1 Chapter 20 Communities and Urbanisation

2 Communities Communities may be formally defined as a spatial or political unit of social organisation that gives people a sense of belonging. Pre-industrial city: generally had only a few thousand people living within its borders and was characterised by a relatively closed class system and limited mobility. Industrial city: was not only more populous than its pre-industrial predecessors; it was also based on very different principles of social organisation.

3 Post-industrial city is a city in which global finance and the electronic flow of information dominate the economy. Urbanism ( 都市性 ): a relatively large and permanent settlement leads a distinctive patterns of behaviour. Megalopolis ( 大都會區 ): a densely populated area containing two or more cities and their surrounding suburbs. (e.g., 500 miles corridor stretching from Boston south to Washington DC, including New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, accounted for 1/6 of the US population).

4 Comparing Types of Cities

5 Human ecology ( 人類生態學 ): an area of study concerned with the interrelationships between people and their spatial setting and physical environment. Urban ecology ( 都市生態學 ): an area of study that focuses on the interrelationships between people and their environment in urban areas. (functionalist view)

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7 Comparing Approaches to Urbanization

8 Urban life is noteworthy for its diversity, so it would be a serious mistake to see all city residents as being alike. Five types of people found in our Cities (Gans 1991): 1.Cosmopolites ( 世界主義者 ): writers, artists and scholars 2.Unmarried and childless people: active nightlife and varied recreational opportunities 3.Ethnic villagers: immigrant groups 4.The deprived: very poor people and families 5.The trapped: who wish to leave urban centers but cannot because of their limited economic resources and prospects.

9 Suburb: the term generally refers to any community near a large city– or, as a Census Bureau would say, any territory within a metropolitan area that is not included in the central city. Zoning laws: legal provisions stipulating land use and architectural design of housing, often employed as a means of keeping racial minorities and low income people out of suburban areas.