ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the concept of urban systems. Urban places do not exist in isolation. There is a whole series of different types of relationships between separate towns and cities and the authors use the term urban system to indicate that the individual urban centres are linked to each other. The chapter shows the form and the character of these linkages with respect to economic development. It focuses on urban systems in capitalist economies. In the agricultural regions of the world the arrangement of towns and villages performs a number of functions. The most important is the provision of goods and services for residents and the population of the surrounding areas. Periodic markets are found when demand density is low and vendors are mobile. Central places do not just provide private goods and services. They also perform a number of administrative functions such as schooling and the provision of various public goods such as art galleries, parks, libraries, etc.
