This paper empirically measures the potential spillover effects of big-box retail entry on the productivity of incumbent retailers in the entry regions, and investigates whether the effects differ depending on the size of the new establishment relative to the size of the local market. The results indicate that big-box entry increases the productivity of incumbent firms in two of three rural entry regions where the IKEA is large relative to the local retail market, while no productivity spillover effects could be found in the case of the urban IKEA entry in Gothenburg.

An administrative border might hinder the optimal allocation of a given set of resources by restricting the flow of goods, services, and people. In this paper, we address the question: Do administrative borders lead to poor accessibility to public service? In answering the question, we have examined the case of Sweden and its regional administrative borders and hospital accessibility. We have used detailed data on the Swedish road network, its hospitals, and its geo-coded population. We have assessed the population's spatial accessibility to Swedish hospitals by computing the inhabitants' distance to the nearest hospital. We have also elaborated several scenarios ranging from strongly confining regional borders to no confinements of borders and recomputed the accessibility. Our findings imply that administrative borders are only marginally worsening the accessibility.

Parking a vehicle in traffic dense environments often leads to excess time of driving in search for free space which leads to congestions and environmental pollution. Lack of guidance information to vacant parking spaces is one reason for inefficient parking behaviour. Smart parking sensors and technologies facilitate guidance of drivers to free parking spaces thereby improving parking efficiency. Currently, no such sensors or technologies is in use for open parking lot. This paper reviews the literature on the usage of smart parking sensors, technologies, applications and evaluate their applicability to open parking lots. Magnetometers, ultrasonic sensors and machine vision were few of the widely used sensors and technologies on closed parking lots. However, this paper suggests a combination of machine vision, convolutional neural network or multi-agent systems suitable for open parking lots due to less expenditure and resistance to varied environmental conditions. Few smart parking applications show drivers the location of common open parking lots. No application provided real time parking occupancy information, which is a necessity to guide them along the shortest route to free space. To develop smart parking applications for open parking lots, further research is needed in the fields of deep learning and multi-agent systems.

Parking a vehicle in traffic dense environments is a common issue in many parts of the world which oftenleads to congestion and environmental pollution. Lack of guidance information to vacant parking spaces isone of the reasons for inefficient parking behaviour. Smart parking sensors and technologies facilitateguidance of drivers to free parking spaces thereby improving parking efficiency. Currently, no such sensorsor technologies are in use for the common open parking lot. This paper reviews the literature on the usage ofsmart parking sensors, technologies, applications and evaluate their suitability to open parking lots. Suitabilitywas made in terms of expenditure and reliability. Magnetometers, ultrasonic sensors and machine vision werefew of the widely used sensors and technologies used in closed parking lots. However, this paper suggests acombination of machine vision, fuzzy logic or multi-agent systems suitable for open parking lots due to lessexpenditure and resistance to varied environmental conditions. No application provided real time parkingoccupancy information of open parking lots, which is a necessity to guide them along the shortest route tofree space. To develop smart parking applications for open parking lots, further research is needed in the fieldsof deep learning.

We investigate the spatial extent of agglomeration economies across the wage earnings distribution using economic mass (total employment) in four distance bands around each individual’s establishment in a quantile regression framework. We control for observable and unobservable individual and establishment characteristics. Remaining endogeneity in the model is assessed with a set of instrumental variables. Results indicate a positive effect of economic mass on wage earnings up to 25 km away from the establishment. The spatial extent of agglomeration economies is similar across the wage earnings distribution. However, increases in economic mass shift the wage earnings distribution in a nonsymmetric way. 

GPS-based data are becoming a cornerstone for real-time transportation applications. Tracking data of vehicles from GPS receivers are however susceptible to measurement errors. The assessment of the reliability of data from GPS receiver is a neglected issue, especially in a real road network setting and in the phase after data transfer but before information identification. An evaluation method is outlined and carried out by conducting a randomized experiment. We assess the reliability of GPS-based transportation data on geographical position, speed, and elevation from three varied receivers GlobalSat BT-338X, Magellan SporTrak Pro and smart phone for three transportation modes: bicycle, car, and bus. The positional error ranging from 0158 meters, and 74% to 100% with an error within 5 meters depending on the transportation mode and route, there is also a non-negligible risk for aberrant positioning. Speed is slightly underestimated or overestimated with errors around 5km/h except for SporTrak Pro which had an error of -10 km/h. Elevation measurements are unreliable with errors bigger than 100 meters.

