CITIES & URBAN LAND US AP HUG

MAIN IDEAS: Urbanization Location of industry & Urban land use models Megacities Poverty/Deprivation Sustainability ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: How and why are the different social, economic, and ethnic groups distributed within an urban area? How does gentrification impact various residents within a community differently? Should capitalism be considered a driver of slum formation? Explain your reasoning.

URBANIZATION

Patterns in urbanization

The Process of Urbanization Urbanization: the process by which an increasing percentage of a country’s population comes to live in towns and cities. It may involve both rural-urban migration and natural increase.

Causes of urbanization 1.Rural to urban migration 2.Natural Increase

Rural – urban migration Push factorsPull factors Difficult/harsh climate – eg. droughtsChance of a better life Struggle to provide food for familyBetter housing and amenities Very low incomeChance of good jobs – higher wages, more varied employment High rates of population growth have put pressure on natural resources such as water/energy/land Better medical/health care Can’t afford to fertilizers to increase yieldsChildren able to go to school Mechanization of farming favors rich farmer and leads to unemployment or underemployment of poor farmer. Rural to urban migration – result of push and pull factors

Natural increase The people that migrate into towns and cities tend to be young resulting in high levels of natural increase high % of young adults = high levels of births Falling death rates due to improved medical care means more babies are born than people dying, further increasing the urban population

World Urban Population

Inward Movement (Centripetal) Rural to urban migration, gentrification, re-urbanization, urban renewal Urban Processes can be seen as inward and outward movements Outward Movement (Centrifugal) Suburbanization, urban sprawl, counter- urbanization

Centripetal Movements involve the migration of people into towns and cities

The Consequences of Urbanization Economic Growth: – Urban economies are almost always more productive than rural ones – Industrial productivity is higher in cities. – Cities are usually responsible for a greater percentage of total GDP

The Consequences of Urbanization Gentrification – The Reinvestment of capital into inner-city areas. – Improvement in residential areas – It is a type of filtering that may lead to the social displacement of poor people (as a place becomes gentrified, housing prices rise and the poor are unable to afford it– often times minorities)

The Consequences of Urbanization – Re-urbanization: (urban renewal) the development of activities to increase residential population densities within the existing built-up area of a city. – This may include the redevelopment of vacant land and the refurbishment of housing and the development of new businesses.

Centrifugal Movements Also known as Decentralization The outward movements of a population from the center of a city towards its edge or periphery, resulting in the expansion of a city.

Centrifugal Movements Suburbanization: the outward growth of towns and cities to engulf surrounding villages and rural areas. This may result from the out-migration of population from the inner urban areas to the suburbs. Urban sprawl: The unplanned and uncontrolled physical expansion of an urban area into the surrounding countryside (example: Mexico City) Exurbanization: process in the 1990s when upper class city dwellers moved out of the city, beyond the suburbs, to live in high-end housing in the countryside. Counter-urbanization: process involving the movement of populations away from inner urban areas to a new town, new estate, commuter town or village on the edge or just beyond the city limits or rural- urban fringe.

Reasons for counter-urbanization Increased car ownership Increased wealth De-industrialization Relocation of industry/employment to rural urban fringe Desire for safe, pleasant environment, the rural ideal/utopia Perception of urban areas as dangerous, high levels of crime, racial/ethnic problems – ‘white flight’ Change in tenure from public/renting to private ownership. Sell property and move out.

The Consequences of Centrifugal Movements Centrifugal movements involve a shift of population and economic activity from the center of the urban area to its periphery and beyond, which is detrimental to the center. Construction of roads and buildings destroy open space and increases air pollution

LAND USE MODELS

The Formal and Informal Economies Urban economies may be classified as formal or informal. Both types exist together and universally Informal economies employ approximately 60% of the Urban population in South America and Asia and more than 70% in Africa.

