First published in 1970, this groundbreaking investigation into Entropy in Urban and Regional Modelling provides an extensive and detailed insight into the entropy maximising method in the development of a whole class of urban and regional models. The book has its origins in work being carried out by the author in 1966, when he realised that the well-known gravity model could be derived on the basis of an analogy with statistical, rather than Newtonian, mechanics. Subsequent investigation demonstrated that the entropy maximising method stems from an even higher level of generality, and the beginning of the book is devoted to an account of its importance and use as a general modelling tool. This reissue will be welcomed by a range of students and professionals from fields as diverse as urban and regional studies, economics, geography, planning, civil engineering, mathematics and statistics.

This edited collection, first published in 1987, provides a comparative analysis of different approaches to urban modelling, and lays the foundations for the possibility of integration and a more unified field. The first part contextualises the development of the field of urban systems modelling, focusing on the variety of approaches and possible implications of this on the future of research and methodology. Next, the editors consider economic and ‘non-economic’ approaches, followed by an analysis of spatial-interaction-based approaches. Providing an overview to the field and research literature, the overarching argument is that there should be an integrated methodological approach to urban system modelling.

Originally published in 1990, this work analyses the use of contemporary computer models to simulate urban systems. The work deals with the two significant traditions of model-building: firstly the building of integrated models following the seminal research of Lowry first published in 1964, but with relatively simple submodels; and secondly, intensive research on particular submodels with a variety of techniques. This volume constructs a model-building exercise which integrates the two traditions: an integrated model (in a modular form with alternative components) using the most advanced submodels. The book concludes with a presentation of an example of an operational model of this type.

This book, first published in 1982, addressed the need for a fresh and comprehensive guide to the rapidly expanding area of urban geography. Drawing on examples from cities in a number of countries, including the U.S.A., David Clark outlines the contribution of geographers to the understanding of the city and urban society, and analyses the growth of the urban environment alongside planning and policy. A thorough and unique study, this title will be of particular value to undergraduate students, as well as laying the foundations for a more advanced study in urban geography and planning.

Mathematical models have long been used by geographers and regional scientists to explore the working of urban and regional systems, via a system where the equilibrium point changes slowly and smoothly as the parameters change slowly and smoothly. However, this all changed with the advent of catastrophe theory and bifurcation, which enabled the development of models where a quite sudden change in the position of the equilibrium point results from a slow, small, smooth change in one or more parameters. First published in 1981, this reissue of Professor Wilson’s classic study outlines the implications of these mathematical models for geography and regional science, by way of a survey of contemporary applications.

First published in 1992, this Routledge Revival sees the reissue of a truly original exploration of the nature of urbanization and capitalism. Linda Clarke’s vital work argues that: Urbanization is a product of the social human labour engaged in building as well as a concentration of the labour force. The quality of the labour process determines the development of production. Changes to the built environment reflect changes in the production process and, in particular, the development of wage labour. To support these arguments, the author identifies a qualitatively new historical stage of capitalist building production involving a significant expansion of wage labour, and hence capital, and the transition from artisan to industrial production. Linda Clarke draws from a wide range of original material relating to the development of London from the mid-eighteenth to the early nineteenth century to provide a complete description of the development process: materials extraction, roadbuilding, housebuilding, paving, cleansing, etc; profiles of builders and contractors involved, and a picture of the new working class communities, as in Somers Town – their living conditions, population, working environment, and politics.