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Phys. Rev. E 79, 016115 (2009) [5 pages]

Superlinear scaling for innovation in cities

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Samuel Arbesman*
Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, 180 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA

Jon M. Kleinberg†
Computer Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

Steven H. Strogatz‡
Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

Received 29 September 2008; published 30 January 2009

Superlinear scaling in cities, which appears in sociological quantities such as economic productivity and creative output relative to urban population size, has been observed, but not been given a satisfactory theoretical explanation. Here we provide a network model for the superlinear relationship between population size and innovation found in cities, with a reasonable range for the exponent.

© 2009 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevE.79.016115
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevE.79.016115
PACS:
89.65.Lm, 89.75.Da, 87.23.Ge

*arbesman@hcp.med.harvard.edu

†kleinber@cs.cornell.edu

‡shs7@cornell.edu

 
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