Resetting the Urban Network: 117-2012
研究西罗马帝国崩溃对英国和法国城镇选址的长期影响，发现英国城市网络重置后更靠近天然水道，而法国许多城镇仍留在无水路的位置，导致1200-1800年间增长较慢。
Do fixed geographic features such as coastlines and rivers determine town locations, or can historical events trap towns in unfavourable locations for centuries? We examine the effects on town locations of the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, which temporarily ended urbanization in Britain, but not in France. As urbanization recovered, medieval towns were more often found in Roman-era town locations in France than in Britain, and this difference persists today. The resetting of Britain’s urban network gave it better access to natural navigable waterways when this was important, while many French towns remained without such access. We show that towns without coastal access grew more slowly in both Britain and France from 1200-1800, suggesting that towns that remained in locations without coastal access missed out on growth opportunities.