Visualizing Rank and Size of Cities and Towns: Part I, England, Scotland, and Wales,1901-2001

Abstract

Rank-size plots have been used for years in a number of contexts: large sizes have small numeric ranks--the largest city in a region has rank 1 (the smallest numeral). Discussions of these plots, merits and drawbacks, example suited and not suited for application, and a host of related matters persist in the social scientific (and other) literature. Our focus in this internet paper is on the geometric visualization of rank-size relations: not only as plots but also in other ways that have come about as a result of contemporary electronic and internet capability.