Core-Periphery Model by Friedman

John Friedman was an urban theorist and founding figure of the Department of Urban Planning at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. He propounded the core-periphery model of regional development in the year 1966. The Core-Periphery Model by Friedman shows the process of economic growth and urban development in time and space.  Basic Idea … Read more

Unbalanced Growth Theory by Albert Hirschman

In unbalanced growth theory, Hirschman argued that certain places are naturally endowed with natural resources whereas some places are resource scarce. Therefore, it is inevitable that the growth will take place at fewer places. Hence, he believed that the process of growth is intrinsically unbalanced unlike Gunnar Myrdal’s Theory. Similarity to Cumulative Causation Theory Hirschman’s … Read more

Cumulative Causation Theory by Gunnar Myrdal

The inception of process of regional development has remained a mystery for most of the development economists. Perroux and Boudeville’s have given their ideas regarding regional development in form of Growth Pole Theory. Similarly, Gunnar Myrdal also gave his cumulative causation theory for explaining the process of regional development. In Simple Words Gunnar Myrdal was … Read more

Malthusian Theory of Population Growth

Thomas Malthus was a demographer and economist. His main interest was in studying the impact of growing population on the economy of a country and welfare of its people. Malthus explained his theory of population growth in “An Essay on the Principle of Population” published in 1798. Malthusian theory of population growth is based on … Read more

Primate City

Mark Jafferson propounded his concept of primate city in 1939. He observed that a region’s regional development revolves around a large city of the region. All other cities are smaller than the largest city. He names the largest city as primate city. Characteristics of Primate City Primate city is the largest economically dominant city of … Read more

Rank Size Rule by GK Zipf

Many urban geographers have observed the existence of some kind of pattern in size and spacing of cities. Similarly, GK Zipf observed this pattern and propounded rank size rule. Rank Size Rule states that the population of all towns can be expressed in relation to the most populated city of a region. The rank size … Read more

Relevance and Criticism of Central Place Theory

Central place theory is a milestone in the quantitative revolution era. It demonstrated the use of quantitative techniques in spatial and locational studies. However, it has been criticized widely on many grounds. Criticism of central place theory led to development in the field of spatial studies. To understand the relevance of this theory, we must … Read more

Central Place Theory by Walter Christaller

Walter Christaller proposed his Central Place Theory in 1933. He aimed to rationalize the distribution of cities over geographic space. He was concerned with the way the settlement of different sizes evolve and are spaced out. It is a theoretical account of size and distribution of settlements within an urban system where marketing is predominant … Read more

Multiple Nuclei Model by Harris and Ullman

Harris and Ullman proposed Multiple Nuclei Model in their paper The Nature of Cities (1945) to explain the morphology of a city. They argued that the land use pattern is much more complex than the model given by Burgress, Hoyt & Davis. They observed that the land use pattern is neither in concentric zones or … Read more

The Sector Model of Urban Morphology

Homer Hoyt and M.R. Davis proposed the sector model of urban morphology in 1939. This model was based on observations from 64 cities in the USA. He modified the Concentric Zone Model by Burgess in combination with the impact of transport routes on urban morphology and came up with their own Wedge or Sector Model. … Read more