1. Trends related to Urbanization
Urbanization PP #3
Trends related to Urbanization

2. Inner-City Trends
Most of the land in urban settlements is devoted to housing, where people live within U.S. urban areas
the most fundamental spatial distinction is between inner- city residential neighborhoods that surround the CBD and suburban residential neighborhoods on the periphery
Inner cities in the U,S, contain concentrations of low-income people
Inner-city Issues
Physical
Social
Economic

3. Physical Inner-City Issues
Major physical problem face by inner-city neighborhoods is the poor condition of the housing
Most built before 1940
Process of Deterioration

4. Process of Deterioration
Filtering
Large houses built by wealthy families in the 19th century are subdivided into smaller dwellings for low-income families
Definition:
Process of subdivision of houses and occupancy by successive waves of lower-income people
As rent decreases, so does maintenance
Eventually no one will rent, buildings abandoned
Leads to schools, shops closing as well
Redlining
Drawing lines on a map to identify areas in which they will refuse to loan money (done by banks)
As a result, families that try to fix up houses in “bad” neighborhoods have difficulty loaning money
Technically illegal
but difficult to enforce
As the # of low-income residents increase in the city, the territory they occupy expands

5. Social Inner-City Issues
Underclass
Inner-city residents often referred to as a permanent underclass because they are trapped in an unending cycle of economic and social problems
Suffers from:
High rates of unemployment, alcoholism, drug addiction, illiteracy, juvenile delinquency, and crime
Schools, hospitals, shops are all deteriorated
Lack adequate fire/police protection
Homeless
Estimated that nearly 1 million are homeless in America
Future is bleak
Little to no technical skills
Fewer than ½ complete high school
Atmosphere ignores “good habits”
With less Primary and Secondary jobs, even more unemployment
Culture of Poverty
Trapped in cycle because they live in a culture of poverty
3/4ths of babies in inner-cities born to unwed mothers
3/4ths of children live with 1 parent
Many mothers have to stay home
“Deadbeat Dads” no help
Many turn to drugs
Rates of use have most rapidly increased in inner-cities recently
Many obtain through criminal activities
Leads to gangs controlling drug distribution
Contributes to gang violence
Many neighborhoods segregated
Most inner-city residents are African-American and Hispanic

6. Economic Inner-City Issues
Eroding Tax Base
Low-income inner-city residents require more public services
But can pay very little of taxes necessary to support those services
Central cities face growing gap between need of services and funds to pay for them
Two choices:
Reduce Services
Close libraries, eliminate bus routes, collect trash less frequently
Raise Tax Revenues
Provide tax breaks for downtown offices, luxury hotels, restaurants, shops
Even with break, still pay more taxes than abandoned buildings
Federal Aid to cities has significantly decreased since 1980s
Declined 2/3rds
Impact of Recession
Once of the principal causes of severe recession in 2008 was collapse of housing market
Primarily in the inner city
Banks had increased loans to low- income inner-city households buying their 1st home
Many had poor credit, no background checks
Called subprime mortgages
Investing in housing viewed as way to get higher rate of return than other investments
House prices increased rapidly
Concentric model shows inner- city residents more likely to be renters
Banks saw this as an opportunity to increase # of home owners
When people can’t repay loans= bank foreclosure
In 1st year of recession 10% of Americans behind on their mortgages
Compounding problem- the housing bubble burst
Homes have decreased in value
Home now worth less than mortgage

7. Inner-City Trends Ghettoization
Definition:
Refers to the growth of areas of concentrated poverty
Originally comprised of mostly immigrants
Newly-arrived Irish, Italian, and German immigrants
But even larger African- American and Hispanic ghettos have grown since the 1950s
Real Estate developers and banks contributed to growth of urban ghettos in 3 ways:
Blockbusting
When real estate agents and developers used racism to “bust up” a block by bringing in a minority family into a predominately white neighborhood
Then profited in all the turnover
Racial Steering
When real estate agents would intentionally or unintentionally steer people to buy a home in a neighborhood based on their race, which contributed to racially segregated housing patterns
Redlining
Banks refusing loans in central neighborhoods that were “red- lined”

8. Attempts at Inner-City Reforms
Urban Renewal
Cities identify blighted inner-city neighborhoods
They acquire property, move residents, demolish, and rebuild
National government grants help finance
Has been criticized for destroyed older neighborhoods and reducing supply of low-cost housing
Called “Negro Removal” in 1960s
Many North American and European Cities have turned away from
Public housing
Many sub-standard inner-city houses have been demolished and replaced with public housing
In U.S. public housing is reserved for low-income households
Must pay 30% of their income for rent
Maintained by housing authority
Only 1% of all dwellings
U.S. has stopped funding most public housing
Instead looks to renovating old buildings from 1950s and 1960s
Renovated housing
Some non-profit organizations renovate low- income housing and sell or rent to low-income people
Example: Habitat for Humanity

