University of California Transportation Center

Cities have always been the loci of economic productivity and social advancement. There is nothing on the horizon that would suggest this situation will change any time soon. Telecommunications advances and economic globalization will doubtlessly alter the spatial arrangement of cities in profound ways, however the inherent advantages of agglomeration (e.g., creativity spawned by face-to-face interactions, access to specialized skills, infrastructure economies) guarantee a prominent role for cities in the global economy for years to come.