UNIT 6

6.1 Origin and Influences of Urbanization

Background Info

• Site: Climate, weather, soil quality, etc.
• Situation: The connection between sites (ex. River for trading?)

What can cause change/development in a city?

• Railroads, waterways, air, trading ports, etc.

What are processes that can cause urbanization?

• Transportation, communication, migration, economic development, government policies, etc.

6.2 Cities Across the World

Important Terms

• Megacities - Cities w/ 10 mil or more residents
• Metacities - Growing urban areas w/ more than 20 mil residents

Where do we see Megacities?

• Over time the shift went from the N hemisphere to the S hemisphere, which can cause poverty pressure to some residents living there (periphery countries), but if we shift from stages 2 to 3 & 4 the pressure will lessen ( access to jobs and healthcare)

Important Terms (p.2)

• Urban Sprawl - Unrestricted growth in urban areas
• Suburbanization - Movement of middle to upper-class people from urban areas moving to the outskirts
• Boomburbs - Rapidly growing suburban areas that represent a new metropolitan form
• Exurb - Prosperous residential cities beyond the suburbs
• Edge Cities - Economic centers at the edge of a city with much to offer, that are near transportation areas

6.3 Cities and Globalization

Important Terms

• World/Global City - City that is really influential around the world (ex. NYC & Tokyo)

Why are these cities so important?

• They are the centers of the financial world, meaning they have stock exchanges & multinational company headquarters

Impact of Globalization

• Few are unaffected because globalization operates on a large scale (ex. Natives wearing Nike T-shirts)
• Multinational corporations operate in clusters in large cities (networking purposes for trade/banking, communication, manufacturing, or transportation to name a few)

The connection (s) between top cities

• Connected by media, financial markets (stock), and entertainment centers
• Cities can provide innovation & opportunities for labor forces
• Cities can come together to help one another

6.4 The Size and Distribution of Cities

Important Terms

• Primate City - Lead city in a country in terms of influence & size (ex. South Korea, Soul, if Soul goes down all cities near it will too)
• Rank-Size Rule - Relationship between the largest city and the next largest city based on population (ex. Canada, an evenly spread country, not much communication though)
• Gravity Model - Predicts the degree of interaction between 2 places (the pull, ex. Tourism like Disney)

Central Place Theory

• Explains the distribution of goods and services across a region (ex. Some towns have more resources than other towns)

Important Terms (p.2)

• Threshold - People needed for service to exist & profits to be made
• Range (Low & High) - Distance people will travel for goods/services

6.5 The Internal Structure of Cities

Bid Rent Theory

• “What are you willing to pay to be in the location of your needs?”
• The closer you are to the CBD, the more you will pay, commercial wise

Burgess Concentric Model (Outdated model)

• Relationship between the socio-economic status of households & distance from CBD

Hoyt Sector Model (Modification of Burgess’s Model, outdated as well)

• Area size went from circle to triangle like
• CBD→Transportation Routes→Industries→Residential Areas (wealthy)→Middle Class Areas→Lower Income Areas (closer to transportation routes)

Harris & Ullman Multiple Nuclei Model (1945)

• Transportation & cities are evolving (There are now more CBDs)

Galactic City (Peripheral) Model (1960)

• The Sun (CBD) & other planets (multiple nuclei)) surrounding it

Griffin Ford Model (Latin America)

• Latin cities resemble Spain cities due to colonization
• CBD w/ spine leading to the mall→Higher class housing→Industrial Areas→Zone of Maturity→Area of Gentrification→Zone of in situ accretion (middle-low income)→Disamenity zone (extreme poor)→Periferico (areas for migrants)

Southeast Asia Model

• Port (no CBD)→Western Commercial zone→Alien commercial zone (Chinese merchants)→Government zones→High class residential areas→Newer suburbs mixed w/ squatter areas→Agriculture/Industry

Africa Model

• 3 CBDs (Traditional→European Colonizer→Open air markets)→Infrastructure & services areas→Divided neighbourhoods→Squatter settlements

6.6 Density and Land Use

• High-Density Areas - City buildings are usually closer together & have a height difference, and not a lot of space (apply mainly to the USA)
• Medium-Density Areas - A little more space available, and more houses, still crowded though
• Low-Density Areas - Way more space available, more movement for people

6.7 Infrastructure

Types of Infrastructure

• Roads, highways, hospitals, schools, sewage systems, etc.

What impacts infrastructure?

• Politics, society, and gov. (ex. Who pays to build the infrastructure?)

Why’s it important?

• This causes countries or cities to develop better & increase their labor force

6.8 Urban Sustainability

Some causes of city structures

• Risk of environmental damage, resource depletion, and population pressures

Some solutions to this problem

• Green Belts: Protection of undeveloped land around an urban area
• Smart Growth Policies: Policies to preserve farmland
• New Urbanism: Reducing urban sprawl, increasing affordable housing, and integration of commercial and residential areas

Positives of the solution

• Less travel time and traffic, increased sense of community, preservation of parks, reduced urban sprawl, decreased air pollution, etc.

Concerns about the solutions

• Loss of diversity (segregation), unique characteristics, higher affordability, and problems with infrastructure (mass transportation)

6.9 Urban Data

Important Terms

• Quantitative Data: Information abt changes in population & size (number data, ex. Census)
• Qualitative Data: Information abt opinions towards urban change (question data, ex. Narratives)
• Census Tract: Neighborhood size census

6.10 Challenges of Urban Changes

Housing Challenges (practices)

• Blockbusting (50s~60s): When 1 ethnic group is convinced to sell their house at a lower price when they’ve heard that another ethnic group is moving into the neighborhood (emotion used: fear)
• Redlining: Banks refusing to loan $ to ppl who want to purchase homes in certain areas (emotion: hostile)

Housing Challenges (effects)

• White Flight: White ppl moving out due to black ppl moving in
• Ghettos: Areas of poverty occupied by a certain group
• Causes imbalance in resources for certain ppl/groups and in schools, increased segregation, and discrimination towards housing laws

Important Terms

• Gentrification: The rebuilding of a lower-income neighborhood into a middle~upperclass neighborhood

Reasons for Gentrification

• Investment opportunities, aesthetic value, connection to cultural centers (CBD), and distance from urban growth centers

Impacts of Gentrification

• Tenants can’t afford high pricing, displacement of groups, unbalanced development of urban planning (ex. The goth and princess house located in California), higher property tax

Important Terms (p.2)

• Squatter Settlements: Residential area that has developed without legal claims to the area

Causes for squatter settlements to appear

• Rapid urbanization, demand for affordable housing, failure to enforce land use policies

6.11 Challenges of Urban Sustainability

Challenges of Urban Sustainability

• Climate change, pollution, energy use, sanitation, suburban sprawl, etc.

Countering solutions

• Redevelopment of brownfields (aka abandoned areas), farmland protection policies, growth boundaries, planning, etc.

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