Growth, innovation, scaling, and the pace of life in cities
TL;DR
City infrastructure scales sublinearly (β≈0.85)
Extends biological scaling theory to urban systems, demonstrating that cities exhibit both sublinear scaling (infrastructure, β≈0.85) and superlinear scaling (innovation metrics, β≈1.15). This provides a bridge between biological scaling and organizational scaling, showing how network effects can create superlinear value growth.
Key Findings from Bettencourt et al. (2007)
- City infrastructure scales sublinearly (β≈0.85)
- Innovation and wealth creation scale superlinearly (β≈1.15)
- Scaling relationships hold across cities worldwide