A study of the city: a replication of Hillery's urban model

Abstract

George A. Hillery's model of the city was created inductively from five case studies representing four different cultures. The model was an extension of his earlier folk-village model which assumed that the traits which were present in the folk-village were exemplary of the phenomenon community. This thesis attempted to evaluate the presence of Hillery's nineteen component traits and his integrating construct in six different cultures other than Hillery's original four.

All the traits, except power, were shown to exist in the different case studies. A single example of government predominantly by power was found in a city in South Africa. The integrating construct composed of space, family, and contacts was present in all six cases.

An attempt was made to elaborate upon the existing model and demonstrate interrelated hypothesis which could possibly be expanded upon in a quantitative manner. Hillery's original nineteen traits were divided into forty-four concepts which were shown to be interrelated when placed in propositional form. The propositions which contributed to the degree of urbanity contained the elements of Hillery's integrating construct.

A description of the methodology, a detailed examination of each trait, a summary of the results, and an elaboration of the model are included in the thesis.