Emergence of leapfrogging from residential choice with endogenous green space: Analytical results
Résumé
Leapfrog development is a typical form of sprawl. This paper aims at analyzing the
existence, size, and persistence of leapfrogging in a dynamic urban economic model with endogenous
green amenities. We analyze whether incoming households choose to settle at the fringe of the city or
to jump further away depending on their preferences and the structure of the city. We first provide an
analytical treatment of the conditions and characteristics under which a first leapfrog occurs and show
how the optimal choice is affected by the size of the city, income, commuting costs, as well as the size of
the area where green amenities are considered. We then study how further leapfrogging and multiple
urban rings may appear and be maintained in the long-run equilibrium, and how infill processes take
place through time.