Functional Classification of Cities by Harris

Functional classification of cities by Harris is the a sophisticated classification of towns based on sound quantitative techniques. C.D. Harris published this classification in a research paper “A Functional Classification of Cities in United States” in 1943. Prior to Harris, other urban geographers and planners presented the classification of cities based on their experience and … Read more

Functional Classification of Towns by Nelson

The functional classification of towns by Nelson is based on experience of North American cities. He provided this classification of towns in his research paper “A Service Classification of American Cities” in 1955. He improved upon the Classification of Cities by C. D. Harris. However, Nelson’s method is more objective and has lesser individual bias … Read more

Bomb Cyclone

Recently, the readers might have come across viral photos and videos of homes, cars, roads, lawns etc. covered in four feet of snow near the Great Lakes Region in North America. This snowfall occurred, unexpectedly, in a very short period. The meteorologist attributed this atmospheric event to the Bomb Cyclone. However, most people don’t know the … Read more

Temperate Cyclone

Temperate cyclone is rotating weather system which is formed in mid-latitudes. Frontal Cyclones, mid-latitude depressions, extra-tropical cyclones are all synonyms of temperate cyclone. They derive their name from temperate climates which exist in the mid-latitudinal zone i.e. 30° to 60°latitudes. It is this zone where the warm tropical air mass meets the cold polar Air … Read more

What is a Cold Wave?

The winter season starts to set in after the autumnal solstice (23rd September) in the northern hemisphere. The months of December and January are the coldest months of winter in India. We often hear the news of cold waves. The reporters warn us of the different alerts issued by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). However, … Read more

Tropical Cyclones

Cyclones are one of the most hazardous atmospheric events. Therefore, disaster management authorities have to issue early warning to the public, take risk reduction measures, prepare rescue strategies and plan rehabilitation before such events occur. Hence, disaster managers must know the types of cyclones, their origin and characteristics. Cyclones are primarily of two types i.e. … Read more

Urban Sprawl

Urban planners use the term ‘Urban sprawl’ in a pejorative sense to describe the unplanned expansion of relatively low intensity urban land-use into rural areas along major roadways. This urban expansion is unplanned. Therefore, management of this kind of urban area is an administrative nightmare. Definition of Urban Sprawl Urban Sprawl is a starfish shaped … Read more

Conurbation in Geography

The concept of Conurbation in Geography has been given by Patrick Geddes. He was primarily a town planner but also had interest in biology, ecology and sociology. Geddes also gave the concept of place, work and folk. He is also known as father of modern town planning. Definition of Conurbation Definition: Conurbation refers to the very … Read more

Rural-Urban Continuum

The concept of Rural-Urban Continuum has been given by R.E. Pahl. This concept refers to the gradation of life between urban and rural areas. We use the word ‘continuum’ when there is no strict boundary between two areas. Therefore, rural-urban continuum denotes that there is no clear and distinct boundary between rural and urban areas’ … Read more

Rural-Urban Fringe

R. J. Pryor gave the concept of rural-urban fringe in the year 1968. He observed that the characteristics of city do not disappear suddenly at the municipal boundary but slowly fade away outwards from the city. Thus, he arrived at the concept of rural-urban fringe. Definition of Rural-Urban Fringe It is the zone of transition … Read more