Define urban primacy and describe one issue it can create in developing countries.

• A. A city dominates equal urban system.
• B. A city dominates national urban system; issues include overcrowding, slums, overstretched infrastructure, and regional inequality.
• C. A policy focusing on rural development.
• D. Balanced urban growth across regions.

Answer: (B)

Urban primacy happens when one city dominates the national urban system, attracting most of the population, economic activity, and services. In developing countries this concentration often brings rapid growth to the dominant city, but it strains its resources. You see overcrowding as people move there for work, the rise of slums and informal settlements, and infrastructure that struggles to keep up—roads, water, electricity, housing, and sanitation become overloaded.At the same time, other regions don’t receive similar investment or opportunities, creating regional inequality.

The other descriptions don’t fit because one suggests an equal urban system, which contradicts the idea of dominance; another refers to rural development policy rather than urban structure; and the last implies balanced growth across regions, which is the opposite of a primate city pattern.