Talk:Primate city

Primatecity is a country's largest city- ranking atop the urban hierachy- most expensive of the national culture and usually the capital as well.

From what I'm taking in my developmental geography classes, what is being discussed on this page is the rank-size rule. Primate cities are large cities in (generally) developing countries that were once under the influence of colonialization. The cities are generally much larger than any other in the country and find themselves situated in areas relative to shipping routes (Port cities, etc). 64.110.216.133 22:08, 21 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Does Russia really have a primate city?

I'm not an expert, but I would question Moscow status as a primate city since St. Petersburg seems to rival Moscow as a cultural center.

I would have to disagree with the above

The article is somewhat correct in that a primate city is "a major city that works as the financial, political, and population centre of a country". Now as far as being twice as populous as any other city, I don't belive that is true of a primate city.

Also, if we use this definition of a primate city then New York is not quite a primate city, because the political center is Washington D.C., and the cultural center of the US is debatable. Some would say Hollywood, California. --69.162.69.17 16:27, 15 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Are New York and Sydney primate cities?

This paragraph seems to indicate that they are not primate cities:

"Some examples of nations without a primate city, would be that of the Brazil, whose largest city and financial centre is São Paulo, its political centre is Brasília, and its cultural centre is located in Rio de Janeiro; Australia, whose largest city is Sydney but its political centre is Canberra; and the United States whose financial centre is located in New York City, its political centre in Washington, D.C., and its cultural centres are widely dispersed, though the conurbation BosWash may act in many ways as a kind of primate city, fulfilling many functions fulfilled in other countries by a single city. Additionally, New York, São Paulo, and Sydney have close competitors as their countries' largest cities (Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, and Melbourne).

However, both New York City and Sydney appear in the list of primate cities.

--Ldrhcp 19:38, 3 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

They're not national primate cities, like that of Australia and the US, but they apparently are the primate cities of their respective political divisions (New York State and New South Wales). I don't really agree with adding political divisions to the list, since most major cities are the primates of this, but it should still be mentioned. -- SmthManly / ^ManlyTalk / ^{ManlyContribs} 00:13, 6 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Karachi

I took out Karachi from the list on account of the fact that Islamabad is the capital.

Canada

i believe Canada should be included in the list of countries without a primate city, considering there is no completely dominating city in canada, politically, economically, or culturally

Egypt

One could make a case for Cairo not being a primate city, as Alexandria, although not as mediagenic and populous as Cairo, is tremendously important economically, culturally and historically, in the past especially, but even still at present, as well as rivalling Cairo as an internal national tourist destination, being an affordable seaside resort. It is also one of the main ports of the Mediterranean.

Belgium

Brussels, although headquarters of the EU and NATO, is not necessarily a primate city. The lesser known city of Antwerp is the largest Flemish city (the largest population group of Belgium) and is culturally and historically as important as Brussels. It is also the hub of the northern Belgian urban area known as the Flemish Diamond, which in total has as many inhabitants as Brussels. Even for the southern part of the Netherlands, it serves as a commercial and cultural hub. Antwerp is also by far Belgium's biggest harbour and one of the most important in Europe, rivalling Rotterdam. Antwerp is one of the most significant diamond trade centres of the world, rivalling Amsterdam. Besides, if Belgium is taken as part of the Benelux, then Brussels is definitely not a primate city.

Japan

I seriously disagree with the assetion that Japan is a country with a primate city. Although Tokyo is the largest amalgamation of population & finance and the center of government for the country, the Osaka-Kobe corridor in the Kansai metropolitan area has around 19 million people alone, and there are over 26 individual cities with over 500,000 people. Osaka is also considered a Gamma world city. In addition to the clear importance of the Osaka region, the Nagoya area has 9 million inhabitants, and there are least 10 more distinct metropolitan areas in Japan with more than a million people each, many of which are known internationally, such as Fukuoka, Hiroshima, and Sapporo. This article is very contradictory in many places, but it almost certainly rules out Japan. Though Tokyo is by far the most important city in the country, it is not the only large urban area, containing only about 28% of the country's population. Just because the capital is the largest city, I would argue, does not by default make it a primate city. Catsonmars 22:54, 11 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Japan is listed as both having and not having a primate city. I added a {{contradict}} template as I am not well-versed enough in this subject matter to edit it properly. -- R'son-W _{(speak to me/breathe)} 19:37, 26 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This article lacks important things

- In what field does the term "primate city" arise? It seems like a specialized technical term. - Is there any controversy about whether the term refers to a useful category? It seems like there might be. - How old is the term? Who came up with it? - Citations please! Mark Foskey 01:15, 13 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

United States

I refrased the first paragraph, which showed blatantly POV in favor of the northeast, when Chicago and Los Angeles (as well as some other cities to a lesser degree) are clear contenders for the position of cultural and financial centres alongside New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington. For this reason I believe the rephrasing is much more NPOV, accurate, and encyclopedic. --Harel Newman 17:26, 2 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]