ABSTRACT
The substantive thrust of human ecology has shifted away from a narrow focus on spatial arrangements. The methodology of human ecology has come to have at least two general characteristics: a focus on measurement of organizational structural and processual variables, and a necessary concentration on macro-level analytic techniques. Extensions of factorial ecology that might be pursued to good effect include the further investigation of the stability of factors in different subareas of cities and over time. As a natural outgrowth of ecology’s emphasis on functional interdependence, a large amount of research has been devoted to developing classifications of metropolitan communities according to functional specializations that serve to integrate areas into the larger urban system. Ecological theory argues for convergence toward isomorphism of urban structure as “increasing participation by initially differentiated societies in a common technology, common markets, and a common universe of discourse exerts a powerful generalizing and standardizing influence”.
