Urban Hierarchy Research Articles

Measuring the Spatial Distribution of Cities in West Azarbaijan Province

The aim of this paper is to analyze the hierarchical network of urban areas of West Azarbaijan for examining the rate of balance in variance and spatial distribution of population of urban areas in the province of West Azarbaijan. The methodology in use is a pragmatic-developing one. The quantitative models, such as bulk modulus, urban centralization index, anthropy model and gini coefficient index, are used in order to analyze the urban hierarchy of West Azarbaijan. Findings of this study shows that Urban centralization index in all the studied periods was higher that one. Population bulk modulus of all cities of the province in the years of 1956, 1966 and 1976 had augmented but in the years of 1986, 1996 and 2006 has reduced. Anthropy index in all the studied periods was less than one, which shows the unbalance in population in urban areas of the province. Calculation of spatial coefficient LQ shows that small cities of the province are exporter of services and their basic economy is based of services sector. The communicative network of the province, specially the roads, is in a condition that economically targets the capital of the province and like a radius ends to Urumieh. The final conclusion of this research is that the unbalance in variance and the spatial distribution of population in urban areas of the province is the characteristic of network of urban hierarchy of the province of West Azarbaijan; in a manner that transactions between the cities of the province are also affected by the political-administrative structure of the country as well.

The geographies of studentification: ‘here, there and everywhere’?

ABSTRACT‘Studentification’ has become an increasingly used concept within academic, public policy and media lexicons of contemporary urban change. The term has recently been embedded within some schools’ curricula. Yet, robust knowledge of the geographic scale of studentification is lacking and the magnitude of the processes is contested. Using descriptive analyses of 1991, 2001 and 2011 UK Census data to investigate a range of geographic resolutions of studentification, this article addresses two main questions: ‘How widespread are processes of studentification within the UK?’ and ‘How have the geographies of studentification changed over the last two decades?’. Evidence is presented for the first time to demonstrate that studentification is a marker of population restructuring across the urban hierarchy, penetrating into more and more locations since the early 1990s. It is also suggested that studentification may have historical origins that predate the establishment of the concept and which, to date, have been under-researched.

Sequential city growth: Theory and evidence from the US

City growth patterns are attracting more attention in urban geography studies. This paper examines how cities develop and grow in the upper tail of size distribution in a large-scale economy based on a theoretical model under new economic geography framework and the empirical evidence from the US. The results show that cities grow in a sequential pattern. Cities with the best economic conditions are the first to grow fastest until they reach a critical size, then their growth rates slow down and the smaller cities farther down in the urban hierarchy become the fastest-growing ones in sequence. This paper also reveals three related features of urban system. First, the city size distribution evolves from low-level balanced to primate and finally high-level balanced pattern in an inverted U-shaped path. Second, there exist persistent discontinuities, or gaps, between city size classes. Third, city size in the upper tail exhibits conditional convergence characteristics. This paper could not only contribute to enhancing the understanding of urbanization process and city size distribution dynamics, but also be widely used in making effective policies and scientific urban planning.

City Branding as a Response to Global Intercity Competition

AbstractGlobalisation is dramatically changing the context of urban communities and the premises for urban development policy. In the context of global intercity competition, cities' major goal is to increase their competitiveness, in which the positioning and attractiveness of a city have a critical function. Attraction‐oriented development strategies aim at effective absorption of external resources from the global space of flows. At the core of attraction strategy are business promotion activities with appealing incentives, but it is assumed that such a competition is risky and may lead to a race to the bottom. Therefore the emphasis is increasingly on less costly and more synergistic city marketing, which utilises city branding and “city profiling” that aim at attract high value‐adding services or high‐tech firms. This paper proposes a city attraction hypothesis that states that global intercity competition is essentially about a city's ability to attract the highest possible value from global flows of values in order to promote urban development. The result of such a global intercity competition determines cities' functions and positions in the global division of labour and thus in the global urban hierarchy, and ultimately determines their ability to increase prosperity and welfare in urban communities.

