Rank Size Rule And Primate Cities IB Geography

Objective To understand the Rank Size Rule and Primate Cities as they apply to urban environments. To prepare and take an IB Exam Style Question using knowledge gained about Rank Size Rule and Primate Cities

Rank Size Rule This is an attempt to find a numerical relationship between population size of settlements within an area such as a country

Assumptions in Rank Size Rule Cities in a country are ranked according to their size in relation to the country’s largest city Rank 1 – Largest City Rank 2 – 1⁄2 the number of people as Rank 1 city Rank 3 – 1/3 the number of people as Rank 1 city Rank 4 – 1⁄4 the number of people as Rank 1 city Rank 5 – 1/5 the number of people as Rank 1 city

Example The largest city has a population of 1,000,000 The 2nd largest city: 1,000,000/2= 500,000 The 3rd city: 1,000,000/3= 333,333 The 4th city: 1,000,000/4= 250,000 And so on….

Formula This allows us to express the rank size rule as: Pn= Pl /n (or R) Pn= The population of the City Pl= The population of the largest city N (or R)= The rank size of the city

Rank Size Rule in Germany

Problems with Rank Size Rule In some countries the differences between a First Ranked and a Second Ranked city was much less than expected – Ex. New York City is only 1.3 times larger than Los Angeles Some countries are dominated by Primate cities so the changes are larger than expected – Ex. Kinshasa (DRC) is 8 times larger than the next largest city Lubumbashi

Primate City The largest city within a nation which dominates the country not solely in size – being more than twice as large as the second city – but also it terms of influence “The primate city is commonly at least twice as large as the next largest city and more than twice as significant.” - Mark Jefferson, (geographer) 1939

Examples of Primate Cities Paris, at a population of 9.6 million is definitely the focus of France, while Marseilles has a population of 1.3 million. In the United Kingdom the city of London has a population of 7 million while the second largest city, Birmingham only has around one million people. Mexico City, Mexico has a population of 8.6 million (about 22 million in the agglomeration) while Guadalajara is only about 1/4th the size at 1.6 million.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Primate Cities Magnetic attraction for businesses, services and people Can attract international trade and business Centralize transportation and communication Enhanced flow of ideas and information among larger populations Disadvantages Urban-rural inequalities Imbalance in development Concentration of Power Has a parasitic effect, sucking wealth, natural and human resources into city. Become centers for unemployment, crime, pollution

Bangkok: The Classic Primate City Over 40x larger than any other city in Thailand Political, Financial, Cultural, Communication center of Thailand (over 5 million) – Much of economy of rural Thailand is in support of Bangkok

Thailand’s Largest Cities

Problems in Bangkok Flooding • Garbage/Human Waste • Transportation • Recreation Spaces • Pollution • Poor Planning • Finance • Conflicting demands • Rapid urbanization/slums

Bangkok’s Dominance In Thailand... – 80% of phones are registered to Bangkok Addresses – 79% of all pharmacists are located in Bangkok - 45% of Doctors are located in Bangkok – 72% of all registered cars are in Bangkok

Work in partners to practice what you have learned Practice Slides

practice If a country conforms to Rank Size Rule, fill in the population chart below: City A 250,000 City B ? __________________ City C ? __________________ City D ? __________________ City E ? __________________

practice If a country conforms to Rank Size Rule, fill in the population chart below: City A ? __________________ City B ? __________________ City C ? __________________ City D 3,200,000 City E ? __________________

Primate City or Rank Size Rule? Austria Vienna 1,691,468 Linz-Wels-Steyr 286,000 Graz 222,326 Linz 181,162 Salzburg 150,269

Primate City or Rank Size Rule? Egypt Cairo 7,734,614 Alexandria 3,811,516 Al Jīzah 2,443,203

Rank Size Rule or Primate City? France 1 Paris 11,293,200 2 Lyon 1,665,700 3 Marseille 1,532,400 4 Toulouse 975,000 5 Nice 943,000

Rank Size Rule or Primate City? England 1 London 7,172,091 2 Birmingham 970,892 3 Leeds 715,404 4 Glasgow 577,869 5 Sheffield 513,234

Rank Size Rule or Primate City? Spain 1 Madrid 5,078,100 2 Barcelona 3,871,400 3 Valencia 1,406,600 4 Sevilla 1,135,600 5 Zaragoza 607,000

Rank Size Rule or Primate City? Japan 1 Tokyo 8,027,500 2 Yokohama 3,552,300 3 Osaka 2,647,000 4 Nagoya 2,258,000 5 Sapporo 1,779,700

Rank Size Rule or Primate City? South Korea Seoul 10,349,312 Pusan 3,678,555 Inch’ŏn 2,628,000 Taegu 2,566,540 Taejŏn 1,475,221

Rank Size Rule or Primate City? Libya Tripoli 1,150,989 Banghāzī 650,629 Mişrātah 386,120 Tarhūnah 210,697 Al Khums 201,943