urban hierchy DOC-20241122-WA0001.pptx

soft

1. URBAN HIERACHY/CLASSIFICATION OFURBAN SYSTEMS By Dr. Kiggundu Amin Tamale

2. Global Cities These are a product of globalization and its impact on cities across the globe They serve as very large global territories They are a key pillar of the global economy They have large clusters of service or manufacturing industries and are heavily engaged in global trade, business and finance Examples include: New York, London, Tokyo, Paris etc

3. Mega Cities The term mega city refers to large metropolitan, regional cities with populations of more than 10 million people Mega cities are primate cities and they sit at the apex of a system of global cities Not all primate/primary cities are mega cities In some countries like Brazil, China and India we have several mega cities Examples of Mega Cities: Mexico City, Mumbai etc

4. Primate Cities A primate city is likely to generate a disproportional percentage of a nation’s GDP Examples include: Kigali, Kampala, Nairobi These are cities with functions and services that are domestically linked: a) Industries produce goods for local national markets b) Services are for the local markets (University education, health services etc )

5. Secondary Cities The term secondary cities was introduced and popularized by Rondinelli (1982) in the 1980s Rondinelli (1982) defined secondary cities ‘ as being urban settlements with a population of at least 100,000 but without including the largest city in the country’ Rondinelli (1982) research work was initially intended to stimulate the economies of rural areas surrounding secondary cities According to Friedmann (1986), secondary cities tend to be somewhat smaller than cities of the first rank/primate cities

6. John (2012) states that secondary cities are a group of cities that sits somewhere below the group at the very apex of the urban hierarchy---an apex occupied by the primary cities/primate cities Secondary cities rank low in the priorities and budgets of central governments and since their ability to compete for resources is weaker than that of larger cities, provision of services and management of urban infrastructure is often inadequate.

7. Ugandan context on urban hierarchy The urban hierarchy is provided for in the Local Government Act, 1997 as amended: a) A city b) Municipal Council c) Town Council d) Town Board/Growth Centre