Consumption and the Urban Hierarchy in the Southeastern United States

Recientes investigaciones sobre la jerarquía urbana han enfatizado ciudades mundiales y los efectos de la globalización en la creación de redes de ciudades transnacionales. Las jerarquías urbanas todavía juegan un papel importante, no solamente entre países, sino también dentro de ellos. Las investigaciones sobre los medios sociales, específicamente el sitio Foursquare, ofrece una nueva fuente de datos con los que examinar las jerarquías urbanas regionales. Este artículo usa datos recogidos de Foursquare sobre los sitios de ventas al por menor, servicios y comida para pintar un cuadro de las tendencias de consumo en la actual jerarquía urbana del sudeste, resaltando los vínculos entre la jerarquía urbana y los patrones de consumo. En el proceso, este artículo hace un llamamiento a la revitalización de la geografía económica tomando en cuenta nuevas fuentes de información.

Ranking Asia-Pacific cities: Economic performance of multinational corporations and the regional urban hierarchy

Abstract Over the past decade the world economy has undergone significant changes with an impact not only on national economies but also on the key cities from which that world economy is largely being controlled. In this study, we use Forbes’ ‘Global 2000’ data on the headquarter location and size of the world’s leading multinational corporations in order to examine the shifting relative position of leading Asia-Pacific cities as command and control centres in this increasingly important part of the world economy. Comparing cities’ positions in 2006 and 2011, we present that Tokyo, which assumed a leading role in the region for decades, has seen a major decline in its command and control function, while Beijing now represents almost as much as command and control as the Japanese capital. Beijing’s fast growth in command and control is also found for Chinese cities, albeit that Beijing clearly dominates the other Chinese cities. In addition, we present that shifting patterns of command and control also hinge on the sectors dominating the Forbes 2000 ranking.

Performing the City

Cities are live performances. How people behave in the streets, in the parks, in the outdoor markets, in stadiums, and inside buildings gives cities their unique character, ambience, and tone. It is not only what physical spaces and structures signify about urban organization, hierarchies, and aesthetic invention but the imaginative behavior that people perform in and around those structures that is also important for understanding cities. The interdisciplinary field of performance studies can be instrumental in analyzing how cities are produced and performed precisely because the field and its methodological diversity bridges social, political, theatrical, and architectural forms of thought.

Financial Sector in Germany and the UK in the Wake of the Crisis: Size, Structure and Spatial Concentration

We use employment data for 2008-12 to analyse the impact of the subprime and Eurozone crises on the British and German financial sector. In the UK the sector contracted and its spatial concentration increased across regions and urban hierarchy, with London as the sole winner. In Germany there has been no contraction overall, and no significant change in the spatial distribution of financial employment. We argue that while in both countries forced consolidation and financial re-regulation have acted as centripetal forces, in Germany they have been offset by strong regional and local banking, underpinned by a decentralized state.

Housing Trajectories Across the Urban Hierarchy: Analysis of the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada, 2001–2005

Within the Canadian housing market, some immigrants move quickly to quality, affordable housing, whereas others struggle through both systematic and institutional barriers. This article uses Statistics Canada's Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC) —capturing the settlement and integration experiences of immigrants from 2001 to 2005—and investigates housing conditions (housing satisfaction, rates of homeownership, crowding, and affordability) over three survey waves across the Canadian urban hierarchy. Descriptive statistics are used to explore the relationship between immigrant admission class, housing conditions, and settlement locations, namely, those arriving in primary settlement locations (Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver) relative to that observed in secondary (census metropolitan areas) and tertiary (census agglomerations) locations. Using overall housing satisfaction as a proxy for the suitability/adequacy of housing to the needs of the immigrants, a logistic regression model is used seeking to understand the factors shaping a satisfied housing experience; the most significant factors include owning one's home, having an excellent or very good level of self-rated health, and not living in crowded conditions. The results of this research are framed as advancing understanding in the Canadian immigrant housing discourse through providing a longitudinal perspective on immigrant housing trajectories, and how these vary across socio-demographic and economic factors.

