URBAN AREAS OR CITIES. PEOPLE USE THE TERM’S ‘URBAN’ OR ‘CITY’ TO MEAN A SETTLEMENT CONTAINING A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE. THE WORD URBAN THEREFORE REFERS TO AN AREA THAT IS A CITY OR TOWN. THE ACTUAL DEFINITION OF A CITY TENDS TO BE BASED ON THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN A PARTICULAR SETTLEMENT. GENERALLY A CLUSTER WHERE OVER 1000 PEOPLE LIVE, WITH A DENSITY OF 200 PEOPLE PER SQUARE KILOMETRE DEFINES A CITY OR URBAN AREA.

ROLES OF CITIES IN HISTORY Religious centres Trade and banking centres Industrial centres Fashion centres Art centres Political and government centres Technological centres Colonies.

POSSIBLE CITIES FOR EACH ROLE Religious centres – Jerusalem, Mecca & Vatican City. Trade and banking centres – London & Amsterdam. Industrial centres – Birmingham & Osaka-Kobe. Fashion centres – Paris & Milan Art centres – Los Angles & Edinburgh Political and government centres – Canberra & Sao Paulo. Technological centres – San Francisco, Seattle & Bangalore Colonies – Sydney & New York (originally).

URBANISATION AND URBAN SPRAWL Urbanisation involves the movement of people from rural areas to cities and is measured as the percentage (or proportion) of a country’s population living in cities. Urban sprawl involves the constant spreading out of cities through the growth of new suburbs. The more planning that goes into the growth of cities, the better urban sprawl can be managed. As cities grow there needs to be careful consideration given to the development of essential infrastructure.

ONLINE ATLAS World urbanisation Mongolia  Video.

 Why do people move from rural to urban areas?  What positive and negative consequences occur due to people moving from rural to urban areas? Life opportunities Access to jobs Access to housing Access to education Access to health Access to government services REASONS FOR URBANISATION

ONLINE ATLAS Mexico City.  Video.

CONSEQUENCES OF URBANISATION Can be centres for:  Wealth creation  Opportunity  Pollution  Crime  Disease  Poverty  Social unrest

URBAN MODELS FOR PLANNING

ONLINE ATLAS Urbanisation in Australia. Brisbane: an eco-city.  Video.

COMMON FEATURES OF A CITY CBD – central business district. Residential areas. Retail areas. Industrial areas. Transport facilities. Educational areas. Recreational areas. Emergency services.

REFLECTION: MAPPING TASK – ROLES OF CITIES On the blank map provided you will need to find one city from across the world which fits into each role.  You can not use the same city for more than one role. Ensure your map contains BOLTSSNA Ensure your city role is colour coded in your Legend.

MEGACITIES

SUMMARY Write about the positive and negative aspects of urban areas, using examples from the notes.

MEGACITIES The United Nations uses the term ‘megacity’ to describe a city with a population over 10 million. Write a definition in your book or on your computer for the terms ‘city’ and ‘urban’. Where are these megacities located? Are there any examples of megacities?