Urban connectivity in Montana

Abstract

Two basic problems are dealt with in this study. Firstly, it shows the utility of Factor Analysis in defining the spatial structure of a matrix of connectivity. Secondly, it identifies the spatial structure of urban communication links and flows between a set of Montana towns and also between urban places in Montana and the rest of the United States and Canada. The results show that the interaction patterns between Montana towns form a highly organized spatial structure. Friedmann's (1967) propositions about functional regions are found to hold only in Eastern Montana where there are two hierarchical relationships based on Billings and Great Falls, the two largest urban places . In the west, Friedmann's ideas are not confirmed. Rather there is a complex set of interchanges based on Helena, Butte, and Missoula, three large specialized centers in the mountainous southwest. The urban places in Montana, then. are not shown to form a single urban system. Moreover the results of the Montana analysis provide little support for Webber's (1964) non-place urban realm concepts, although the analysis of out-of-state flows shows connections to be less spatially structured than those within Montana.