Zipf's law, hierarchical structure, and cards-shuffling model for urban development

DOI10.1155/2012/480196zbMATH Open1244.91078arXiv1104.3196OpenAlexW2072723118WikidataQ58700583 ScholiaQ58700583MaRDI QIDQ444264FDOQ444264

Authors: Yanguang Chen 

Publication date: 14 August 2012

Published in: Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: A new angle of view is proposed to find the simple rules dominating complex systems and regular patterns behind random phenomena such as cities. Hierarchy of cities reflects the ubiquitous structure frequently observed in the natural world and social institutions. Where there is a hierarchy with cascade structure, there is a rank-size distribution following Zipf's law, and vice versa. The hierarchical structure can be described with a set of exponential functions that are identical in form to Horton-Strahler's laws on rivers and Gutenberg-Richter's laws on earthquake energy. From the exponential models, we can derive four power laws such as Zipf's law indicative of fractals and scaling symmetry. Research on the hierarchy is revealing for us to understand how complex systems are self-organized. A card-shuffling model is built to interpret the relation between Zipf's law and hierarchy of cities. This model can be expanded to explain the general empirical power-law distributions across the individual physical and social sciences, which are hard to be comprehended within the specific scientific domains.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1104.3196

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zbMATH Keywords

hierarchical structureZipf's lawcards-shuffling model

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Social networks; opinion dynamics (91D30)

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Cited In (6)

• Title not available (Why is that?)
• Hierarchy, cities size distribution and Zipf's law
• Mathematical models to explain the origin of urban scaling laws
• The emergence of Zipf's law in a system of cities: an agent-based simulation approach
• Multi-fractal measures of city-size distributions based on the three-parameter Zipf model
• The origins of scaling in cities

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