What is Central Place Theory?
A theory that explains the distribution of different-sized settlements based on threshold and range.
Explain the Rank-Size Rule.
The nth largest city in a system has 1/n the population of the largest city, indicating a balanced urban hierarchy.
Explain the concept of Primate Cities.
A primate city dominates a country's economic, political, and cultural functions, often disproportionately larger than other cities.
What is the significance of threshold and range in Central Place Theory?
Threshold and range determine the location and size of services; higher-order services need a larger threshold and have a larger range.
How does development influence city structure?
More developed regions tend to have more complex and decentralized city structures.
What factors drive urbanization?
Economic opportunities and access to services in urban areas drive urbanization.
What factors drive suburbanization?
Desire for more space, lower cost of living, and perceived better quality of life drive suburbanization.
What are the challenges associated with megacities?
Overpopulation, traffic, pollution, and resource strain are key challenges.
What role do global cities play in the world economy?
Global cities have significant political, economic, and cultural influence beyond their boundaries, driving global economic activities.
What are edge cities?
Concentrations of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional downtown or central business district.
What is the definition of Rank-Size Rule?
A statistical relationship where the nth largest city has 1/n the population of the largest city.
What is the definition of Primate City?
A single city that dominates a country's economic, cultural, and political life.
What is the definition of Threshold (Central Place Theory)?
The minimum number of people needed to support a service.
What is the definition of Range (Central Place Theory)?
The maximum distance people will travel to use a service.
What is the definition of Urbanization?
Movement from rural to urban areas, increasing urban population.
What is the definition of Suburbanization?
Shift from urban to suburban areas, driven by space and lower costs.
What is the definition of Megacity?
A city with a population of 10+ million people.
What is the definition of Metacity?
A city with a population of 20+ million people.
What is the definition of Global City?
A city with political, economic, and cultural influence beyond their boundaries.
What is a Central Business District (CBD)?
The commercial and often geographic heart of a city.
Compare Rank-Size Rule and Primate City distribution.
Rank-Size Rule indicates a balanced urban hierarchy, while a Primate City distribution shows one dominant city.
Compare urbanization and suburbanization.
Urbanization is the movement from rural to urban areas, while suburbanization is the shift from urban to suburban areas.
Compare the city distribution in the United States and China.
The United States has a decentralized city distribution, while China has a more centralized distribution with a few dominant cities.
Compare megacities and global cities.
Megacities are large cities with 10+ million people, often in developing countries, while global cities have global economic and political influence and are often in developed countries.
Compare low-order and high-order services in Central Place Theory.
Low-order services (e.g., gas stations) are found everywhere, while high-order services (e.g., sports arenas) are only in larger cities.
