ENV 102 Lecture 15: Urban Form and Multi-Species Mobility Notes

Introduction to Urban Form and Urban Mobility

• Core Focus of Study: Analysis of urban form and urban mobility, specifically examining how humans and other species move within city environments.
• Thematic Overview:
  • Changes in urban form and patterns of human movement over time.
  • The influence of physical urban characteristics on humans and nonhuman species.
  • Potential urban futures for both human and nonhuman inhabitants.

Learning Outcomes for Urban Mobility

• Objective 1: Be able to describe the ways in which urban form influences the movement of humans within cities.
• Objective 2: Identify the specific effects of urban form on nonhuman movement within cities.
• Objective 3: Summarize how adopting a focus on the "more-than-human" (MTH) can reshape the design of cities and the nature of movement within them.

Foundational Reading and Research

• Key Text: Jim, C. Y. (2017). "Urban Biogeography." Published in the International Encyclopedia of Geography (pp. 1-4). Edited by D. Richardson, N. Castree, M. F. Goodchild, A. Kobayashi, W. Liu, and R. A. Marston. John Wiley and Sons Ltd. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118786352.wbieg0090.

Defining Urban Form and its Relationship to Movement

• Urbanization and Modification: Urban growth and urbanization processes lead to the significant modification of physical environments.
• Geographic Diversity: Cities are not uniform; they cross various biomes, soil types, climatic zones, and topographic features.
• Multi-Species Sites: Cities are recognized not just as human habitats but as sites inhabited by species other than humans.
• Definition of Urban Form: This refers to the physical characteristics of cities, ranging from individual buildings and their materials to complex infrastructure configurations.
• Influence of Movement on Form: Changes in urban form are driven by shifts in population, economics, and technology. Conversely, while urban form dictates how people move, the methods of movement also influence how cities are designed.
• Structural Layout: The layout of a city acts as a facilitator or a deterrent; it can make certain types of movement easier or significantly harder.

Historical Evolution of Urban Forms and Mobilities

Medieval Cities

• Characteristics: Compact and densely built with very little formal planning (often described as organic).
• Control Mechanisms: These cities were typically walled to control the flow of goods and people. Examples include Meknes and the old city of Rabat in Morocco.
• Primary Movement: The primary mode of human movement was walking. Animals such as horses were used for the transportation of goods.
• Modern Integration: Many medieval features are encompassed within modern designs. A notable example is Genoa's Historic Centre, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Renaissance Cities

• Transportation Expansion: Modes of transport expanded to include horse-drawn carriages and boats (in cities with canals).
• Physical Changes: Streets became wider, canals were utilized, and many old city walls were removed to make way for grand boulevards.
• Case Study (17th Century Paris): Boulevards were constructed primarily for defensive and aesthetic reasons, replacing medieval fortifications. This allowed the military to mobilize quickly while providing fashionable areas for the elite to ride carriages.

Industrialization and Public Transit

• Technological Shift: The introduction of trains and trams enabled cities to expand far beyond their original centers.
• Railroad Suburbs: New residential areas emerged along rail lines.
• Grid Systems: City design based on grid systems became highly popular because they were easy to plan for tram lines.

Automobility and Urban Sprawl

• Car Dominance: The motor vehicle became the dominant mode of transport.
• Sprawl: Cities expanded outward in low-density patterns known as urban sprawl.
• Infrastructure Impact: High-speed highways were often cut through cities, frequently destroying older, established neighborhoods.
• Suburbanization: Characterized by low-density housing, shopping malls, and office parks that are physically separated and reachable primarily by car.

Contemporary Mixed Mobilities

• Diversification: While cars remain important, there is a modern revival of buses, bikes, light rail, and walking.
• Infrastructure Investment: Current urban planning involves significant investment in active transport infrastructure (e.g., cycling lanes and pedestrian paths) and public transport.

Urban-Nature and Species Mobilities

• Nature-Culture Dualism: Urban design has historically often ignored the environmental impact on nonhuman species. "Nature" in cities is curated and cultivated to suit specific human needs.
• Public Parks: Parks are a form of urban green space with varying levels of human intervention. They range from remnant natural enclaves to heavily manicured, human-dominated spaces. Examples include:
  • Princes Park, Liverpool: The first purpose-built park, established in Toxteth in $1843$.
  • Natur-Park Südgelände, Berlin: A derelict railway site that now hosts diverse and endangered species alongside industrial artifacts and art.
• Human-Animal Conflict: Certain species, like the "Bin chicken" (White Ibis in Australia), highlight the tensions and adaptations within urban-nature interactions.

Impacts of Urban Form on Nature

• Urban Biogeography and Ecology: This field studies the relationships between biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) environments. Cities are viewed as complex social-ecological systems subject to ecological, socio-political, and economic processes.
• Specific Impacts and Mechanisms:
  • Fragmentation: Urban sprawl and suburbanization break natural habitats into smaller, isolated patches. This traps species in small pockets and makes it difficult for animals requiring large territories to move.
  • Barriers: Infrastructure like roads, highways, fences, and walls act as physical barriers. Animals may be killed by vehicles while attempting to cross or may avoid crossing entirely.
  • Corridors and Connectivity: Green corridors can be designed to allow safe animal passage. Some species adapt by using these corridors like animal-specific "highways."
  • Light and Noise Pollution: Artificial light and constant noise can confuse animals, particularly affecting nocturnal species and migratory patterns.
  • Behavioral Changes: Animals may alter their behavior to survive, such as becoming strictly nocturnal to avoid human interactions or changing their natural diets.
  • Species Sorting: Urban forms act as a "filter." Dense cities frequently support only specific types of animals, such as birds, rodents, and insects, that can adapt to human presence.
• Biodiversity in Cities: Despite negative impacts, cities can exhibit high biodiversity. This is due to a "patchwork" of land-use patterns, various gardening practices, histories of development, and the presence of both endemic (locally native) and introduced species.

More-Than-Human (MTH) Cities

• The MTH Shift: This theoretical framework moves away from human-centered (anthropocentric) understandings of place and nature. It seeks to address environmental and social problems by finding less destructive ways to live.
• Key Principles of MTH Theory:
  • Agency: Acknowledging that nonhumans (animals, plants, sentient and non-sentient beings, spirits) have their own agency.
  • Challenging Dualism: Breaking down the traditional binary that separates humans from nature.
  • Relationality: The world is seen as a set of dynamic, ongoing relations rather than a collection of discrete "things." Everything is "constantly in-the-making."
  • Ethics of Responsibility: Emphasizing reciprocity and the moral responsibility humans have toward other beings. An example includes the presence of coyotes in cities like Toronto, necessitating an ethical co-existence strategy.
• Design Implications: MTH theory suggests that urban design should be about more than just physical changes to support species; it should recognize and respect the knowledge and agency of both human and nonhuman actors.

Conclusion

• Human Movement: Urban form dictates the ease or difficulty of moving through a city; as forms evolve, so do mobilities.
• Nonhuman Impact: Urban form largely impacts nonhuman movement negatively through barriers and fragmentation, though positive interventions like corridors exist.
• Ethical Integration: MTH theory works alongside urban ecology and design to emphasize ethical, inclusive ways of co-habiting with other species.