Introduction to Geography Arthur Getis, Judith Getis, & Jerome D. Fellmann

Urban Geography Chapter 11

Overview An Urbanizing World Origins and Evolution of Cities Functions of Cities Systems of Cities Inside the City Global Urban Diversity

An Urbanizing World Rapid growth of cities 2008 – 19 megacities 1800: 3% of world’s population lived in cities Now: ≈ 50% of world’s population lives in cities 2008 – 19 megacities Industrialization fosters urbanization The most industrialized regions are the most urbanized Urbanization in developing countries only partly due to industrialization People from rural areas seeking a better life Economic system often unable to support rapid urban growth

Origins and Evolution of Cities Origins of towns lie in several factors: Existence of a settled community A concentration of people Groups not directly engaged in agriculture Existence and governance of an elite group These factors are the basis for urban settlement and the underpinnings of civilization

Origins and Evolution of Cities Requisites for urban development in the ancient world Agricultural surplus Food provided by hinterland surrounding the city Social organization and power Defensible location Development of a more complex economy

Origins and Evolution of Cities Defining the City Today U.S. Census Bureau definition of urban places 2500 or more inhabitants City and town Multifunctional nucleated settlements Central business district, both residential and nonresidential land uses Towns are smaller, less functional complexity Suburb Functionally specialized segment of a large urban area outside the central city

Origins and Evolution of Cities Defining the City Today Central city Part of the urban area contained within the suburban ring, it usually has official boundaries Urbanized area Continuously built-up landscape defined by building and population densities with no reference to political boundaries Metropolitan area Large-scale functional entity discontinuously built-up but operating as an economic whole May contain multiple urbanized areas

Origins and Evolution of Cities Location of Urban Settlements Site Latitude and longitude or physical characteristics Classification of cities according to site characteristics: Break-of-bulk locations Head-of-navigation/bay head Railheads Situation In relation to the physical and cultural characteristics of surrounding areas Raw materials, market areas, agricultural regions, mountains, oceans, etc.

Origins and Evolution of Cities The Economic Base Activities people do to support the urban population Basic sector Bring money in from outside the community Nonbasic sector Supply residents with goods and services Total economic structure of an urban area equals the sum of its basic and nonbasic activities Functional specialization permits the classification of cities into categories: Manufacturing, retailing, wholesaling, transportation, government, etc.

Origins and Evolution of Cities The Economic Base Economic growth has a multiplier effect As a city adds basic sector employment, it will acquire people filling both basic and nonbasic sector positions, in addition to their dependents, fueling population growth Size of effect determined by basic/nonbasic ratio

Functions of Cities Urban settlements exist for the efficient performance of three main functions: Central place functions Transport functions Special functions All towns provide the first two functions, but not necessarily the third.

Functions of Cities Cities as central markets Central Place Theory – Walter Christaller Developed to explain the size and distribution of settlements based on their roles as marketplaces Urban influence zones Areas outside a city that are affected by it Usually proportional to size of city Urban influence is affected by distance decay

Functions of Cities Cities as centers of production and services Urban growth, particularly in the last 200 years, has been tied to the development of industries Growth of cities may be self-generating – “circular and cumulative” due to attraction of service activities Just as settlements grow in size and complexity, so do they decline When demand for goods and services of an urban unit fall, fewer workers are needed and thus both the basic and nonbasic components of a settlement system are affected However, resistance to decline impedes process and delays its impact

Functions of Cities Cities as centers of administration and institutions Size of government sector of employment usually proportional to population size Exceptions: State capitals Cities with large public universities

Systems of Cities Cities today are interdependent Urban hierarchy Ranking based on size and functional complexity Structured like a pyramid All centers at all levels in the hierarchy constitute an urban system Rank-size rule to describe urban system nth largest city of a national system of cities will be 1/n the size of the largest city No national urban system exactly meets this requirement Russia and U.S. closely approximate it

Systems of Cities Primate city Rank size rule is less applicable to countries with developing economies and those in which the urban system is dominated by a primate city Much larger and functionally more complex than any other city in the country E.g., Seoul, Bangkok

