ABSTRACT
The evolution of urban systems, as their encompassing societies have passed through the different types of socio-economic organization, has been described in the previous two chapters. Not all systems carry the imprint of every type of organization, but the major contemporary characteristic of almost all is their dominance by one or a few very large urban settlements. This dominance is variously viewed by commentators as either an advantage or a problem: the present chapter discusses the elements of the debate between the competing views.
