The delineation of a national system of planning regions on the basis of urban spheres of influence

Abstract

Huff D. L. (1973) The delineation of a national system of planning regions on the basis of urban spheres of influence. Reg. Studies 7, 323–329. Efforts to provide and coordinate geographically a delivery system for various federal programmes have been severely restricted because of the vast number of political artifacts that characterize the organization of American space. Strong feelings of territoriality associated with these political units have made the achievement of programmes extremely difficult. Competition among political units has been much more characteristic than cooperation. Furthermore, this fragmentation has resulted in duplication, inefficiencies, and higher costs. This paper advances a method of consolidating political units geographically in an effort to alleviate such problems. A distinguishing feature of the method is that it utilizes a spatial model and companion computer programme rather than subjective or empirical procedures. The regions that are delineated represent the spheres of influence of urban places.