The Timing of Metropolitan Decentralization: A Contribution to the Debate

Abstract

Some writers contend that metropolitan decentralization is a new phenomenon; others insist that it is a pattern of long standing. Although fraught with problems of measurement, a historical-statistical investigation throws some new light on the question. The results offer some solace to both camps; although decentralization appeared a century ago, it did not become a widespread pattern until after World War II. What is needed now is a return to the theoretical insights of earlier writers and research geared to the study of the metropolitan community as the spatial expression of a complex social system.