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S geographers in recent years
L/\X have turned their attention
A7XX.. toward the organizational as well as the formal aspects of spatial phenomena, they have shown an increased interest in the linkages between cities.I n particular, the idea of a hierarchy of urban centers has received considerable attention since its early theoretical formulation by Christaller.One might tentatively separate the approaches to this idea into two categories. In one, the actual linkages between cities are examined. In the other, the sizes and economic activities of cities are categorized or examined for evidence of discreteness of level. The bus hinterland studies of F. H. W. Green and Sven Godlund emphasize the manner in which the actual pattern of linkages reflects the hierarchical structure of English and Swedish cities.' In the work of Brush, Smailes, Philbrick, and others, categories are established for size and economic activities, and the distribution of these is examined for particular areas.2 Berry and Garrison subjected the idea of discreteness of level within both a size and functional hierarchy in Snohomish County, Washington, to rigorous statistical proof.3 Charles J. Stewart, Jr., and others suggested the importance of scale of observation in any attempt to ascertain the discrete or continuous nature of the distribution of city size and functions.4 The apparently continuous nature of these distributions (rank-size rule, etc.) for larger areas might be due to a fitting together of a number of more-hierarchical distributions for small areas. In a number of the above studies, both the actual IF.
The current U.S. emphasis on geography as spatial organization has evolved over the last fifty years from an early emphasis on man-land relations followed by an emphasis on areal differentiation. The spatial view has shown both strengths and weaknesses during the sixties. It has led to more cumulative generalizations and increased cooperation with other social sciences, but has also been felt by some to have been associated with an overemphasis on sterile geometries and an apparent neglect of pressing social questions. For the seventies it is hoped that geographic research can maintain a reasonable balance between activism and scientism by stressing those emerging generalizations which promise to have the greatest ultimate impact upon society. The spatial view should be more closely articulated to a revitalized man-land view and to the complementary but relatively neglected area study view. KEY WORDS: Area study, History of geographic thought, Man-land relationships, Spatial organization.
Extended metropolitan commuting is commonly related to a decline of the intermetropolitan periphery. It is frequently postulated that this peripheral zone will continue to shrink, and even vanish, as metropolitan commuting fields push ever outward, aided by the construction of limited access highways. To study this phenomenon, the intermetropolitan periphery of Appalachian Ohio is examined in terms of the trends evident in extended commuting from 1960 to 1970, the factors influencing it, and its impact on population growth. The results of the study raise many serious questions about statements which have been made on extended commuting and its consequences for the intermetropolitan periphery. There is little evidence to suggest that the disappearance of the periphery is imminent because of the expansion of commuting to metropolitan areas. Intensification, rather than expansion, is a more prevalent characteristic of the commuting fields. The role of limited access highways is less important than the presence of alternative employment opportunities in small cities in the periphery. The possibility exists that a saturation point in metropolitan commuting may have been reached.HE phenomenon of extended metropolitan T commuting, or commuting across county lines from nonmetropolitan to metropolitan areas, is closely linked to several significant aspects of U.S. urban development. Extended commuting has played a central role in the broad speculations by Berry and others as to the changing nature and pattern of U.S. urbanization.' A common scenario is to envisage
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