@techreport{NBERw5562,
 title = "Information Technology and the Future of Cities",
 author = "Jess Gaspar and Edward Glaeser",
 institution = "National Bureau of Economic Research",
 type = "Working Paper",
 series = "Working Paper Series",
 number = "5562",
 year = "1996",
 month = "May",
 URL = "http://www.nber.org/papers/w5562",
 abstract = {Will improvements in information technology eliminate face-to- face interactions and make cities obsolete?  In this paper, we present a model where individuals make contacts and choose whether to use electronic or face-to-face meetings in their interactions.  Cities are modeled as a means of reducing the fixed travel costs involved in face-to-face interactions.  When telecommunications technology improves, there are two opposing effects on cities and face-to-face interactions: some relationships that used to be face-to-face will be done electronically (an intuitive substitution effect), and some individuals will choose to make more contacts, many of which result in face-to-face interactions.  Our empirical work suggests that telecommunications may be a complement, or at least not a strong substitute for cities and face-to-face interactions.  We also present simple models of learning in person, from a written source, or over the phone, and find that interactive communication dominates other forms of learning when ideas are complicated.},
}