Centrality and Cities

<p>Professor Bird presents a synthesis of the many approaches to the study of a central featuer of modern life - the city, including its distant past and its future. He sees centrality as a mental projection on to space, and discusses the concept in relation to three types of its manifestation in spatial terms: the city as centre of a tributary region; the centres and central areas of cities themselves; and the city considered as a centre or gateway for other distant regions, often overseas.</p><p>This book should do much to unravel the funamental similarities between cities of the world while recognizing the myriad variations upon a common theme.</p><p>This book was first published in 1977.</p> Introduction: Conjectures on centrality 1. Centre genesis 2. Evolution of central areas 3. In downtown (1): the framework of order 4. In downtown (2): Measurement, accessibility, change 5. Centre-periphery contrasts 6. Three theory types as variations of city centrality 7. Centrality, perception and the future 8. Envoi