Economic impact

Investments in urban development plans cost time and money, so a primary question for most urban planners, politicians and investors is what the economic impact will be. A good example of this question is the potential economic impact of hosting the Olympics. This question not only receives a lot of attention in the local and national media, but also more and more on an international level.

Economic impacts depend on the functionality of the planned urban object/environment, and are usually generated by capital costs for the construction and maintenance part, and on the other hand by the return on investment generated by sales income, real estate value, local spending by tourists, et cetera. The above mentioned examples suggest that a lot of different economic impacts can be defined, even within the spectrum of urban planning. With respect to security, however, the economic impacts of security threats due to crime and terrorism is also of paramount importance for the urban planner, just like the economic impacts of security measures, which in turn, is closely linked to the economics of criminal & terrorist behaviour .