Abstract

Why do freeways affect the spatial organization of the economy? We identify freeway disameni-ties in urban areas and quantify their effects. First, freeways had negative effects on central neighborhoods but positive effects on suburban neighborhoods. These diverging patterns iden-tify freeway disamenities in a theory where disamenities outweigh minimal access benefits near downtown, but superior access benefits outweigh disamenities on the periphery. Second, in a quantitative spatial general equilibrium model, the welfare costs of freeway disamenities are large, and one-third of the causal effect of freeways on central-city decline can be attributed to quality of life effects. Third, barrier effects are significant and a major factor in the dis-amenity value of living near a freeway. Disamenities from freeways, as opposed to their regional accessibility benefits, had large effects on the spatial structure of cities, suburbanization, and welfare.