Economic Cycles, Spatial Cycles and Transportation Structures in Urban Areas

This paper examines how far and in what way the developments of urban structures and transport influence each other. It is first explained how in theory spatial structures, transport infrastructure, and transport patterns fit together. Next, some outstanding features of spatial structures and transport in different stages of economic and urban development are indicated, and then how factors that govern the dynamic development of urban areas have affected the spatial behavior of households is examined. The impact of recent economic recession on urban development in the Netherlands is then assessed. The paper concludes with scenarios for future urban development and their implications for transport.