ABSTRACT
This is a study about the concept of centrality, and cities are the most obtrusive by-products of that concept on the surface of the earth. The idea of centrality came before cities and has taken on different forms within the modern metropolis. ‘Centrality’ is more basic than urbanism, urbanization, or whatever word is used to cover city formation and development – more basic and perhaps even more complicated. The complications are entwined within a progression from the straightforward idea of transport efficiencies to complex symbolism in psychology. Because ‘centrality’ is a broader concept than even that embraced by ‘city’, the agenda of this book would be vast indeed unless the discussion were tied to something concrete on the surface of the earth. And so in the foreground is kept the aim of throwing some light on city centre origins and development, in order to prevent the argument from drifting away above the real world altogether – a hideous irrelevancy for a geographer. * That expression ‘the real world’ is bound to give some trouble, but the difficulty need not be encountered head-on at the outset.
