Economic Effects of Facility Location
Dr. Nelson pioneered studies evaluating the economic effects of landfills, major sports stadiums, beltways, and regional sewerage systems. Contradicting findings in the industry, he found that landfills had adverse effects on residential property values up to a few miles away. In another, study, Dr. Nelson was the first to show conclusively that the most economically beneficial place in which to locate sports stadiums is in a central business district. He also found that locating a stadium elsewhere can lead to neighborhood blight. In the third study, Dr. Nelson found that beltways, especially multiple layers of beltways, reduce retail and service trade at the metropolitan scale by reducing the income-density thresholds needed to sustain local-serving operations. Dr. Nelson and his colleagues also found that regional-scale sewerage systems with associated land-use planning has the effect of reducing development costs, thereby shifting regional development away from areas served by smaller systems to regions served by larger systems.
Arthur C. Nelson. 2003. “Locating Major Public Venues Where They Make a Difference.” Journal of Public Works Management and Policy 7(2): 98-114.
Arthur C. Nelson. 2001. "Prosperity or Blight? A Question of Major League Stadia Locations." Economic Development Quarterly 15(3): 255-265.
Arthur C. Nelson and Mitchell Moody. 2000. "Effect of Beltways on Metropolitan Economic Activity." Journal of Urban Planning and Development. 126(4): 189-196.
Arthur C. Nelson, 1999. Sports Stadia and Central City Revitalization. In Fritz W. Wagner, Timothy E. Joder and Anthony J. Mumphrey, Jr., eds., Physical Managing Capital Resources for Central City Revitalization, New York: Garland, pp. 117-146.
Arthur C. Nelson with John Genereux and M. Michelle Genereux. 1997. "Price Effects of Landfills on Different House Value Strata." Journal of Urban Planning and Development, 123(3): 59-67.
Arthur C. Nelson with John Genereux. 1992. "Price Effects of Landfills on House Values." Land Economics 68(4): 359-367.
Arthur C. Nelson and Gerrit J. Knaap. 1987. "A Theoretical and Empirical Argument for Regional Sewer Planning." Journal of the American Planning Association 53(4): 479-486.