benefits of compact, mixed use development

This article looked at data from 283 counties from 1982-92 and created an empirical model to estimate the costs of 12 different expenditures: total direct, capital facilities, roadways, other transportation, sewerage, trash collection, housing and community development, police protection, fire protection, parks, education, and libraries. Their model accounts for density, spatial area, and political fragmentation. With the resulting formula, the researchers were able to conclude that density (quantified as the average number of people plus jobs per urbanized acre) can result in economies of scale advantages for public services and infrastructure and that the higher tax revenues accompanying urban development help offset costs. While the authors found that political fragmentation has differing relationships with specific service and infrastructure costs, they note that other research has indicated that political fragmentation can actually contribute to urban sprawl.