1. URBAN SITE AND SITUATION

2. Definitions
Site: the relationship between a city and the physical environment and landscape in which it is located
Situation: the relationship between a city and the rest of the urban system in which it is located

3. Defensive Sites

4. Mont Saint-Michel

5. Mont Saint-Michel

6. Would this be a good type of place for urban growth in the 21st century?
No, there is no longer a need for this kind of protection, so isolation becomes a disadvantage
Yes, 21st century cities depend (among other things) on tourism money, and Mont Saint-Michel is a prime tourist destination
Isolation has gone from being essential to being an inconvenience to being an amenity, …
Site characteristics are evaluated differently in different periods of a culture’s evolution

7. This “defensive” city is invaded by some 3,000,000 tourists annually!
Carcassonne, France

8. Sites favoring commerce

9. Situation is defined by a city’s place in the urban system

10. Different interpretations of Manhattan’s site
 1764
1807 

11. Pittsburgh, “the point”
Originally a defensive site, but perfect for river-based commerce and later for industry …
Allegheny River
Monongahela River
Ohio River

12. The U.S. urban system, 1800 (pre-railway)
Don Meinig Atlantic America,

13. Chicago’s site
In the mid 19th century Chicago vied with St. Louis for the role of the leading city in the “West”
Why Chicago?
Why St. Louis?
Print from Don Meinig, Continental America, (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 1993)

14. Chicago’s situation
Given a certain technological system (a culture complex consisting of artifacts, sociofacts & mentifacts)
And given a certain landscape
Chicago’s site predisposed it to be dominant within the urban system
Entrepreneurs and investors took advantage of its site (some made money and some lost it) to turn this city into the leading city of the Midwest

15. Chicago’s situation The rail lines created a pattern…
west of Chicago they formed radial lines, like a funnel (W. to E.) or a sprinkler (E. to W.)
east of Chicago they formed a “trunk” to New York

16. Dizzying time-space compression

17. Shipping rates were held in check by competition between water and rails

18. Chicago’s role was as coordinator of north-south and east-west flows
lumber traveled from north to south
hardware had to be directed from east to west

19. Chicago’s regional dominance was indicated by its debts in the recession of 1873-74
Compare to Peoria

20. What are the important site/situation factors today?
Amenities
Factors that make a place appealing to prospective inhabitants
Connectivity
To investment capital
To educated workforce
To communication technologies such as internet and wireless services

21. Austin, TX and Boulder, CO
What amenities do these cities have to offer?

22. Vancouver, BC

23. Amenities Recreation Arts and culture Scenery Climate History
All can be overlooked or drawn to people’s attention
Cities increasingly market themselves for businesses as a “great place to live,” hoping business executives will in turn believe they can use the location to attract employees

24. Connectivity An Atlas of Cyberspaces Martin Dodge & Rob Kitchin
Global and World Cities study group and network

30. Just for fun…

32. World Cities of Various Ranks
J.V. Beaverstock, R.G. Smith and P.J. Taylor: A Roster of World Cities

33. World Cities
Maintain an economic hinterland that reaches beyond the borders of the state
Act as control points for international flows of capital and information
Attract headquarters of transnational corporations and producer services companies
Attract a wide range of workers from recent immigrants to corporate executives, corporate lawyers, and major investors and real estate developers, leading to the most extreme income gaps in the world
Top tier: New York, London, Tokyo
Second tier: Chicago, L.A., Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Singapore, Hong Kong
Third tier: too many to list, see GaWC website

34. SUMMARY Site and situation work together
At a given point in history, within a particular culture, a certain site may be perceived as advantageous or disadvantageous
It may present a threat or an opportunity
Part of this judgment relates to the potential of a city to interact with other cities (its situation)
Situation changes over time due to changes in technologies of transportation and communication
Site changes much less, but again technology can rework a site to make it more accessible, easier to build on, more profitable, etc.