Municipal costs and urban area

There are plausible reasons for believing that municipal service system costs will increase with urban “sprawl.” The costs of several municipal systems were thus analyzed, namely: water; sewage; roads and highways (capital outlays only); police, fire, and park systems; electricity distribution; gas distribution; and telephone service. The statistical relation between urban area and urban costs was weaker than a priori beliefs might suggest. Capital outlays for public municipal systems increase only about 1.6% for every 10% increment in land area. Public municipal operating costs, and the capital and operating costs of private utility systems are practically unaffected by urban area.