What does a city's skyline say about its sustainability?

Aug 17, 2023

A city's skyline can be an indicator of its economic development. More skyscrapers or vertical development tends to indicate a more prosperous city. Image: Unsplash/Carlos Alfonso

Remi Jedwab

Associate Professor of Economics and International Affairs, George Washington University

Jason Barr

Professor of Economics, Rutgers University, Newark

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Figure 1: Conditional Skyscraperness and Economic Development. This figure shows the degree to which regions

Figure 2: Skyline Topologies. Each quadrant represents a skyline topology. Most of the world's skylines are either in Population-Oriented Peripheral or Capital-Oriented Central District types.

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