Abstract
This paper aims to analyze the spatial distribution and the field of influence of Nile Valley cities in Egypt during the last sixty years (1947–2006), which witnessed rapid and massive socio-economic changes in the region. The paper starts by a qualitative review of literature about urban systems and methods of spatial analysis. Then, it quantitatively examines the spatial-distribution and the field of influence of Nile Valley cities. In the spatial-distribution analysis, the paper examined the spatial distribution pattern (concentration or dispersion), and the size-distance relationship between cities. In the field of influence analysis, the paper tries to quantitatively delineate the field of influence of each city. Through these steps, the paper deductively came to some important recommendations to overcome the revealed spatial imbalances in of the urban system in the Nile Valley, and to manage the urban future in the region.