Higher parking prices lead to a reduction in traffic congestion in Amsterdam. This is shown in recent research by Francis Ostermeijer, Hans Koster, Jos van Ommeren and Leonardo Nunes of the Vrije Universiteit. They find that the sharp price increase in 2019 has led to a 9% decrease in the number of paying policy parkers.…

MObility during and after COrona LOckDOwn (abbreviated as MOCOLODO) is a research project, addressing urgent (policy) questions about mobility in corona times. In particular, MOCOLODO aims to answer the following questions: What can we learn about mobility behaviour and its determinants during lockdown and relaxation? Based on this knowledge, how can we advise governments on…

‘Urban Dynamics – Analysing urban development dynamics and impacts’ was the title of the joint workshop organized by the Department of Spatial Economics VU and Universitas Indonesia. The workshop was part of the WINNER Event (Week of Indonesia-Netherlands Education and Research)* and took place on October 27. The rapid urbanisation process in Indonesia has resulted…

Urban car use causes problems such as congestion and environmental pollution. Pricing policy is an efficient and effective tool to reduce congestion, but there is insufficient support for taxes, and forms of remuneration are expensive. Against this background, research project U-SMILE (Urban Smart Measures and Incentives for quality of Life Enhancement*) designed and evaluated experiments…

Cities are a very old phenomenon and, argued by many, one of the greatest human inventions. By 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population is expected to live in cities. The future of mankind is thus an urban one. With these words brand-new professor Hans Koster opened his inaugural lecture ‘Reinventing cities: Evaluating effective urban policies’.…

The price of CO2 is perhaps the most important price in the world, states a news article in the Dutch newspaper NRC (17 September 2021). Carolyn Fischer – professor of Environmental Economics at the Department of Spatial Economics – argues that the current price of CO2 does not include the external costs for the economy…

How can we relieve the pressure on the traffic infrastructure in the long term, taking into account sustainability, energy transition and accessibility? This is the main question that research project MOCOLODO (MObiliteit during and after COrona LOckDOwn) addresses. MOCOLODO is a collaboration between a number of universities, led by Spatial Economics’ head of department Erik Verhoef. Even without…

Covid-19 brings about unprecedented economic change. What exactly are the consequences of the policies pursued during the pandemic for retail and, in particular, for shopping streets? That is the question that economists Hans Koster, Jos van Ommeren, Cheng Keat Tang and Nander Bras answer in a recent study. Their research is based on rental income…

“Smart incentives in between pricing and rewarding” (Slimme prikkels tussen prijzen en belonen) was the title of the final workshop of research project U-SMILE (Urban Smart Measures and Incentives for quality of Life Enhancement). The event was part of the VerDuS SURF*-festival and took place in the morning of March 25. With more than 50…

Spatial Economics’ Eric Koomen and former postdoc Dani Broitman won the VOGON Award 2020 for the best paper in the magazine Real Estate Research Quarterly. The paper (in Dutch) ‘Stedelijke centra magneten voor woningen‘ (translated as: Urban centers magnets for homes) contributes to the social debate about housing production. The Committee praises the clear analysis…