House prices, housing development costs, and the supply of new single-family housing in German counties and cities

This paper investigates the determinants of new single-family housing supply in local housing markets in Germany, using construction permits as the dependent variable. The empirical estimations are based on a panel data-set for 413 German counties and cities spanning the time period of 2004–2010. Employing dynamic panel data analysis, the findings suggest that the local ratio of existing home prices to housing construction costs and past local permit rates act as important drivers of new local housing investment. The average long-run price elasticity of new single-family housing supply is considerably less than one, but sizeable differences exist across the urban hierarchy.

The distribution of advanced business services in Northern Italy: towards a polycentric metropolis model?

The essay discusses the spatial organization of advanced business services in the cities and local systems of Northern Italy, analyzing the new forms taken by economic networks with the intention of providing evidence to evaluate the research hypothesis describing Northern Italy as a fully integrated city-region, in the form of a polycentric metropolis. The analysis of the distribution and density of advanced business services in the territories of Northern Italy describes a scenario of growing specialization: not only is there a clearly defined division of competencies between production systems and urban systems, but there are also great differences in the range of services offered by cities with similar socio-economic characteristics. Cities in Northern Italy influence each other’s offer of business services: we have found indications of the presence of urban hierarchies extending beyond metropolitan and regional boundaries, across the whole of Northern Italy. This occurs not only in Milan, which emerges as the leading provider of advanced business services, but also in many smaller cities which are increasingly specializing their offers of advanced business services to fit the needs of local production chains and to stay competitive in the macro-region.

First- and Second-Tier Cities in Regional Agglomeration Models

This work has the purpose of inquiring into the presence of an urban hierarchy within second-tier city areas and alternative agglomeration models differing in their self-propelling ability and territorial sustainability. To this aim we confront regional polycentric areas, by going inside the traditional agglomeration and variety economies and the land settlement model of small–medium urban poles. In particular, the present work compares four Italian regions characterized by a territorial development driven by second-tier cities. The first two sections of the paper evaluate the functional pattern of the different urban systems and subsequently measure their rank in terms of extra-regional attractiveness on demand, which is expressed by rare services (Sections 2 and 3). Sections 4 and 5 tackle the issue of sustainability of settlements by taking into account land consumption and the degree of territorial fragmentation caused by different urbanization models. We discovered good urban performances and settlement sustainability of the second-tier cities agglomeration model in Italian regions, which is stronger when based on the co-presence of specialized small cities (which can assure a minimum amount of local demand for advanced services) and a multifunctional medium urban centre (which can ensure rarer functions). These findings bring strong recommendations on urban policies.

Assessing Polycentric Urban Systems in the OECD: Country, Regional and Metropolitan Perspectives

Contemporary urban systems in OECD countries are structured around functional regions, which often overcome established city-boundaries. Reading space in terms of functional regions allows assessing changes in urban hierarchies and spatial structures, including the polycentricity of urban systems at national, regional and metropolitan scales. By using a harmonized definition of functional urban areas in OECD countries, this paper first provides a sound definition of polycentricity at each spatial scale, highlighting for each of them the different links with policy. Second, it provides measures of polycentricity and explores the economic implications of different spatial structures. Results show that relatively more monocentric regions have higher GDP per capita than their more polycentric counterparts. At the country level, on the other hand, polycentricity is associated with higher GDP per capita.

