New research reveals how city size distribution is shaped by randomness
City size distribution follows Zipf's law because it can be influenced by multiple random factors. Each factor alone may not create Zipf's law, but when combined, they can lead to Zipf's law emerging. This means that just because one model doesn't show Zipf's law, it doesn't mean the model is wrong. In reality, many models together can result in Zipf's law being observed in city size distribution.