Formal Economy – Qualifications and training required – Set hours of work and pay – Job security and legal protection – Pensions and unemployment benefits – Well-serviced and built premises – High technology Examples – Bank clerk – Teacher – Plumber – Lawyer – Police officer

Informal Economy – No qualifications or training required – Unregulated hours and pay – No job security, no legal protection – No pensions, no job protection – Small premises, sometimes domestic – Labor intensive – Barter of cash transfers – Some illegal business Examples: – Fruit vendor – Rickshaw puller – Barber – Taxi driver – Waste-picker

The advantages of the Informal Economy Has provided many semi-skilled migrants with immediate work The informal economy plays a vital role in the developing urban economies of many low and middle income countries In Angola, setting up a legal business takes 13 procedures, 124 days and 500% of the average income of an Angolan In the US, it takes 5 procedures, 5 days, and.7% of the average income of an American Informal economy makes a large contribution to urban wealth Informal and formal are interdependent. Goods produced in informal are often sold to formal.

Disadvantages of the Informal Economy Some illegal activities: drugs, prostitution, corruption, bribery, smuggling. Turns away potential visitors- lowers image Health and safety risks for workers

The Central Business District The CBD: the commercial and economic core of a city The heart of the city the area most accessible to public transport the location with the highest land values.

Urban Land Use Models Burgess Model Hoyt Model Multiple Nuclei Model

Burgess Model: Concentric Zone Model Inner city Suburbs

Evaluation: For If taken as a very broad pattern, then a large number of towns and cities follow the pattern identified by Burgess. It is good model because it is simple and easy to understand. Burgess could not have foreseen the changes in transport routes or society yet his model is still relevant when identifying the reasons behind the urban morphology of a city. It helps us to understand the process involved in the growth of a city.

Evaluation: Against It does not take any physical features into account. Burgess' own case study - Chicago - does not follow the pattern because it is on the coast! The growth of any city will be influenced by the physical geography of the area. Transport is much more readily available allowing more people to commute Burgess could not have foreseen this. Urban renewal and gentrification has meant that some of the most expensive property can now be found in traditional 'low class' areas.

Hoyt

Explanation Hoyt's model came nearly twenty years after Burgess’ (late 1930s) It was based on 142 American cities. He proposed his model after the introduction of public transportation. He suggested that the city grew in a series of sectors or 'wedges'. An industrial sector would remain industrial as the zone would have a common advantage - perhaps a railway line or river. Note how the low quality housing is next to the industrial zone, middle class next to low class and high class as far as possible from industry and low class.

Evaluation: For Some cities seem to follow Hoyt's sectors. It provides us with an alternative set of explanations to Burgess. Communication routes (Rivers, roads, railways) do often provide a very definite boundary to a sector/land-use.

Evaluation: Against Like Burgess, there is no reference to out of town developments. – ie: commuter towns which developed after the car became popular Like Burgess, there is no reference to the physical environment.

Multiple Nuclei Model

Harris and Ullman’s Multiple Nuclei Theory 1945 As an urban area grows, it develops around a number of different business centres or nuclei.

Multiple Nuclei Theory Assumptions; Modern cities more complex than suggested by other theorists Each nucleus acts as a growth point Growth occurs outwards from each nucleus, until they all merge into one large urban area

Evaluations For Mixture of Burgess and Hoyt Shows some land-uses attract more of the same, for example industrial areas Some land-uses may deter others from locating nearby, eg; housing is usually located away from industrial areas

Evaluations Against Not an exact fit for all cities and towns Too complex

MEGACITIES

What are Megacities? Megacities are large metropolitan areas of 10 million inhabitants or more. By 2050, 7 out of 10 people will live in megacities

Megacity Demographics The world's megacities take up just 2% of the Earth's land surface, yet they account for roughly 75% of industrial wood use, 60% of human water use, and nearly 80% of all human produced carbon emissions. These figures suggest that the struggle to achieve an environmentally sustainable economy for the 21st century will be won or lost in the world's urban areas.

The Opportunities of a Megacity Megacities are vibrant centers of economic activity, social interaction and creativity. Hubs in the global network of economic activities such as trade. Megacities bring together people and resources and are able to generate huge amounts of wealth.

Challenges of Megacities High population concentration and density Uncontrolled spatial expansion Severe infrastructural deficits Inadequate water supply and sewage Signs of ecological strain and overload Poor housing provision Increasing disparity between rich and poor

POVERTY / DEPRIVATION

Residential Patterns in Rich Countries Residential Segregation: the physical separation of population by culture, income or other criteria. – Common in all cities – Intensity depends on the differences between the guest and hosts.

