increase in vehicle traffic that does not solve urban congestion. We disentangle the increase in traffic due to the increases in …
Segregation and urban spatial structure in Barcelona
Suburbanization and transportation in European cities
We study whether highway and railroad improvements cause population suburbanization in Europe’s cities. We construct a unique population and transportation dataset covering 579 cities from 29 European countries for the period 1961–2011. In order to make a causal inference, we rely on historical instruments. Our average results indicate that highways, but not railroads, were responsible for the suburbanization process: each additional highway ray …
Paving the way to modern growth: The Spanish Bourbon roads
This paper analyses the impact that Spanish road construction had on local population growth between 1787 and 1857. We find that the increase in market potential associated to road accessibility had a substantial effect on local population growth. The impact was substantially higher on the municipalities that had a more diversified occupational structure. By contrast, the effect of the new network on population growth was negative in municipaliti…
The Effect of Employment Sub-centres on Population Density in Barcelona
The polycentric models of the new urban economics (NUE) predict that population density decreases while increasing the distance to employment centres. In contrast with this, some studies have calculated non-significant gradients or even positive ones, which appear to threaten seriously the usefulness of these theoretical models. Does this mean that this theoretical framework should be given up in order to understand the decision-making processes …
The Polycentric Knowledge Economy in Barcelona
This study focuses on the employment decentralization process in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region (BMR) between 1991 and 2001. Disaggregating employment data among four categories of knowledge-intensive activities (Knowledge-Intensive Services; High- Technology Industries; Producer Services; and Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate) and two groups of other employment (Other Manufacturing and Other Services), the aim is to test whether these four …
Employment Decentralisation: Polycentricity or Scatteration? The Case of Barcelona
At the present time, most large cities in the world are polycentric and, at the same time, they are undergoing processes of employment decentralisation and deconcentration. It has been argued that polycentricity is just an intermediate stage between monocentricity and a more unstructured, chaotic and amorphous location model, scatteration. For the case of the polycentric Barcelona, the aims of this study are to test: whether its employment is mov…
Urban spatial structure, agglomeration economies, and economic growth in Barcelona: An intra‐metropolitan perspective
Urban spatial structure, suburbanization and transportation in Barcelona
Anatomía de la dispersión urbana en Barcelona
No existe una definición comúnmente aceptada de dispersión urbana (urban sprawl), de modo que la investigación aplicada ha trabajado con diferentes indicadores que pretenden a su vez capturar los distintos significados con que se ha dotado al término. En este trabajo se mide cómo ha evolucionado la dispersión de la población y del empleo de la Región Metropolitana de Barcelona (RMB) entre 1986 y 2001. Las dimensiones exploradas se dividen en dos …
Estructura espacial y densidad de población en la ZMVM 1995-2010: Evolución de un sistema urbano policéntrico
En este trabajo se estima el efecto del policentrismo sobre la densidad de poblacin en la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de Mxico (zmvm) entre 1995 y 2010. esta hiptesis a pesar de la fuerte inercia monocntrica del rea
Suburbanization and highways in Spain when the Romans and the Bourbons still shape its cities
How does transportation shape intrametropolitan growth? An answer from the Regional Express Rail
This paper analyzes the influence of transportation infrastructure, and in particular of the Regional Express Rail (RER), on employment and population growth in the Paris metropolitan area between 1968 and 2010. In order to make proper causal inference, we rely on historical instruments and control for all other transportation modes that could be complement or substitute to the RER. Our results show that proximity to an RER station increases empl…
Segregation and urban spatial structure in Barcelona
Do short-term rental platforms affect housing markets? Evidence from Airbnb in Barcelona
In this paper, we assess the impact of Airbnb on housing rents and prices in the city of Barcelona. Examining very detailed data on rents and both transaction and posted prices, we use several econometric approaches that exploit the exact timing and geography of Airbnb activity in the city. These include i) panel fixed-effects models, where we run multiple specifications that allow for different forms of heterogeneous time trends across neighborh…
What do divided cities have in common? An international comparison of income segregation
This paper provides a comparative assessment of income segregation in cities of 12 countries. We use spatial entropy indexes based on small‐scale gridded income data and consistent definition of city boundaries to ensure international comparability of our segregation measures. Results show considerable variation in the levels of income segregation across cities, even within countries, reflecting the diversity within urban systems. Larger, more af…
Congestion in highways when tolls and railroads matter: Evidence from European cities
Using data from the 545 largest European cities, we study whether the expansion of their highway capacity provides a solution to the problem of traffic congestion. Our results confirm that in the long run, and in line with the ‘fundamental law of highway congestion’, the expansion in cities of lane kilometres causes an increase in vehicle traffic that does not solve urban congestion. We disentangle the increase in traffic due to the increases in …
Building(s and) cities: Delineating urban areas with a machine learning algorithm
This paper proposes a novel methodology for delineating urban areas based on a machine learning algorithm that groups buildings within portions of space of sufficient density. To do so, we use the precise geolocation of all 12 million buildings in Spain. We exploit building heights to create a new dimension for urban areas, namely, the vertical land, which provides a more accurate measure of their size. To better understand their internal structu…
Real estate prices and land use regulations: Evidence from the Law of Heights in Bogotá
Between 2015 and 2017, the Law of Heights (Policy-562) regulated areas of urban renewal in specific locations of Bogotá (Colombia). Using a novel dataset based on detailed information at the block level between 2008 and 2017, we study whether this policy affected real estate prices. Our empirical strategy compares the price per square meter before and after Policy-562 in treated blocks and in control blocks with similar pre-treatment traits. Resu…
Paving the way to modern growth: The Spanish Bourbon roads
This paper analyses the impact that Spanish road construction had on local population growth between 1787 and 1857. We find that the increase in market potential associated to road accessibility had a substantial effect on local population growth. The impact was substantially higher on the municipalities that had a more diversified occupational structure. By contrast, the effect of the new network on population growth was negative in municipaliti…
The role of historic amenities in shaping cities
Suburbanization and transportation in European cities
We study whether highway and railroad improvements cause population suburbanization in Europe’s cities. We construct a unique population and transportation dataset covering 579 cities from 29 European countries for the period 1961–2011. In order to make a causal inference, we rely on historical instruments. Our average results indicate that highways, but not railroads, were responsible for the suburbanization process: each additional highway ray …
Transportation and housing markets in cities
This paper surveys recent literature estimating the causal effects of urban transport investments and urban mobility policies on housing markets. We synthesise evidence along three dimensions: the capitalisation of accessibility gains, the internalisation of transport-related externalities, and the rise of green mobility initiatives. Results indicate that while improved accessibility is generally capitalised into higher property values, negative …
Geography (15 works) · Economic geography (12 works) · Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis (12 works) · Economics (11 works) · Housing Market and Economics (6 works) · Metropolitan area (6 works) · Spatial and Panel Data Analysis (6 works) · Finance (5 works) · Regional Economic and Spatial Analysis (5 works) · Business (4 works)