Networks as an approach for Measuring Urban Dominance: A Comparative Study of Dominance in two Cities of Hilla and Almahawil in the Province of Babylon-Iraq

Abstract Urban dominance is one of the planning terms that indicate the appearance of the transformation of cities as a functional and physical entity within their urban and regional system. Cities redefine their existence within spatial systems according to developments in the technological, social, economic and spatial dimensions. City networks and connections refer to the state of city as an influencer at its regional context. The current research suggests that urban dominance is a result of the state of interaction achieved by the connections that cities create within their regional environment and city as an administrative node should be integrated physically by network systems. The dominant nodes in Iraqi cities were defined according to an administrative classification that defines various hierarchies in the urban system. Research hypothesis states that network approach introduces a new input that explaining the state of dominance between cities physically. Contemporary models and measurement methods provide a way to evaluate dominance with the various interactions and monitor their variations between cities. The study adopted a descriptive and quantitative measurement approach and adopted a nodal weight scale within the concept of urban networks to measure dominance from the perspective of functional interactions and city interdependencies. The research method was applied in two cities in the same administrative rank located in the governorate of Babylon, Iraq. The model is applied for the first time in Iraqi cities to be integrated with traditional indicators of urban dominance. The research concluded that city scale is a result of complex of socio-economic and spatial connections which can be demonstrated by city network connectivity.