There are three key actors in forming the sustainable spatial distribution of residency in an area, (local) government, the estate investor and the resident, each with its own objective. Most urban planning studies have mainly focused on the ex-post evaluation of residential development by considering the objective of each actor separately. This paper outlines a conceptual model where the three key actors and their unique objectives are integrated with the aim of providing an ex-ante evaluation of residential development for government to make policies operational on a micro level. The methodology is implemented on a Swedish city, where sustainable residential development is in high need due to the influx of immigrants. The case study demonstrates that the model can integrate the macro and micro actors well. The model can provide noteworthy insights for the government on where the objectives of sustainability, livability and profit can be met. A sensitivity check of the parameter settings shows that the implementation of the model is robust for replication in other cities.

In a city there are hotspots that attract citizens, and most of the transportation arises when citizens move between their residence and primary destinations (i.e. hotspots). However, an ex ante evaluation of energy-efficient mobility and urban residential planning has seldom been conducted. Therefore, this paper proposes an ex ante evaluation method to quantify the impacts, in terms of CO2 emissions induced by intra-urban car mobility, of residential plans for various urban areas. The method is illustrated in a case study of a Swedish midsize city, which is presently preoccupied with urban planning of new residential areas in response to substantial population growth due to immigration. In general, CO2 emissions increase from the continued urban core area (CUCA), to the sub-polycentric area (SPA), to the edge urbanization area (EUA), where CO2 emission of EUA is twice that of the CUCA. The average travel distances also increase in the same pattern, though the relative increase is more than four times. Apartment buildings could be more effective in meeting residential needs and mitigating CO2 emissions than dispersed single-family houses. 

To finance transportation infrastructure and to address social and environmental negative externalities of road transports, several countries have recently introduced or consider a distance based tax on trucks. In competitive retail and transportation markets, such tax can be expected to lower the demand and thereby reduce CO₂ emissions of road transports. However, as we show in this paper, such tax might also slow down the transition towards e-tailing. Considering that previous research indicates that a consumer switching from brick-and-mortar shopping to e-tailing reduces her CO₂ emissions substantially, the direction and magnitude of the environmental net effect of the tax is unclear. In this paper, we assess the net effect in a Swedish regional retail market where the tax not yet is in place. We predict the net effect on CO₂ emissions to be positive, but off-set by about 50% because of a slower transition to e-tailing.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate if, and how, different stakeholders perceive property owners (PO) have changed their activities in a town centre after increased competition, and if this has led to a different perception of the PO' stakeholder group. Design/methodology/approach – A comparative follow-up case study is conducted through semi-structured interviews on changes in the town centre management (TCM) stakeholders' perceptions of the role, benefit, and contribution of PO. The interviews are carried out before and after the establishment of a big-box retailer, which makes it possible to analyse possible changes in the perceptions in relation to the overall role of the PO when retail competition increases. Findings – A limited number of PO and local authorities have started working more strategically and proactively by creating a time-restricted alliance that goes beyond the work of the TCM organisation. Although the activities of the PO have increased, this is not fully understood by everyone in the town centre, especially the retailers. Research limitations/implications – In comparison with other studies, this study clearly indicates that the property owner plays a key strategic role in enabling town centre development. This role is broader than what the original TCM literature suggests and is based on the aspects of resource coordination and distribution. Practical implications – In order to create the opportunity to develop a town centre in the long run, it is of strategic importance that the PO are in agreement with the development plans. In addition, it is necessary to consider those members who should be part of the strategic alliance. Originality/value – By conducting a comparative follow-up case study, the authors are able to contribute with a deeper understanding of how stakeholders' perceptions change over time. The authors extend the current literature by showing that the PO are a key stakeholder due to their organisational resources and their ability to facilitate town centre development. © 2017 Emerald Publishing Limited.