Urban network

In the language running, the expression urban network indicates the infrastructures of roadway systems, transport, drains and wiring, etc suitable for a Agglomération.

A specific concept with the geographers is on the other hand related to the concepts of

Organization of the cities in a country.
Morphology of the systems of cities.
Hierarchisation of space.

An urban network is characterized initially by the " sowing urbain" , i.e. the distribution of the cities in space and, the relations between them and influences it exerted by the cities on the territories.

One distinguishes several types of urban networks

the integral polarized network (or unipolar): A principal city dominates all the others and concentrates all the important functions. The relations are done mainly between the principal city and the secondary cities. the transverse connections are rare. Example: The French urban network is polarized integral around Paris.

the bipolar network: 2 principal cities organize space. Between the two poles there exist relations of competition and complementarity. The exchanges are done mainly on the axis connecting these 2 cities. Example: the Spanish urban network with Madrid and Barcelona or that of the Région Centers with Orleans and Tours.

the multipolar network: several towns of equivalent importance share the functions in an area. It happens that one of the cities is more important than the others but without choking its neighbors. Example: the Brittany.

the linear network: several towns of variable importances are along an axis. this system is characterized by the weakness of the relations between the various poles. Example: The Riviera in France.

NB: by changing scale, one changes type of network. Example each pole of a bipolar network organizes a small unipolar network around it.

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