ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the growth and equity issues. It focuses on the holistic nature of the regional system. The book explores on the theories of regional economic growth and development. The linkages between urban and regional analysis are strong – empirically and theoretically: in many situations, we find a set of urban-metropolitan problems transcending regional boundaries and affecting cities in all regions irrespective of the degree of development in the region. The growth and development of the national urban system has been approached theoretically and empirically with a view to demonstrating both the existence and validity of an urban hierarchy. In North America and most western European countries one of the major problems associated with regional development is the issue of unemployment, with its varying spatial and sectoral components.
