Big in the neighbourhood: Identifying local and regional centres through their network position

Abstract

National city ranks do not describe a settlement's local and regional relevance adequately. We introduce a method to rank settlements' centrality based on travel time and settlement size. We investigate the relationship between a settlement's size, whether it is a local or regional centre, and its service endowment. The approach explains per capita service endowments in Europe well, adding nuances that national rankings do not fully capture. In addition, it establishes a characterization of service types by empirically discernible preferences in spatial scale. Finally, results suggest that service endowment in settlements can be reshuffled because of faster road connections, with services spatially concentrating in better connected areas.