An elementary entropy-maximizing model of urban consumers

Abstract

This paper has explored an elementary model of the location and allocation problems of the urban consumer. The model is predicated upon the assumptions that average incomes, spending on land and spending on transport are given, that consumers exactly spend their incomes, and that the price of land serves to equate the supply of and demand for land at each location. Detailed consequences of these assumptions are explored for a city with simple structure, although the method of analyzing more complex environments is also shown. Considering the simplicty of the assumptions, the model predicts quite complex behavior, as is evidenced by the relations between income and location. Many of the predi..