Indicators of Spatial Dominance of the Potential of Transformation in the Urban Hierarchy: A Comparative Analysis of Musayyib and Suwayrah in Iraq

Abstract

The spatial dimension is the basis of the process of identifying the common interests and objectives of the parties involved in the planning process and it carries the flexibility to determine decisions related to economic and social development. The city is an integrated representation to the essence of spatial dimension. It is a purely social phenomenon and a state of interaction between human groups within economic and cultural dimensions. Cities are developed by human interaction, transportation, and communication; which is one of the means of this interaction that contribute to the growth of the urban center. Cities divided according to the functional classification often based on the existence and operation of primary, secondary and tertiary economic activities. The growth of cities developed by human interaction within economic and cultural dimensions. The current research suggests that the mechanism by which the change of the administrative unit approved are limited to the same bases used in determining the city rankings (including the transfer of the administrative ranks from districts to governorates in Iraq, especially a mechanism that does not provide an integrated view of spatial dimensions). This research aims to study the concept of urban transformation in the urban structure in an integrated manner according to the functional relations and its spatial implications with the two attributes of spatial dominance, and the urban hierarchy of cities within the urban system. The theoretical framework indicators were applied to the cities of Musayyib and Suwayrah in Iraq. The main conclusion of the study is that transforming these cities to a higher administrative rank does not change the hierarchical disparities along the country level while serving the city as a dominating city within its regional scope.