Assessing Urban Structure in Manipur Central Valley: Evidence From Rank–size and Deviation Analysis

The analysis highlights the overwhelming dominance of Imphal, which significantly exceeds its expected population, confirming a pronounced primate city effect. In contrast, all other towns display negative deviations, indicating underperformance relative to their rank–size expectations. Secondary towns such as Thoubal and Kakching remain substantially below their expected sizes, reflecting weak economic bases and limited functional diversification. This research paper aims to assess the degree of conformity of the urban system to the rank–size principle. It further analyzes the deviation between actual and expected population values to identify structural imbalances within the urban hierarchy in the Manipur Central Valley. The study is based on reliable secondary data obtained from the Census of India (2011). A double logarithmic regression model, based on the Zipf rank–size rule, is employed to examine the relationship between city rank and population size. The results reveal a strong statistical fit, with a high correlation (R = 0.9731) and coefficient of determination (R²= 0.9469), indicating that the urban system broadly follows the rank–size distribution. The negative slope (–0.874) confirms the expected inverse relationship between rank and population, though its deviation from the ideal Zipf value of –1 suggests mild distortion. The findings point to a structurally imbalanced and top-heavy urban system characterized by population concentration, spatial inequality, and lack of strong intermediate centres. While lower-order towns show closer conformity, the absence of proportionate growth among medium-sized towns weakens the overall hierarchy. The study concludes that the Manipur Central Valley urban system represents a near rank–size distribution statistically but is functionally dominated by urban primacy. It emphasizes the need for decentralized planning, promotion of secondary towns, and balanced regional development strategies to achieve a more equitable urban system.