Unit 6 APHUG: Cities and Urban Development

Site factors

climate, landforms, soil fertility. Characteristics of physical location.

NEW ORLEANS case study

Situational factors

connection between sites; the relative location often dictates the function of a city

Nodal region

an area organized around a central focal point connected by transportation, communication, or economic systems.

Borcherts Transportation model: Sail-Wagon Epoch

1st stage/era. At first, cities were clustered around the Atlantic sea coast due to little connection from poor road conditions. Slow and inefficient.

Borcherts Transportation Model: Iron Horse Epoch

steam powered railroads and steamboats allowed for expansion and connection of towns.

Borcherts Transportation Model: Steel Rail Epoch

3rd stage. during the industrial revolution, national railway and transcontinental railroad. Allowing massive industrial centers to grow.

Borcherts Transportation Model: Auto-Air Amenity Epoch

4th stage. Railroad decline as highway, gasoline powered vehicles and air travelled increased. Creates suburban sprawl.

What factors influence urbanization?

• Transportation and communication networks.

• population growth and migration (migration occurs in Periphery and semi-periphery countries)

• government policies

• economic function (ex. Washington DC~government. Tourism~Miami).

Megacity

Metropolitan area with populations of more than 10 million people.

Metacity

Metropolitan areas with populations of greater than 20 million people

Mostly in periphery and semi-periphery countries due to people looking for a better quality of life, infrastructure strain.

Suburbanization

the process of people moving, usually from cities, to residential areas on the outskirts of cities.

• form communities that are connected to the city for jobs

• less densely populated/ethnically diverse

• developed due to advancement in transport

• GI bill after WWII

Edge Cities

community located on the outskirts of a larger city with commercial centers, office space, retail complexes and other things typically found in an urban center.

• not usually residential, typically for economic activities

Boomburbs

 Suburb that has grown rapidly into a large and sprawling city with more than 100,000 residents. Typically made up of planned communities that have began to merge together. 

Exurbs

Community on the outside edge of traditional suburbs, “exurban.” Function like a suburb, but more rural and less connected to the central city core. 

• less diverse, low density, may include wealthy estates or small rural towns.

World/Global Cities

Large cities that exert global economic, cultural, and political influence and make up a network of economic, social, and information flows.

ex. Dubai, Tokyo, NYC

Forward capitals

cities that are deliberately established or promoted as the capital of a country to encourage development in a specific area