Rodriguez, Daniel1; Targa And, Felipe1; Aytur, Semra1 2006.
Transport implications of urban containment policies: A study of the largest twenty-five US metropolitan areas, Urban Studies, 43(10) pp. 1879-1897 — "Despite earlier attempts to evaluate the consequences of urban containment policy adoption, the transport implications of these policies have been overlooked. This paper examines the impact that containment policies have on population density and vehicle miles traveled per capita. An empirical analysis is conducted, relying on a fixed-effects model for panel data for the largest 25 metropolitan areas in the US during the 1982-94 time-period. Because the outcomes are endogenously related, instrumental variable regression is used to test hypotheses about the effect of the presence and age of containment policies on travel. The findings suggest that local containment policies and state-level involvement in enabling or mandating growth management are associated with higher population density and more miles travelled. The results uncover unanticipated relationships of containment policies and travel outcomes, and underscore the importance of a coordinated strategy to mitigate some of the potential travel consequences of containment policies."

URBAN CONTAINMENT PRINCIPLES — "The Dictionary of Geography defines urban containment as "the policy of limiting sprawl by restricting out-of-town development."1 While this is a simple definition, it is true that urban containment aims to limit sprawl, and that it does so by restricting development outside of a designated zone. But a slightly broader view is necessary in order to include the aims of urban containment in terms of in-town development as well."