Research
Economic Geography & Transportation Systems
Economic geography is the study of the spatial distribution of production and consumption and the spatial flows of goods, services, money and information. Students and faculty explore these phenomena at varying levels of detail ranging from the city block to the entire globe. Courses provide a balance of theory, empirical study and policy analysis. In the modern economy, spatially dispersed chains of production are knit together by transportation and communications services. Our undergraduate program emphasizes the role of transportation at the urban, regional, national and global scales. Courses draw on research efforts of our Center for Transportation Studies – including urban traffic modeling, economic assessment of highways, transportation and information technology, environmental impacts of transportation systems, planning transit systems, manufacturing logistics, and the economic geography of air fares.