Az állam megváltozott szerepe és a városfejlesztés viszonya

A tanulmány „Az állami szerepek átalakulása és azok hatása a területi szerkezetre” című alapkutatás előzetes eredményeit vázolja. A téma aktualitását a városok szerepének európai és globális dimenziójú átértékelése adja, amit elengedhetetlen figyelembe venni Győr város helyzetének megítélése, gazdasági pozíciójának erősítése szempontjából is. Így a vizsgálat a nagyvárosi térségek, régiók intézményesülésében az utóbbi mintegy másfél évtizedben lezajlott gyökeres változásokat ragadja meg néhány állam és városrégió példáján. A tanulmány e változások hátterét és összefüggéseit kísérli meg megvilágítani, történetesen azt, hogy megváltozott a nemzetállamok viszonyulása városaikhoz és városi térségeikhez, azok ma már a gazdaságpolitika eszközeiként aktiválódnak. Az európai városhálózat az EU kohéziós politikájának célpontja, abban súlypontozódik a versenyképességi elem. Ennek következtében modernizálódott a területi tervezés rendszere, a városi térségek széles körben olyan, tervezési jogosultsággal bíró téregységekké váltak, amelyek alkalmasak az új típusú, a közszférát a magán- és a civil szférával összekapcsoló kormányzás megvalósítására. E változási folyamat nem értékelhető azon hatalmi decentralizációs folyamat nélkül, amely a szubnacionális szintek javára zajlott le a legtöbb fejlett országban. A decentralizáció a kompetenciák szétterítéséhez vezetett, míg a többszintű kormányzás ösztönzésével az EU a területi szintek és a különböző szektorok közötti kooperáció létrehozásával azok ismételt integrációját kívánja megvalósítani. A folyamat kulcselemei a kooperáció és a koordináció, kiegészülve a téregységek közötti versennyel. A létrejövő kooperatív és partneri állam azonban új szerepfelfogásában is megőrizte szabályozó és ellenőrző hatalmi jogosítványait. Tehát a keretfeltételeket ő szabja meg, így támogathatja vagy blokkolhatja a városi térségek fejlődését, versenyképességét.

A város- és várostérség-tipizálás alapjai Kelet-Közép-Európában

A tanulmány célja a napjainkban is átalakuló kelet-közép-európai térség területi egyenlőtlenségeinek, sajátosságainak bemutatása, a városok, városi térségek tipizálásával. Napjainkban a városkutatások reneszánszát tapasztalhatjuk, a városok a regionális és az országos gazdasági növekedés, a fejlődés és a versenyképesség gócpontjai, amelyekben igen koncentráltan zajlanak a térbeli folyamatok. A cikk kísérletet tesz a napjainkban jelentős város- és várostérség-vizsgálatok bemutatására, azok különböző értelmezéseinek és módszertani sajátosságainak ismertetésére. Ezen túl a tanulmány a városi teljesítmény indikátorait is azonosítja és Kelet-Közép-Európa városhálózatát, várostérképét is „megrajzolja”.Összességében kijelenthető, hogy a város nem minden esetben város, annak szűkebb- tágabb vonzáskörzete, hinterlandja szinte minden esetben megjelenik a különböző társadalmi-gazdasági tartalmú területi elemzésekben. A főbb európai dokumentumokat áttanulmányozva megállapítható, hogy elég sok és sokszínű város- és várostérség-tipizálással találkozhatunk; ezek módszertanai, lehatárolásai diverznek mondhatók. Az irodalmi feldolgozás során összegeztem a városi teljesítmény tényezőit, a gazdasági teljesítmény, a gazdasági szerkezet, az elérhetőség, a demográfia, az innovációs teljesítmény és az infokommunikáció, valamint a területhasználat mutatóit. Ahogy a város- és várostérség-kategorizálás is sokszínű, úgy a kelet-közép-európai városhálózat is differenciált képet nyújt, annak függvényében, hogy milyen területi szinten vizsgálódunk.

