THE CITY AS A SOCIAL SYSTEM: THE EFFECT OF SIZE, PRODUCTIVE OUTPUT, COMPLEXITY, LEVEL OF ENERGY AND GROWTH ON SYSTEM MAINTENANCE AND REGULATION

                         O'NEALL, LINDA REAMS; PHD

                         THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY, 1982

                         SOCIOLOGY, SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT (0700)
 

                         The present research was an analysis of cities as social systems, using data for the 148 SMSA's of
                         200,000 or larger population in 1970. It examines the relationship among variables representative of
                         several theoretical concepts, which are system size, productive output, complexity, growth, level of
                         energy and system investment in regulatory and maintenance functions. Variables representing the first
                         five concepts were considered independent variables: city size, functional specialization, occupational
                         and racial diversity, population growth and median income. Variables representing the last two concepts
                         were considered dependent variables: city expenditures on such regulatory functions as fire and police
                         protection, and such maintenance functions as education, welfare and health. The hypothesis tested
                         was that the independent variables would demonstrate a hierarchic pattern in their unique ability to
                         explain variation in cities' expenditures for both regulatory and maintenance activities. From most
                         powerful to least powerful the order of the independent variables was predicted to be: city size;
                         functional specialization; level of energy characteristic of the system, as measured by median income;
                         system complexity, as measured by racial and occupational diversity; and population growth or decline.
                         To determine the relative contributions of each independent variable in explaining variation in the
                         dependent variables, the analysis relied on a multiple regression procedure which isolates the unique
                         explanatory power of each variable. The patterns observed among the independent variables were
                         summarized and compared by describing them with appropriate path models. Four findings were of
                         particular interest: first, city size, traditionally regarded as a highly important variable, demonstrated little
                         unique ability to explain variation in maintenance expenditures; second, of all types of functional
                         specialization only the degree of specialization in metropolitan functions (financial, diversified trade and
                         service functions) showed significant ability to explain variation in either regulatory or maintenance
                         expenditures; third, while city size and degree of specialization in metropolitan functions were most
                         important in determining regulatory expenditures, system complexity in terms of occupational and racial
                         diversity was most important in determining maintenance expenditures; fourth, population growth or
                         decline was unimportant in unique contribution to any measures of regulatory or maintenance
                         expenditures.

 


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