ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we start to look at the structure of urban systems. An urban system is defined as a set of interrelated cities located within some defined region. For the most part, we will consider urban systems located within countries. For example, we can examine the U.S. urban system and compare it to the French urban system. But, given the high degree of economic integration among Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, it might be equally useful to look at the North American urban system. On the other hand, for a more detailed analysis we may want to focus in on the Californian urban system.