Systems of Cities World cities Stand at top of national systems of cities Interconnected, internationally dominant centers of global finance and commerce London, New York, Tokyo are the dominant world cities

Inside the City Patterns of Land Use Urban areas have distinct physical and cultural landscapes Following discussion is based on U.S. cities Central Business District (CBD) Center of an urban unit, where retail stores, offices, and cultural activities are concentrated High accessibility (mass transit, central roads) High land values (high density utilization)

Inside the City Patterns of Land Use Outside the CBD Land value and population density decrease as distance from the CBD increases Two separate but related distance-decay patterns for land value: Sharp drop a short distance from the peak land value intersection Value then declines less steeply to margins of built-up area Population density pattern shows comparable distance-decay arrangement

Inside the City Patterns of Land Use Models of urban form Concentric zone model Developed by Ernest Burgess in 1920s Five zones as a series of rings around a core CBD Dynamic model Sector model Developed in 1930s Sectors radiating outward from CBD along transportation corridors

Inside the City Patterns of Land Use Models of urban form Multiple-nuclei model Counters central assumption of concentric zone and sector models that urban growth and development spread outward from a single central core Peripheral spread from several specialized nodes of growth Peripheral expansion of separate nuclei leads to coalescence

Inside the City Patterns of Land Use Models of urban form Peripheral model Takes into account major changes in urban form since World War II, especially suburbanization Supplements three earlier models Describes land uses in peripheral belt around a city Circumferential highway outside city center Nodes on the peripheral belt are centers for employment or services New polycentric metropolis

Inside the City Changes in Urban Form Technological, physical, institutional structure fostered change in the 20th century Automobile Freed owner from fixed-route public transit 40-hour work-week Time available for commuting Increased home ownership Changes in home loan terms (FHA, VA) Interstate highway system Commuting long distances became more feasible Vast areas of nonurban land developed

Inside the City Suburbanization Residential development came first, followed by shopping, then industries and service activities Populations drawn away from the central core Suburbs became collectively self-sufficient Edge cities Large nodes of office and retail activity at the margin of an urban area Megalopolis Continuous functionally urban corridor from Boston to Washington, D.C.

Inside the City Decline of the Central City Central city increasingly viewed as congested and relatively inaccessible Many jobs and prosperous residents moved from the central city to the urban periphery, leaving poorer, older, least –advantaged urbanites behind Loss of tax bases = inadequate social services Limited job opportunities Spatial mismatch

Inside the City Decline of the Central City Government urban renewal programs Starting with Housing Act of 1949 Governmental battle to revive the central city is frequently judged to be a losing one Poverty and homelessness Cities in the western U.S. Rapid growth and sprawling physical expansion Similar inner city problems

Inside the City – Downtown Renewal and Gentrification Significant economic growth in large urban areas during 1990s Provide first-rate telecommunications and fiber optics infrastructures and the access to skilled workers, customers, investors, and research, educational and cultural institutions needed by the postindustrial economy Immigration to U.S. concentrated in gateway cities between 1980 and 2000 Revitalization of inner cities Important additions to urban labor force

Inside the City – Downtown Renewal and Gentrification Rehabilitation of housing in deteriorated inner-city areas by middle- and high-income groups Young professionals and “empty nesters” returning to urban centers Displacement of low-income populations Local, state or federal governments foster revival by investing in slum clearance, park development, cultural center construction, sports facilities, etc. May produce tensions between long-time residents and newcomers

Inside the City – Downtown Renewal and Gentrification Fiscal problems due to unrestricted expansion Growth boundaries and “smart growth”

Inside the City Social Areas of Cities City residents tend to segregate themselves Especially in larger, more complex cities Many groupings fostered by size and value of available housing Groupings according to: Family status E.g., As distance from the city center increases, the average age of head of household declines or the size of the family increases or both. Concentric-circle patterning

Inside the City Social Areas of Cities Groupings according to: Social status Determined by income, education, occupation and home value Housing indicator of social status: people per room Sector model patterning

