IMPACT OF DENSIFICATION ON THE COSTS OF INFRASTRUCTURES AND PUBLIC SERVICES

This article analyzes the impact of density, measured alternatively by buildings footprint and urbanized lands, and urban forms (urbanized area, Gini index and average distance between two inhabitants) on current and capital expenditures at the municipality level for 10 French urban areas in 2015. We show that densification generally leads to a decrease in public spending but that its effects are heterogeneous and complex according to urban form. The benefits of densification for current expenditures, and in a lesser extent for capital expenditures, mainly concern central areas and low-density municipalities with a central town.