The basic functions of city also called as city Forming activities.They involve the manufacturing, processing, or trading of goods or the providing of services for markets located outside the city’s boundaries.
Economic functions of a city servicing nature are called nonbasic functions.They are grocery stores, restaurants, beauty salons are the nonbasic economic activities.
A city is a permanent, self-sustaining concentration of people, services, and government.They can serve as single purpose or stand as a massive hub.
City is the melting pot for a variety of industry, government, religion, philosophy, education, etc. Most realistically , major cities have only a few core hooks. Cities are Growth Machines.
In 1950 Gordon Childe attempted to define a city with 10 general metrics. These are:
• Size and density of the population should be above normal.
• Differentiation of the occupation of the population. Not all residents grow their own food, leading to specialists.
• Payment of taxes to a deity or a king.
• Monumental public buildings.
• Those not producing their own food are supported by the king.
• Systems of recording and practical science.
• A system of writing.
• Development of symbolic art.
• Trade and import of raw materials.
• Specialist craftsmen from outside the kin-group.
Basically, to classify functions into Basic and Non Basic one has to see whether its is fetching Money and or Resources or not.
If it is fetching Money/Resources to the city it is Basic Function, otherwise it is a Non Basic Function.
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