Urban Growth

Following a brief history of urban growth, various theories are presented that explain different dimensions of that growth with a particular emphasis on central place theory and industrial location theory. Attention then turns to the various ways in which urban growth is measured, including a consideration of what is known as the rank-size rule, and the many sources of data for examining urban growth. In the final section, five topics important to urban growth are addressed that are not dealt with elsewhere in this handbook: sanitation, amenities (and disamenities), education, transportation, and, lastly, fire and other natural disasters.