IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envira/v10y1978i2p163-171.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Changes in the Size Distribution of Settlements in England and Wales, 1801–1968

Author

Listed:
  • A D Cliff

    (Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 3EN, England)

  • B T Robson

    (Department of Geography, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, England)

Abstract

Changes over time in the distribution of settlement sizes in England and Wales are examined by using two data sets: Town population sizes 1801–1911 and the population size of various local government units in 1968. The Cohen and Whitworth random partitioning models are applied to these data. Standard normal deviates show the increasing population concentration in large urban areas during the 19th century and the reversal of this trend in the 20th century, leading to the suggestion of maximum entropy in 1968. A comparison of the Cohen and the rank–size models suggests the greater utility of the former once the primate city is excluded from consideration. The analysis highlights the timing of critical changes in the evolution of the settlement pattern, particularly the reversal of trend in 1901.

Suggested Citation

  • A D Cliff & B T Robson, 1978. "Changes in the Size Distribution of Settlements in England and Wales, 1801–1968," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 10(2), pages 163-171, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:10:y:1978:i:2:p:163-171
    DOI: 10.1068/a100163
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/a100163
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1068/a100163?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:10:y:1978:i:2:p:163-171. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.