envsoc urban structure and global change

Urban area

The spatial extent of the built up area surrounding and including an incorporated municipality, such as a city 

Two typical criteria 

1. Demographic: Exceeding some threshold or population and/ or density 

2. Economic: The presence/ absence of economic activities (mining, agriculture) 

Urban change

understood with respect to two dimensions of growth: Relative and absolute growth 

 

Urban growth

An increase in the absolute size of an urban area/ city 

• Key meausre: an increase in the number of people 

• Alternate measure: an increase in the total area of land 

Urbanization

An increase in the proportion of the population living in urban areas 

• A fundamental re organization of human society 

• The transformation of population from rural to urban status 

Urbanization represents a significant social and cultural change 

• Imagine: A very rural country with thousands op people moving to cities each year 

• What king of social, cultural changes are happening 

• Diet, fashion, traditions, family structure etc?  

Urbanism

The urban way of life; associated with a declining sense of community and increasingly complex social and economic organization because of increasing population size, density, and heterogeneity 

 

Significant spatial variation today

North America, Europe, Oceania Japan, etc. 75%, Latin America, plus some other > 75%, Africa (40%) asia (48%) 

Megacity:

A city with a population of 10 million (about half the population of New York) of more 

Since the mid 20^th century, the proportion of cities in the MDW had declined significantly 

• MDW: 100%> 15%> 16% 

• The largest cities are not concentrated in the LDW 

Urban structure

The arrangement of land uses in cities related to urban morphology 

 

• The form of physical organizations of the city 

 

Three influential models esp. for north American cities 

1. Concentric zone model (sociologist- Ernest burgess) 

2. Sector model (economist- Homer Hoyt) 

3. Multiple nuclei model (geographers- chancy Harris, Edward Ullman) 

The concentric zone model:

Ernest Burgess theorized how residential neighborhoods come to be associated with particular social groups (economic, cultural, etc.) 

A spatial relationship exists between a household's socio- economic status and distance from the CBD 

• Greater distance= greater wealth and better housing 

• Tradeoffs in terms of home quality, cost and time spent commuting  

 

zone names

Central 1, zone in transition 2, working class homes/ low income residential 3, middle class homes/ medium class residential 4, Affluent commerce suburb/ high class residential 5 

Central 1

Centre of financial, commercial, social and civic life

zone in transition 2

Factories railways warehouses, industry+ immigrant and working, poor residential

working class homes/ low income residential 3

Households who have left the zone of transition 3,

middle class homes/ medium class residential 4

Households who have left the working-class areas, single family homea

Affluent commerce suburb/ high class residential 5

The nicest housing and most affluent urban residents  

Result: Zone of transition comprised of: 

• Overall diversity 

• Homogenous ethnic neighborhoods