DENSITY AND PATTERN IN SUBURBAN FRINGES∗

∗The support of the National Science Foundation. Grant GS-2967, is gratefully acknowledged.

ABSTRACT

The usual summary measures derived from cell frequency counts of settlement distributions are defined on the basis of areal units rather than on the elements of the distribution. Other summary measures which refer to the number of settlements within a fixed distance of each individual settlement express the degree of clustering. Computation of these indices on a sequence of suburban fringe settlement maps for nine metropolitan centers in the Middle West reveals that exponential growth in density is accompanied by changes in patchiness; by a spatially non-random process of growth; and by a slackening in the rate of increase in mean crowding after density has reached a level of roughly fifty dwellings per square mile (20 per km²).

KEY WORDS:

• Middle West
• Population density
• Settlement patterns
• Suburban fringe

Notes

∗The support of the National Science Foundation. Grant GS-2967, is gratefully acknowledged.