Economic changes and urban primacy
Lovera, A.
Urbana 1(18): 130-132
1996
ISSN/ISBN: 0798-0523 PMID: 12348999 Document Number: 309318
The recently published "Economic Change and Urban Primacy in Latin America" by the Colombian researcher L. M. Cuervo analyzed the principal focuses on the relations between the urban network and the economic situation in Latin America. Shortcomings identified by Cuervo include concentration on short-term changes and inadequacy of theory. The three theoretical traditions that have guided most research, dependent urbanization theory, logical empiricism, and historical investigation, should be integrated into one framework to exploit their complementary viewpoints. A comparison of the dominant features of Latin American urban primacy with urban patterns in six European countries indicates that urban primacy is related to the industrial stage of capitalism in both Europe and Latin America, and appears to be more determined by time factors than by economic development. A declining phase of urban primacy appears to be underway in some countries despite strong inertial forces. Cuervo argues that the proportion of the total population in the largest city is a better indictor of trends than is the relationship of the largest city's population to the total for the next three. He warns that signs of declining primacy may reflect only temporary pauses.