LEY DE ZIPF Y DE GIBRAT PARA COLOMBIA Y SUS REGIONES: 1835-2005

RESUMENEn este documento se analiza la jerarquía urbana de Colombia y sus regiones utilizando información censal de entre 1835 y 2005. Se estudian tres aspectos: 1) la distribución del tamaño poblacional a través de las regularidades empíricas de Zipf y de Gibrat; 2) el cambio en el modelo de crecimiento poblacional, y 3) la validación empírica sobre la coincidencia de la dinámica poblacional para un país y sus regiones. Haciendo uso de la relación rango-tamaño y de técnicas no paramétricas, se encuentra coincidencia nacional y regional desde 1964 del cumplimiento de la ley de Zipf y parcialmente de la ley de Gibrat, lo cual evidencia un cambio en el modelo de crecimiento poblacional desde mediados del siglo XX en los ámbitos nacional y regional.

‘Queen of the Bristol Channel Ports’: the intersection of gender and civic identity in Cardiff, c.1880–1914

This article explores how civic identity could shape, and be shaped by, gender distinctions during the period of commercial and municipal development. It argues that women's relationship to the urban scene was more nuanced than theories of exclusion imply, gender and civic identity being mutually constitutive. Through the case study of Cardiff, the article advocates the need for deeper analysis of the way regional and national complexities permeated gendered civic sentiments. Notions of femininity in Wales had been defined in opposition to England ever since the 1847 ‘Treachery of the Blue Books’. However, Cardiff's relatively anglicised status and aspirations in the local and global urban hierarchy meant there was often a desire by civic leaders to emulate what was occurring elsewhere, or to develop their own definition of Welsh femininity. Consequently, these competing gender ideals underlined Cardiff's civic and national—Welsh and British—identity.

URBAN SPRAWL, OBESOGENIC ENVIRONMENT, AND CHILD WEIGHT

ABSTRACTUsing the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth along with the child survey, we examine the relationship between urban sprawl of U.S. metro counties and the body mass index (BMI) of children who reside in these counties. We make a distinction between urban sprawl in a county and its geographical placement in the urban hierarchy. Even after accounting for unobserved individual heterogeneity and resulting selection bias, we find that urban sprawl is positively related to child BMI and distance to large metros is negatively related to child BMI. These effects are somewhat pronounced among girls and middle/high school children.

The Relationship between Population Dynamics and Urban Hierarchy

Spatial planners often make “comprehensive” decisions on the location of public service facilities by using the concept of urban hierarchy: population centers at the upper level of the hierarchy (typically large cities) get the highest level facilities, such as specialized hospitals and universities, while the centers at the lower levels of hierarchy get lower-level facilities. Intuitively, this suggests that there should be a link between urban hierarchy designations and population dynamics in future periods. This link must be taken into account in planning decisions, as it suggests that today’s decisions affect tomorrow’s demand for services. Indeed, this link was assumed in a previously published planning model. Yet, no direct evidence of such a link appears in the literature. The primary goal of this article is to fill this gap by using the census data for Portugal for the period 1991–2001 and the changes in the urban hierarchy that were implemented during 1980s and early 1990s. While our results support the link between urban hierarchy designations and population dynamics that has been assumed in previously published work, the mechanism describing this link appears to be somewhat different from the one postulated previously. Several extensions and directions for future work are also discussed.

Population distribution and urban growth in Southern Italy, 1871–2011: emergent polycentrism or path-dependent monocentricity?

This study assesses changes in population distribution and the expansion of urban settlements in Southern Italy between 1871 and 2011. Four demographic phases are identified: (i) spatially balanced, mild population growth (1871–1921); (ii) moderate population increase concentrated in coastal and lowland areas (1921–1951); (iii) rapid and diffused population growth (1951–1981); and (iv) population stability with settlement dispersion (1981–2011). While urban growth in the years preceding the 1980s reinforced the polarization in rich and poor areas along the urban-to-rural gradient, since the early 1990s both urban and rural areas showed population dynamics that consolidated low-density settlements scattered around the largest cities. This path, however, does not reflect the evolution towards a more spatially balanced urban development, as observed in other European regions. Causes and consequences of the persistence of a fragmented urban hierarchy with dense settlements and sprawl concentrated around the main cities are finally discussed.