The Causes of Residential Segregation Are: Socio- economic Status Ethnicity

Redlining Redlining is the practice of denying, or charging more for, services such as banking, insurance, access to health care, or even supermarkets, or denying jobs to residents. Is often racially determined areas. During the heyday of redlining, the areas most frequently discriminated against were black inner city neighborhoods. For example, in Atlanta in the 1980s, banks would often lend to lower- income whites but not to middle- or upper-income blacks.

Blockbusting Blockbusting was a business practice of U.S. real estate agents and building developers meant to encourage white property owners to sell their houses at a loss, by implying that racial minorities were moving into their previously racially segregated neighborhood, thus depressing real estate property values.

Blockbusting Tactics The tactics included: – hiring black women to be seen pushing baby carriages in white neighborhoods – selling white neighborhood houses to black families – and afterwards placing real estate agent business cards in the neighbors’ mailboxes; and saturating the neighborhood area with fliers offering quick-cash for houses. – building developers bought houses and dwelling buildings, and left them unoccupied to make the neighborhood appear abandoned — like a ghetto or a slum — psychological manipulation that usually frightened the remaining white residents into selling at a loss.

Racial Steering Racial steering refers to the practice in which real estate brokers guide prospective home buyers towards or away from certain neighborhoods based on their race. Racial steering is often divided into two broad classes of conduct: – Advising customers to purchase homes in particular neighborhoods on the basis of race – Failing, on the basis of race, to show, or to inform buyers of homes that meet their specifications

Deprivation Within most cities, there is considerable variation in quality of life. “Poor” Areas are zones of deprivation, poverty and exclusion. MEDCs: inner-city areas/ghettos LEDCs: Shanty towns/slums

Measuring Deprivation Indices Used to Measure Deprivation: – Physical Indicators: quality of housing, levels of pollution, incidence of crime, vandalism, graffiti – Social Indicators: Crime (or fear of) levels of and access to health, standards of education. – Economic Indicators: access to employment, unemployment, underemployment, levels of income – Political Indicators: opportunities to vote

Squatter Settlements Residential areas which have developed without legal claims to the land and/or permission from the concerned authorities to build; as a result of their illegal or semi-legal status, infrastructure and services are usually inadequate. 30% of the urban population of the world live in squatter settlements. 1 billion people! By 2050 it will be 2 billion! This animation shows how squatter settlements are upgraded over time.

Slum Living Positive Aspects – Points of Assimilation for Immigrants – Informal entrepreneurs can work here – Informal employment at home (no commute) – Strong sense of kinship (family support) – Crime rates are relatively low. Negative Aspects – Security of tenure is often lacking – Basic services are absent (water and sanitation) – Overcrowding – Sites are often hazardous – Levels of hygiene and sanitation are poor and disease is common.

SUSTAINABILITY

The Rogers Model of City System The Rogers Model was created in 1997 It compares a Sustainable City (Circular Model) with an unsustainable one (Linear Model) In the sustainable city, inputs and outputs are smaller and there is more recycling.

The Sustainable City Sustainable City or “Eco-City” is a city designed to have minimal environmental impact. It meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations.

How to Achieve Sustainability The following steps need to be taken to achieve sustainability: – Improve Economic Security – Meet Social, Cultural and Health Needs – Minimize the use of Non-Renewable Resources – Use finite renewable resources sustainably – Preserve Green Space

Improve Economic Security People should have access to employment and an adequate livelihood If they are ill, retired, disabled or unemployed they should be entitled to economic security.

Meet Social, Cultural and Health Needs Housing should be healthy, safe, secure, affordable and within a neighborhood that provides piped water, drainage, sanitation, transport, healthcare, education and child welfare. The home and workplace should be free from hazards and chemical pollution

Minimize the Use of Non-Renewable Resources Reducing consumption of fossil fuels in housing, commerce, industry and transport Substituting renewable resources where possible. Public transportation should be promoted.

Use finite renewable resources sustainably Use only enough water that is needed Waste minimization and recycling should be encouraged People should be aware of the ecological footprint.

Preserve Green Space “The Green Agenda” involves providing and maintaining green space such as parks. It also means reusing existing urban sites or brownfield sites

FRQ PRACTICE