Binary distribution
Encyclopedia
Binary distribution is when a country has 2 or more dominant cities (megacities
).
NB: this entry is a bit misleading. The apparent claim that these cities are equivalent in size as "megacities" is easily proven false.
For example:
United States: New York is more than twice as large as Los Angeles. This fits the classic rank-order distribution.
Brazil: São Paulo (~10m) is nearly twice as large as Rio de Janeiro (~6m); Wikipedia has this closer at 11m and 7m, but still, it is 50% larger.
Japan: Tokyo is more than twice as large as Yokohama, the next largest. Combining Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto is unfair unless we also allow for Tokyo to be considered as a metropolitan area, in which case it is 35 million, much much larger than the next largest.
China: These cities do not follow the clear rank-size rule. Why? Central planning under communist governments.
India: Perhaps the best argument for the "binary city" idea...
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_major_cities_in_Brazil
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Japanese_cities_by_population
Megacity
A megacity is usually defined as a metropolitan area with a total population in excess of 10 million people. Some definitions also set a minimum level for population density . A megacity can be a single metropolitan area or two or more metropolitan areas that converge. The terms conurbation,...
).
Countries with binary distribution
- Brazil (São PauloSão PauloSão Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Rio de JaneiroRio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
) - China (ShanghaiShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, BeijingBeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
) - India (MumbaiMumbaiMumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, DelhiDelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
) - Japan (TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Osaka-Kobe-KyotoOsaka-Kobe-Kyotois a Japanese metropolitan region encompassing the metropolitan areas of the cities of Osaka in Osaka prefecture, Kobe in Hyōgo Prefecture, and Kyoto in Kyoto prefecture. The entire region has a population of 18,644,000 over an area of 11,170 km²...
) - USA (New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA)
NB: this entry is a bit misleading. The apparent claim that these cities are equivalent in size as "megacities" is easily proven false.
For example:
United States: New York is more than twice as large as Los Angeles. This fits the classic rank-order distribution.
Brazil: São Paulo (~10m) is nearly twice as large as Rio de Janeiro (~6m); Wikipedia has this closer at 11m and 7m, but still, it is 50% larger.
Japan: Tokyo is more than twice as large as Yokohama, the next largest. Combining Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto is unfair unless we also allow for Tokyo to be considered as a metropolitan area, in which case it is 35 million, much much larger than the next largest.
China: These cities do not follow the clear rank-size rule. Why? Central planning under communist governments.
India: Perhaps the best argument for the "binary city" idea...
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_major_cities_in_Brazil
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Japanese_cities_by_population