Managing systems of secondary cities

First published in Belgium in 2014 by Cities Alliance Rue Royale, 94 1000 Brussels, Belgium Copyright © Cities Alliance 2014 The right of Brian H. Roberts to be identified as the Author of this text has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Supervision and coordination Rene Peter Hohmann, Cities Alliance Secretariat Technical support Florence Lozet, Cities Alliance Secretariat Produced by Bookworx, London Editor Jo Godfrey Wood Designer Peggy Sadler Proofreader Charlotte Cole Indexer Marie Lorimer A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN Number/EAN: 978-9-0822617-1-4 Legal depot number: D/2014/13.481/2

Please cite this publication as: Roberts (2014), Managing Systems of Secondary Cities, Cities Alliance/UNOPS, Brussels.

Contributions and peer reviews We would like to sincerely thank the following people and partners for their valuable contributions and inspiration in the peer review process: Almut Nagel (BMZ), Angelo Baglio (EC/DEVCO B2), Josep Roig (UCLG), Raf Tuts (UN-Habitat), Laura Petrella (UN-Habitat), Themba Phakati (UN-Habitat), Chris Heymans (World Bank), Christine Kessides (World Bank

Disclaimer: The findings, analysis and policy recommendations of this publication are those of the author alone and do not represent the views of the United Nations, UNOPS and do not reflect the policies or viewpoints of the Cities Alliance Secretariat or its members.

Institute).

Cover maps: Percentage of urban population and agglomerations by size class (Map 1 to 4, from 1960 to 2025). © United Nations, department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division: World Urbanization Prospects, the 2011 Revision, New-York, 2012.

“The designations employed and the presentation of material on the maps do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of Cities Alliance/UNOPS concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.”

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Managing systems of secondary cities

Published on Sep 18, 2015

BID - Ciudades Sostenibles

Secondary cities have become the subject of renewed interest by scholars and international development organizations. This report, for Cities Alliance, investigates the role played by secondary cities in the development of global regions and nations. It includes a literature review and redefinition of the term “secondary city” in the context of the role such cities play in global and national urban systems. Secondary cities are no longer defined by population size. Today, functionality and connectivity with global and national systems of cities has a significant influence on the way secondary cities are defined. The book discusses trends, influences and challenges, including the forces of New Economic Geography (NEG) facing the development of secondary cities in developing regions using a systems analysis perspective under the headings of urban governance, economic, development, social and environmental systems.