The Index of Urbanicity
This measure comes from the understandings developed by Losch (1933/1954) and Christaller
(1933/1966). Again the Germans seem to have given us all a marvelous foundation in
urban studies.
When the Index of Urbanicity is used in the United States, the preferred areal/administrative unit is the county because it is not so large as to prevent interlocking organizations and informal ties, and its multiple organizations and administrative issues are not terribly divisive or too far divided. The four parts of the Index of Urbanicity
The Index of Urbanicty was validated (and it has very high reliability) with Cronbach's Alpha and Heise and Bornstadt's Omega, and also validated with various criterion variables both in 1976 and later (e.g., W. Allen Martin and John H. Spurgin. 1983, "Urbanization and Political Party Competition: A Reanalysis." Texas Journal of Political Studies 5:2. Suggested citation: The term urbanicity or the Index of Urbanicity Martin, W. Allen 1976. The Conceptualization and Measurement of Urbanization. Dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin, 1976. |