CONVENTIONAL VERSUS METROPOLITAN DATA IN THE INTERNATIONAL STUDY OF URBANIZATION.

Most of urban sociology rests upon observations made in countries representing a small and biased sample of the world as a whole. Any attempt, however, to remove this narrow restraint that is, any attempt to extend comparative urban analysis to include all parts of the earth runs into the complex problem of comparability. In the present paper there is a resolution to offer for this problem as it affects all aspects of urban sociology. The proportion of people living in urban places or in cities of a given size is considered a fundamental trait of any society. The data required for computing such proportions are, for many countries at least, readily obtainable and hence widely used. In view of the importance and wide use of data on the degree of urbanization in countries and regions, it is essential that such data be at least approximately comparable from one area to another. There must be assurance that persons included as city residents in one country are not excluded in other countries, and vice versa.