Join TSR
 
About Us | FAQs | Sign in
 
Advanced
Search

Join The Student Room Today

Be part of the UK's largest and fastest growing student community.

It's free to join and a lot of fun - Get inspired, express your ideas, interact and share

Revision:Rank Size Rule and Primate City

From The Student Room

TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > Geography > Rank Size Rule and Primate City


  • The Rank Size Rule notes the relationship between the ranks of cities and their populations.
  • It was advanced by Zipf in 1941
  • The formula is P_n = \frac{P_1}{n} where P_n is the population of towns ranked n, P_1 is the population of the largest town and n is the rank of the town.
  • For example, if the largest town has a population of x, the second largest town will have a population of x/2, the 3rd largest will have a population of x/3 and so on.

The Law of the Primate City

  • The primate city is the largest most dominant city in a region.
  • The degree of primacy refers to the dominance of the largest city over the rest of the country.
  • Most LDCs (Less Developed Countries) have a high degree of primacy while most MDCs (More Developed Countries) have a low degree of primacy.
    • Factors that affect high primacy include
    • Having an underdeveloped economy
    • Having an agriculturally dominant economy
    • A rapidly expanding population
    • A recent colonial history


Comments