The Size and Distribution of Cities
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| rank-size rule/ræŋk saɪz ruːl/ | An idealised urban-size pattern in which the city ranked n has roughly one-nth the population of the largest city. |
| primate city/ˈpraɪmeɪt ˈsɪti/ | A country's leading city that is disproportionately large and influential compared with its other cities. |
| central place theory/ˈsentrəl pleɪs ˈθɪəri/ | A model explaining the spacing and hierarchy of settlements through the goods and services they provide under simplifying assumptions about markets and travel. |
How city sizes line up
- The rank-size rule 位序规模法则 says the nth city is 1/n the size of the largest.
- So the 2nd city is half, the 3rd a third, and so on.
- It describes a balanced urban system with many mid-sized cities.
The rule that the nth-largest city is 1/n the size of the largest is the...
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The rank-size rule gives a smooth size distribution.
Primate cities
- A primate city 首位城市 is far larger than all the others (more than twice the second).
- Paris and Bangkok dominate their countries this way.
- A primate city concentrates power, jobs, and culture in one place.
The rank-size rule compared with a primate-city pattern
Rank-size or primate?
Sort each urban system as rank-size or primate.
A primate city is more than twice the size of the country's second city.
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A primate city dominates, dwarfing all others.
Select all features of a primate city.
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A primate city is dominant and concentrating; a smooth ladder is rank-size instead.
Match each term to its meaning.
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Rank-size = smooth; primate = dominant; market area = service region.
Central place theory
- Central place theory 中心地理论 (Christaller) explains the spacing of settlements.
- Larger centres are fewer and farther apart and offer higher-order goods.
- Each has a market area — the region it serves.
Central place theory explains the ____ of settlements, with bigger centres farther apart.
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Central place theory is about settlement spacing and market areas.
The rank-size rule and a primate city are opposites. Rank-size means a smooth range of city sizes; a primate city means one huge city dwarfing the rest. Check whether the second city is roughly half the first (rank-size) or far smaller (primate).
In France, Paris is far more than twice the size of the next city — a classic primate city dominating the country. In a rank-size system like the USA, the second-largest city is roughly half the first, with many mid-sized cities in between.
The rank-size rule (nth city = 1/n of the largest) describes a balanced urban system; a primate city is one that dwarfs all others. Central place theory explains settlement spacing: bigger centres are fewer, farther apart, and serve a larger market area.
Write from a primate city
- The largest city has 8 million people.
- The second city has 1.5 million.
Is the largest city primate?
A primate city is more than twice the size of the second city.
What is the largest city in this pair?
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8 is more than twice 1.5.