Currently, more than 70 percent of Iran population is urbanized and globally, it is predicted that the rate of urbanization will reach to 75% by 2050.

Economic experts believe that the main special task of urban economics is economic support of urban life and on the basis of this approach; urban economics becomes important in employment and urban jobs, urban infrastructures (transport, housing), energy, urban management and etc. Generally, discussed issues in urban economics are wide and extensive, but central issues can be summarized in this area.

One of the important issues in urban economics field is labor markets in urban environment. The scope of employment in the city context and the concepts of formal and informal labor market (dealing, intermediation, salesmanship, itinerant and many other unknown jobs) and models of urban jobs in the form of centralized and decentralized models are among related concepts with the issue. For instance, employment, unlike centralized employment model existed about 100 years ago and based on focusing on the urban labor market, has been extended across the metropolitan area in modern cities.

Urban financing is also another important component in urban economics. It is important that urban sustainable revenues finance in cities and all costs of urban management would be covered with sustainable and stable revenues. If local governments rely on revenues except sustainable ones for financing urban management costs, instability will be extended to urban economics and in the case of economic crisis, urban economics will also experience turbulence.

For example, if 75 to 80 percent of municipalities’ revenues are provided by selling density, building certificate and land use change, it will cause housing, land and building crisis, and unstable urban incomes. However, sustainable revenues percentage is very high in developed cities. For instance, 78% in Tokyo, 73% in Taipei, 65% in Seoul and Stockholm of municipalities’ revenues are provided only via one of the sustainable revenue resources i.e. direct taxes of municipality and these percentages are evaluated very desirably.

The other important component in urban economics is financing municipal projects. Urban managers are responsible for this important task to create required context and adequate infrastructures for dynamism and development of urban economics, rehabilitation and reforming infrastructures in the areas such as energy, transport, wastewater, physical context of cities, green space, traffic problems, tackling with air pollution, securing cities against environmental hazards and etc.

It has been predicted that solving the problem of housing, infrastructures and urban facilities in areas like Africa, Asia, Latin America and other less developed regions need 6.3 trillion dollars investment by 2030. Therefore, it is necessary that private sector and citizens also participate seriously in addition to urban management sets in financing urban projects.

For example, during 1990 to 2001, private sector invested more than 755 billion dollars in more than 25000 mainly urban projects in the developing countries. However, two methods are often used for financing urban projects: methods based on debt and methods based on capital. Stock methods in based on capital ones and using SOKUK and bonds in based on debt method have been more considered.

In addition to above issues, dynamicity is counted as one of the important and basic concepts in urban economics. Correct and suitable distribution of revenue and smooth and transparent flow of funds in the city are among the factors of urban dynamicity.

The subject that the movement of product factors such as work force and capital for setting up employment easily done and economic information be available for the public are among the aspects of successful urban economics. The matter that there would be the lowest amount of formal unemployment in the city and urban financial resources are used in the best way is among the aspects of dynamicity of urban economics. Dynamic urban economics is an economy that there exist active markets of goods, services, job, capital and money in that and market forces are working in these markets with maximum information and the highest degree of transparency. So, finally we should emphasize that life improvement of main part of the world’s residents is relied on improving urban life quality and this component does not achieve except economic eyelet. Today, in the developed countries, many duties of central governments are being delegated to the local governments that role and participation of citizens on that matter is more than other models. Today, according to the development of metropolises and the rapid growth of urbanization in country, economic look should also be strengthen into all urban fields, in order to bring the best life for Iranian citizens with scientific methods.

Source: IRNA

News code: 81767725

Date: September 21, 2015