Properties of a General Hierarchial City‐size Model

Abstract Beckmann and McPherson recently outlined a general hierarchial model of city size. The authors argued that by imposing particular constraints upon this general model they would make it compatible both with the rank‐size rule and a much simpler (basic progression component) model previously outlined in the literature. The present paper challenges these two contentions. It is first demonstrated that the constraints proposed by Beckmann and McPherson do not lead to either form of compatibility. Then the author illustrates how such compatibility may in fact exist under somewhat different conditions.