PRIMATE CITY & RANK SIZE RULE

 OMKAR PARISHWAD
 ANGITA DAS
THEORITICAL BASE OF RANK SIZE RULE RANK SIZE RULE

i. Theory describing numerical distribution of settlement

ii. Which recognizes an empirical regularity

iii. Product obtained by multiplying a city’s rank by its size is equal to a constant

iv. The population of the country’s largest city such for the given settlement system

Pr = Pi
r where,
Pr = population of rth rank size
Pi = population of largest city
r = Rank of the city
 The second ranking city of a country has one half of the population of the largest city.

 The third largest is one third of the largest.

There are many attempts to explain the rank size regularity.

Relates to Christaller’s Central Place Theory by suggesting the population of a given

centre fluctuate around the norm for that order

Rank size relationships result from balancing out conflicting forces. Zipf suggests that the
two opposing forces of diversification and unification produce the regularity

Minimizing cost and maximizing efficiency can also explain rank size rule regularity.

Relatie growth of towns bore little relationship to their size

There are many countries the confirm to the rank size rule . These developed countries
include Italy , Belgium , Finland , the USA
TYPES OF DEVIATION

PRIMARY DEVIATION
BINARY DEVIATION
STEPPED PATTENR DEVIATION
 PROBLEMS AND APPLICABILITY
There is no universal definition of city sizes ; where to limit the city present problems.

There are many areas where the built up area exceeds outside the administrative
boundaries

And many city workers live beyond the edge of the building area.

To what area should the rank size rule be applied

The inclusion and exclusion of a very large city will very much affect the analysis

Rank size rule can be better used to comparitive purposes it is more descriptive rather than
explanatary or predictive
 At national level rank size rule is absent in India.

 At upper hierarchy India is dominated by three cities all of which have a population very
close to each other.

 For example according to 2001 census Greater Mumbai has 16368,Kolkatta has 13216
and Delhi has 12791 thousand population.

 At the second level Chennai has 6424,Bangalore 5686 and Hyderabad 5533 and
Ahmedabad 4519 thousand population.

 Absence of rank size rule at the national level is because there is no integrated system of
settlements.

 The absence of rank size relationships at national level again is due to the fact that
primacy exists in 15 out of 28 cities in India.

 Rank size approximations are found in three states of India Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and
Haryana.

 But by and large rank size relationships in India are an exception rather than a rule

RANK SIZE RULE IN INDIA

 Examples of Countries With Primate Cities
Paris (9.6 million) is definitely the focus of France while Marseilles has a population of 1.3 million.
Similarly, the United Kingdom has London as its primate city (7 million) while the second largest city,
Birmingham, is home to a mere one million people.
Mexico City, Mexico (8.6 million) outshines Guadalajara (1.6 million).
A huge dichotomy exists between Bangkok (7.5 million) and Thailand's second city, Nanthaburi
(481,000).

Examples of Countries that Lack Primate Cities

India's most populous city is Mumbai (formerly Bombay) with 16 million; second is Kolkata
(formerly Calcutta) with more than 13 million; and third is less than 13 million.
China, Canada, Australia, and Brazil are additional examples of non-primate-city countries.
Utilizing the metropolitan area population of urban areas in the United States, we find that the
U.S. lacks a true primate city. With the New York City metropolitan area population at
approximately 21 million, second ranked Los Angeles at 16 million, and even third ranked Chicago
at 9 million, America lacks a primate city.