(epcLIpuve 1etaes Seen epee mn City (the law of primate city was developed by Mark Jefferson in 1939. It is “fased on the observation that the country’s leading city is usually dispro- portionately larger than others in the s . For example, London is seven times the size of Liverpool, Copenhagen nine times larger | than Aathus, aid Mexico City five times the size of Gua Guadalahara! In other Words, a primate city has a stratum of small towns vns dominated by. a very dispre oehonabe di > Graven?» dane ro wr aa -] a .a 148 Origin of Urbag cs Figure 4.3. Kathmandu and Thimpu: The Primate Cities of Nepal ang Bhutan et -~ ~ 2. oe <7 N : . aed Thine Kathmandu *? guint i {Ganaiot! ow NEPAL large city with an absence of Figure 4.4 Primate Cities of South Amereg eee centres. Tet efferson noted that the ratio of the population of the three largest cities is approximately | quigh 100:30:20_ (ie., the third largest is one-fifth the size of the largest). According to | tina Jefferson, the largest city has the pre-eminence ii inti strucure, economic, — social amd political affairs. ) ate cities are found almost in all countries— developed or developing. The factors responsible for the primacy and degree of primacy in each one of them vary. The main causes for the devel- opment of primate cities are: G@-Small territorial extent of the country, iJ relatively high density of population, GiiJ Tow per capita income, (iva high degree dependence upon agricultural exports, (v) High rates of populati® growth, and (vi) in many cases, a formal Colonial status. Many of the®® attributes are, of course, typical of developing countries. The primate cities are mainly found in small countries, For exampl® Reykjvik in Iceland, Copenhagen in Denmark, Kathmandu in Nepal, 48° in Nigeria. Lime in Per Ta Pat in Boia, Quito m Brande, Cre 3 fenezuela and Bogota in Colombia (Figs. 4.3 and 4.4). Following 3 are responsible for creation of primate cities: \ = eneriae re: ae m7 1 E.mbnerege pre ety i soe e \-~e } : re j ark Georgetorn Paramaibo Cayenne ontevideo‘Rot a eoern Mea of urban Places Ovtente > gray tie ‘countries with a colonial histo example, Australia, New 7 enya, Ethiopia, etc) (export-oriented economy. A country which is dependent on export of raw materials shows the tendency of primacy.) 3 ‘simple economic and political economy lead to primacy. Countries /* \qith small areas “and population, low per capita incomes and agriculture as the basic economic activity also have a tendency towards primacy. The cities of Khartoum (Sudan), Addis Ababa (ethiopia), Mogadishu (Somalia); Kinshasa (aire), Nairobi (Kenya), Mofitevideo” (Uruguay), Mexico City (Mexico) are“some of such examples. acct eae 4, (Countries having dual economy (partly labour-intensive and partly capital-intensive)” also have primate cities,) Dual economies in indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand have been responsible for making Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo and Bangkok primate cities. — alee The agglomeration effect on the growth of cities is a worldwide phenomenon. It has operated in the past and continues to operate even today. All over the world, the leading cities tend to attract the best of human talent and skills. Entrepreneurs are attracted to these cities and with them comes the capital needed for investment in industry. The primate city is perceived as providing the greatest opportunity for employment. The effect OF concentration of skills and capital in the leading city is seen in its rapid growth. This also leads to the draining away of skills and capital From @ number of sifallé cities and towns towards the primate city. These-sialler cities and towns stagnate and even decline; they find it difficult to compete with the primate city, and as aresult the gap between the primate city and the second largest city tends towiden through time. inate city, in course of time, becomes the dominant economic, social, cultural and political nerve centre of a country. The presence of people from all parts of the country makes the primate city a mini-country in itself, Furthermore, since it has the best talent in the country, it symbolizes national achievement. The primate city is, therefore, much more than a premier city—it is, in fact, a symbol of the nation. The existence of primate city signifies strong forces that unify a nation. These forees may be cultural, political or economic, or all of these together. ty also have primate cities. For Zealand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Maldive, fh Primacy in India India at the national level at preset ed by the large size of the t forces in150 ~ _ se -£ast India Figure 4.5 Regional Primate Cities of North-East Indi | f ARUNACHAL ~~, po 6 | ar Bon A RA DESH 997" 5 1 thiemps qo / fat } tamertgs Ae Nan UTA A eectee = i a “ee Re am ¢ a SES INAGALAND? J ove fe Konima 9 font po arennn F spillonts, ieee ‘- . ae ok 5 7 muy ; 2 2 Gaantrur é af s pallet ~~ JFurunat Aizen r J ad OY c fxsaridja” Pamzorany? iy > Q ? \ \ > ( seale 1:5400,000 «At he state level, however, there are primate cities in fifteen aut of. the_twenty-eight states. Several large states, such as West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, ra Pradesh and Gujarat have ‘primate cities, which have population at least three times the population of the second-ranking city. Amoi the smaller states, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura show a distinct tendency towards city primacy (Fig. 45), Iy-the Valley of Kashmir, the city of Srinagar has the status of a primate city ( Fig. 4.6). Primate city character” istics are absent in the northern states, from Orissa, and Bihar in the east to Rajasthan and Punjab in the west. =~" \fAffer independence, in India, there has been a distinct tendency, for primacy to increase, This has been because of growing imbalances and “increasing concentration of development activities in state capitals) THe "State capitals, as a matter of fact, provide more employment opportunities. the law of primate city is still relevant, heugitng eran that Jefferson identified is now largely ignored.) =