We use a combination of image processing and machine learning tools to extract data from historical maps of France. Granular information about the distribution of population allows us to delineate cities consistently (and relatively) over 260 years.
- Speaker
- Date
- Tuesday 24 Mar 2026, 11:30 - 12:30
- Type
- Seminar
- Room
- 3.09
- Building
- Langeveld Building
Joint work with Pierre-Philippe Combes (Sciences Po-CNRS), Gilles Duranton (University of Pennsylvania), Clément Gorin (University of Paris 1) and Frédéric Robert-Nicoud (University of Geneva).
Against a backdrop of rising population, the rate of urbanization increased but the number of cities declined and the size distribution of cities also became increasingly skewed. Within cities, population density rose and its gradient flattened. To bring these facts together, we propose a model of urban divergence for which we verify further empirical predictions.
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