Population concentration in United States city‐systems from 1790 to 2000: historical trends and current phases

Samuel M. Otterstrom

Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 2003, vol. 94, issue 4, 477-495

Abstract: Among the industrialised nations of the world, the USA has a relatively short history of urbanisation. This fact and the ready availability of reliable historical data have made the USA a fertile place for studying the nature of urban and regional growth from its earliest beginnings. This paper analyses the patterns of city and hinterland, or city‐system, population concentration in the United States from 1790 to 2000. The Hoover index is employed to calculate population concentration in 46 city‐systems for each federal census. A model showing three phases in city‐system population concentration is proposed. Recent population trends are then used to map the current concentration phases of the US city‐systems. Much of the central part of the country and the mountain west should concentrate in population during the next decade while many of the Northeastern, Florida, and Californian city‐systems are more likely to experience population deconcentration.

Date: 2003
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