10. Gentrification Definition: Why?
Process by which middle-class people move into deteriorated inner-city neighborhoods and renovate housing
Why?
Houses may be larger
More substantially constructed
Cheaper than suburbs
Architectural details
Close to work
No children
Not concerned with inner city schools
In cities where there is strong gentrification, ethnic patterns are being altered
Chicago
Inner-city white population increasing
African-Americans, Hispanics declining
Moving farther from center
Renovations are expensive!
Cities encourage with low-cost loans and tax breaks
Encourages middle-class to move in, low-class to move out
U.S. and other countries have laws to protect low-class families
Reimbursed for moving and rent increases over 4-year period
Some argue helps disperse lower-income families more evenly throughout city
Instead of clumping in one area

11. Urban Expansion The city Annexation Urbanized Area
Definition:
Defines an urban settlement that has been legally incorporated into an independent, self-governing unit
In the U.S. a city surrounded by suburbs is sometimes called a central city
Boundaries of a city define the geographic area within which the local government has legal authority
Urbanized Area
In the U.S. the central city AND surrounding suburbs
Approximately 70% of U.S. population lives in urbanized areas
MSAs
Functional area
Minimum of 50,000 people
Surrounding counties with high population density and large % of residents working in the central city
Also have micropolitan statistical areas
Annexation
Definition:
Process of legally adding land area to a city
Rules concerning annexation vary from state to state
Usually only happens when majority of residents in the area vote in favor of doing so
Often desired in 19th century because cities offered more services
Today it is less likely, most don’t want to pay city taxes
Defining Urban Settlements
City: a legal entity
Urbanized Area: a continuously built up area
MSA: a functional area

12. Counterurbanization Definition: Telecommuting Exburbs
The increase in rural populations that result from the out-migration of city residents from their city and suburban homes in search of non- urban lifestyles
Exburbs
Noticed in the 1950s
Rings of wealthier communities that grew just outside of the suburbs
Telecommuting
Modern form of commuting that involves only commuting of information, not the worker

13. Peripheral Model Developed by Chauncy Harris
According to model, an urban area consists of an inner city surrounded by large suburban and residential areas tied together by a beltway or ring road
Edge Cities
Definition:
Around the beltway are nodes of consumer and business services
Originally built as suburban residences
Services grew with population
Many are specialized nodes
Collection of hotels around airports, etc.

14. Suburban Sprawl Density Gradient Urban Sprawl:
As you travel outward from the center city, the population density declines
According to the density gradient, the # of houses per unit of land diminishes as distance from the center city increases
Urban Sprawl:
Diffusion of urban land use and life-style into formerly non- urban, often agricultural lands

15. Cost of Suburban Sprawl
Uneven Development
Definition:
Refers to urban development that is not spread equally among a city’s areas
Leaves some areas richly developed and others continually poor and decrepit
Often caused by cumulative causation
When money flows to areas of greatest profit

16. Suburban Segregation
As suburban regions grew and became more desirable two consequences occurred
Segregated social classes
Segregated land uses
Residential Segregation
Prior to suburbs, vertical integration in cities
Once cities spread out replaced by territorial segregation
Suburban neighborhoods discouraged entry of low- income or minority residents
Feared loss of property values
Segregated Land Uses
Zoning ordinances were developed in European and North American Cities in the early decades of 20th century
Prevented to mixing of land- uses within the same district

17. Suburbanization of Business
Businesses have moved to the suburbs too
Manufacturers have selected peripheral locations because land costs are lower
Services have moved to be closer to customers
Suburbanization of Retailing
Most residents no longer want to make journey to CBD
Retailing has increased in planned suburban shopping malls
Malls have become centers for activities in suburban areas
Suburbanization of Factories and Offices
Factories and warehouses have migrated to suburbia for more space, cheaper land, and better truck access
Offices that do not require face- to-face contact are increasingly moving to the suburbs

18. Transportation and Suburbanization
Historically, growth of suburbs was constrained by poor transportation
People lived in crowded cities because they had to be within walking distance of shops and employment
Invention of railroad 1st allowed people to live in suburbs but work in the central city
Later improved to streetcars/trolleys, then subways to accommodate commuters
Motor Vehicles
Suburban explosion of 20th century relied on motor vehicles
Rather than railroads of 19th century
rail-lines restricted development to narrow ribbons within walking distance of stations
Cars/trucks permitted large-scale development from the center
Provided more flexibility
Ownership nearly universal in American households
Public Transit
Few people now live within walking distance of employment
Urban areas are characterized by extensive commuting

19. Containing Urban Sprawl
European cities like London, England have worked to limit urban development to a particular area by installing a green belt
A boundary that forces all urban development to occur within the city’s urban core
North American cities have a difficult time setting such boundaries
Can attract investors who want to develop lands and grow the city at the expense of rural lands
Portland, Oregon
One U.S. city that has effectively instituted a boundary to contain urban sprawl
Boundary forced revitalization of the inner-city, not outward growth
While it did work, it also increased cost of living and real estate prices substantially

20. Neo-Urbanism Definition: One neo-urban trend is planned communities
Movement to bring together trends in healthy living, sustainable growth, and urban development
One neo-urban trend is planned communities
Neighborhoods with master- planned housing designs, walkable pathways, recreational facilities, and security features
Many recent, neo-urban designs include festival settings
Large recreational areas for communities, such as waterfront parks along rivers