course with the help of the basic character of the settlement. Instead of being prejudiced, one needs to delve into the sensations of a traveller who is stepping into an unemplored land—urbs incognito. Why the Centre becomes a Centre The conventional meaning of the word "city" (cite', citadel, (Fr.): to enclose) implies a separate, detached settlement. Today however, the city has gone far beyond the limits of a compact and densely constructed towns and settlements which are so closely linked to each other that one cannot look at them in isolation, independent of their links. One therefore, has to talk not of a city, but a system of cities. The analogy between a city and a volcano is not just a poetical metaphor. The discipline of geography can measure the profile of this "mountain" to show the changes in the relative value of the territory of the city from the "peak" (the centre) its "base" to(its periphery). The sociological study of a city shows the stability of the centre dominating the periphery and also how this centre is the core that provides uninterrupted work for the city by being a "communication centre". Even the town planners separate out the centre and the transportation within it from the other elements of the city such as the residential, recreational and production zones. They relegate to the centre the role of struggle formation which is of prime importance. How is it that space in the city has not been evently developed ? Why is it that each city must have its own centre ? The explanation lies, perhaps, in the fact that human activity has a natural tendency to concentrate in space. Such an aspect of concentration reflects the essence of the phenomena of a city: The maximum number of potential contacts, the most diverse types of activity and their utility in the most economical manner. The city has emerged from the cross-roads and waterways. Its location secured a supremacy over an entire region and the importance of the city and its future prospects were determined by the size of this region. Similarly, within the city itself, there are "points of growth" which dominate the functions and actively influence the rest of the territory. These are almost "towns within a town". Those areas that are better located and are easily accessible to the population, get built more densely than other areas. The most important areas of the city are those that attract the population and are located in those areas that hav^ the easiest access to transport. Thus, both energy and time are saved in carrying out the main activity of the town which is social interaction. It is inevitable,' therefore, that the most developed and easily accessible areas are the most important places in the master plan of the city. Such areas become the focus for the most active interactions that require density because they are most easily connected to the flow of the mass of humans. This density includes trade, places of spectacle and entertainment and Journal of Arts and Ideas 67