| The Dynamics of Cities: Ecological Determinism, Dualism and Chaos Contributor(s): Dendrinos, Dimitrios (Author) |
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ISBN: 0415077214 ISBN-13: 9780415077217 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $66.45 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: October 1992 Annotation: The economy and geography of human population concentrations have been characterized throughout history by numerous dualisms and spatial disparities. Extreme poverty and equally extreme wealth coexist side by side. Are they connected or are they purely random? "The Dynamics of Cities" addresses these questions, arguing that spatiotemporal interaction and locational comparative advantages are interlocked into a simple but rich code of evolution. Drawing on recorded evidence of a global scale and scanning the past quarter century, Dimitrios Dendrinos argues that the dynamics of the world's largest cities exhibit patterns in seeming chaos, but nonetheless ordered dualism. In this informative and original study, Dendrinos arrives at an aggregate macro-ecological determinism governing the rise and fall of cities, industries, regions, and nations alike. He synthesizes a speculative theory of human behavior and hypothesizes that a broad range of socioeconomic dualisms and spatial disparities signify a dynamic instability in the evolution of societies and human settlements. The author's highly original approach suggests that simple macrodynamic processes guide the growth and decline of contemporary megacities, just as they have determined the space-time of cities of the past. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Sociology - Urban - Architecture | Urban & Land Use Planning - Science | Earth Sciences - Geography |
| Dewey: 307.76 |
| LCCN: 91045626 |
| Lexile Measure: 1500 |
| Physical Information: 1.06" H x 5.68" W x 8.56" (1.21 lbs) 414 pages |
| Themes: - Demographic Orientation - Urban |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Dimitrios Dendrinos, an expert in the application of non-linear dynamics and chaos theory to the subject of urban and regional dynamics, focuses here on fundamental issues in population growth and decline. He approaches the topic of urban growth and decline within a global system perspective, viewing the rise and fall of cities, industries and nations as the result of global interdependencies which lead to unstable dynamics and widespread dualisms. Professor Dendrinos provides valuable insights into the evolution of human settlements and considers the possible futures open to the giant cities of the world. |