Inside the City Social Areas of Cities Groupings according to: Ethnicity For some groups, ethnicity is a more important residential location determinant that social or family status Self-maintained segregation in ethnic neighborhoods Certain ethnic or racial groups have been segregated in nuclear communities

Inside the City Institutional Controls Institutional and governmental controls have strongly influenced land use arrangements and growth patterns of most cities in the world Nonmarket governmental controls on land use Land use plans, subdivision regulations, zoning ordinances Building, health, and safety codes Goals of nonmarket controls: Minimize incompatibilities Appropriate locations for public and private uses Preclude emergence of slums

Inside the City Institutional Controls U.S. Zoning ordinances and subdivision regulations have been used to exclude “undesirable” uses Asia No zoning in most of Asia Common to have small-scale industrial activities operating in residential areas Europe and Japan Common to have a wide variety of building types from various eras on the same street

Global Urban Diversity Structure, form and functions of cities differ between regions, reflecting diverse heritages and economies Models of the U.S. city do not generally apply to cities in other parts of the world

Global Urban Diversity Western European Cities Compact, high density Most residents are apartment dwellers Distinct historical features E.g., irregular system of narrow streets from medieval times Pedestrian oriented Lower skyline Well-developed public transportation system

Global Urban Diversity Western European Cities Also affected by processes of decentralization Grouping of industrial developments and working-class homes in suburban areas outside the city core Housing for immigrants Have been neglected and suffer decline

Global Urban Diversity Eastern European Cities Share traditions and practices of Western European cities But reflect communist planning principles Limit city size Ensure an internal structure of neighborhood equality and self-sufficiency Segregate land uses Planned communist city fully achieved none of these objectives, but by attempting them it has emerged as a distinctive urban form

Global Urban Diversity Eastern European Cities Planned communist city fully achieved none of these objectives, but by attempting them it has emerged as a distinctive urban form (continued) Compact, high density Nearly universal apartment dwelling Sharp break between urban and rural land uses Largely dependent on public transportation Central area for public use Microdistricts Uniform apartment blocks housing thousands of people Centrally sited schools, stores, clinics, amenities

Global Urban Diversity – Rapidly Growing Cities in the Developing World Fastest-growing cities and fastest-growing urban populations are found in the developing world Modern technologies in transportation and public facilities are sparsely available Structures of cities and cultures of inhabitants are far different from urban world familiar to North Americans

Global Urban Diversity – Rapidly Growing Cities in the Developing World Backgrounds, histories and current economies and administrations vary so greatly that it is impossible to generalize about their internal structure However, some features are common to most of them

Global Urban Diversity – Rapidly Growing Cities in the Developing World Colonial and noncolonial antecedents Many cities established by Europeans as ports or outposts of administration and exploitation Cities with different roles have different physical layouts: Religious center Market center Cultural capital Industrial or mining center

Global Urban Diversity – Rapidly Growing Cities in the Developing World Urban primacy and rapid growth Disproportionate population concentrations in national and regional capitals Primate city dominates urban system Many cities have vibrant and modern city center Yet, most cities cannot keep pace with growth Lack of access to water, sewage, telephone Traffic and air pollution problems

Global Urban Diversity – Rapidly Growing Cities in the Developing World Squatter settlements Growth of cities spurred by rural-to-urban migration of low-income residents seeking jobs Large numbers of people work in the “informal” sector Many new urbanites must live in shantytowns and squatter settlements on fringes of the city Isolated from sanitary facilities and public utilities Isolated from jobs in city center

Global Urban Diversity – Rapidly Growing Cities in the Developing World Squatter settlements (continued) Informal housing ignores building codes, zoning restrictions, property rights and infrastructure standards Threat of disease Danger from landslides, fire and flooding Occupants lack ownership of shelters and land Squatter districts exist around most major cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America

Global Urban Diversity – Rapidly Growing Cities in the Developing World Planned cities Some capital cities have relocated outside the core For centrality, more uniform national development Islamabad, Ankara, Brasίlia, Abuja Some developing countries have created or are currently building new cities to draw population away from overgrown metropolises and/or to house industrial or transport centers