This essay is a condensed version of the NCE Paper 03, “Accessibility in Cities: Transport and Urban Form,” which was an output of the New Climate Economy project of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate (www.newclimateeconomy.net). Contributing Authors: Nikolas Thomopoulos, James Docherty, Peter Schwinger, Anjali Mahendra, Wanli Fang.LSE Cities Research Team: Bruno Friedel, Alexandra Gomes, Catarina Heeckt, Roxana Slavcheva.
Access to people, goods, services, and information is the basis of economic development in cities. The better and more efficient this access, the greater the economic benefits through economies of scale, agglomeration effects, and orgworking advantages. Cities with higher levels of agglomeration tend to have higher GDP per capita and higher levels of productivity.