Urban Geography: Land Use, Planning, and Sustainable City Design

Range

The maximum distance people are willing to travel for a service. Example: People may travel farther for an IKEA than for a grocery store.

Threshold

The minimum population needed to support a service. Example: A movie theater needs a larger threshold than a bakery.

Types of Land Use/Zoning

Residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, and mixed-use zoning. Example: Manhattan has mixed-use skyscrapers combining offices + housing.

Planned or Unplanned Cities

Planned cities are designed with grids and infrastructure; unplanned cities grow spontaneously. Example: Brasília (planned) vs. Dharavi, Mumbai (unplanned).

Megacity

A city with over 10 million people. Example: Tokyo, Delhi.

Land Value

The cost of land, usually highest in the CBD. Example: Times Square has extremely high land values.

Formal & Informal Employment

Formal = regulated, taxed, legal jobs. Informal = unregulated, untaxed, often street vending. Example: Street vendors in Lagos.

Formal & Informal Housing

Formal = legal housing with infrastructure. Informal = slums/shantytowns without legal rights. Example: Kibera slum in Nairobi.

Urbanization

Growth of the proportion of people living in cities.

Natural Increase

Population growth from births > deaths.

Push/Pull Migration Factors

Push = unemployment, conflict; Pull = jobs, services.

Re-Urbanization / Urban Renewal

Movement back into inner cities after investment and redevelopment.

Brownfield Site

Previously industrial land that is now abandoned and can be redeveloped.

Gentrification

Wealthier people moving into poorer neighborhoods, raising rent.

Suburbanization

Movement from inner city → suburbs.

Counter-Urbanization

Movement from cities → rural areas.

Urban Sprawl

Uncontrolled outward growth of a city.

Infrastructure Growth

Expansion of transport, water, sewage, schools, energy.

Deindustrialization

Decline of manufacturing industries.

Telecommuting

The practice of working from home or a remote location instead of commuting to a workplace.

Urban Microclimates

Climate patterns created by buildings, asphalt, and pollution.

Urban Heat Island Effect

Cities are hotter than rural areas due to concrete and lack of vegetation.

Air Pollution

Contamination of air from vehicles, industry, dust, and burning.

Pollution Management Strategies

Regulations, public transit, electric vehicles, emission controls, bans on burning.

Traffic Congestion

Excess traffic causing delays, emissions, and lost productivity.

Slum Clearance

Removing informal housing to redevelop land.

Depletion of Green Space

Construction reduces parks and vegetation.

Urban Crime

Higher crime rates due to inequality, density, lack of policing resources.

Resilient City Design

Cities designed to withstand shocks (floods, climate change, earthquakes). Example: Rotterdam flood barriers.

Sustainable or Eco-City Design

Cities designed to reduce environmental impact. Example: green roofs, renewable energy.

Urban Ecological Footprint

The total land/water required to sustain a city's population.

Smart Cities

Use technology, sensors, and data to improve transport, energy, and services. Example: Singapore smart traffic lights.

New Delhi Air Pollution Case Study

Severe PM2.5 pollution due to vehicle emissions, crop burning, and industry. Solutions: odd-even traffic scheme, bans on firecrackers, air purifiers, smog towers, shutdown of coal plants, promoting electric buses.

Beijing Traffic Congestion Case Study

Caused by rapid car ownership growth and poor road hierarchy. Solutions: license plate lotteries, subway expansion, ring roads, congestion charges.

Rotterdam Resilient City Design Example

Floating houses, storm-surge barriers, water plazas.

Tokyo Resilient City Design Example

Earthquake-resistant buildings, early warning systems.

Freiburg Sustainable City Strategy

Solar energy, car-free zones, green roofs.

Curitiba Sustainable City Strategy

BRT system, recycling programs, green space planning.