The Economics of Planning. Eric Heikkila

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With more than a decade of experience as a planner trained in economics, Eric Heikkila presents a comprehensive, clear, and accessible primer on the application of microeconomics to planning. The book serves as a superb text for classroom instruction and as a handbook for practitioners seeking to apply economic analysis to planning. The first chapter provides a concise introduction to the tools of microeconomics, including marginal analysis and present-value techniques. In the remaining chapters, the author explores how economists approach specific planning topics, among them land-use zoning, urban structure, housing, traffic congestion, public goods, fiscal impacts, cost-benefit analysis, entitlements, and institutional economics. The book is graphical in its orientation, relying on a minimum of mathematical equations and assuming no prior training in economics on the part of the reader. Heikkila's intention is to help planners formulate credible answers to the question "How would an economist analyze this issue?" even as they retain a planning perspective. The dual functions of textbook and handbook will merge over time as students bring the book out of the classroom and into their professional practice.