The development of urban economics in the twentieth century

This paper was written to mark 25 years of the ESRC Urban and Regional Economics Workshop which began in 1976. The intellectual development of urban economics is traced from its early roots in the writings of Smith and Marshall through to Krugman's economic geography. Institutional developments are also considered with journal development and expansion reflecting the increasing maturity and internationalization of the discipline. The paper concludes with an assessment of the impact of urban economics on private and public sector property professionals in the UK.