The Dynamics of Cities: Ecological Determinism, Dualism and Chaos

ISBN-13: 9780415077217 / Angielski / Twarda / 1992 / 416 str.

Dimitrios S. Dendrinos; D. Dendrinos;Dendrinos Dimit

Opis

The economy and geography of human population concentrations have been characterized throughout history by numerous dualisms and spatial disparities. Extreme poverty and equally extreme wealth coexist side by side. Are they connected or are they purely random? The Dynamics of Cities addresses these questions, arguing that both the interaction of space and time and the comparative advantage of location are interlocked into a simple but rich code of evolution. Drawing on recorded evidence, available on a global scale and spanning the past quarter century, Dimitrios Dendrinos argues that the dynamics of the world's largest cities exhibit patterns of chaos. He suggests that simple, general and powerful macrodynamic processes guide the growth and decline of present day urban agglomerations, as well as cities of the past. Large in scale, broad in scope and long in term, deterministic forces govern these human habitats; Governments stand to have little impact upon such macroecological determinism.

Recenzje

`... it contains a wealth of messages ... a very rich source of information for geography and economics alike.' - Tijdschrift voor Economie en Social Geographie

Spis treści

Summary Introduction Some Central Issues Structure of the Book A Note on Social Science Theories, Data and their Markets Notes of Introduction Part A. Global Interdependencies Introduction Macrodynamics of the World's Largest Urban Areas: Order in Chaos Interactions and Interdependencies Conclusions Part B. Nations, Cities, Industries and their Connections Introduction Instability from International Exchanges Two National Economies; their Internal Growth and Foreign Trade Unstable Urban Macrodynamics Currencies and Dualisms Anatomy and Evolution of Some Very Large Urban Economies Macrodynamics, Stability, Cycles and Relative Dynamics The Mathematical Formulation of Relative Macrodynamics Conclusions Part C. The Dynamic Code of a Global Urban Hierarchy Introduction Hyper-concentrations, Hypo-concentrations, and agglomeration gradients Aggregate Development Code, Relative Parity, and the Empirical Evidence The Urban Sector of the World's Four Largest Nations A Phase Portrait of Global Hierarchical Dynamics? Conclusions Epilogue Some Future Scenarios Observers of and Participants in Social Dynamics Appendix A: Toward an Ecological Determinism Appendix B: A Brief Review of Major Theories of Development Appendix C: Data and Sources References

O autorze

Dimitrios Dendrinos