Urbanization and City Models Summary

  • Urbanization: Movement of people to towns and cities leading to rural expansion.

    • Influenced by transportation/communication, population growth, migration, economic development, and government policies.

  • Physical Geography: Affects city's growth and function.

    • Site: Physical qualities of location (e.g., coastal plain, valleys).
    • Situation: Relative location (e.g., near shipping routes).

  • Megacities: Cities with over 10 million people, often in peripheral regions (e.g., Mumbai, São Paulo).

  • Meta-cities: Over 20 million people (e.g., Tokyo, Delhi).

  • Suburbanization: Transformation of rural land to urban use, leading to suburbs and suburban sprawl.

    • Edge City: Concentration of residential and economic activity in suburbs.
    • Exurb: Residential areas beyond suburbs.
    • Boomburb: Rapidly growing cities outside major urban areas (e.g., Irvine, CA).

  • Urban Hierarchy: Settlements ranked by population and services (e.g., hamlet, village, town).

    • Primate City: City significantly larger and more influential than the second largest (e.g., Paris, London).
    • Rank-Size Rule: Population inversely proportional to rank.

  • Urban Models: Explain city structures.

    • Burgess Concentric Zone Model: Cities grow in concentric rings from the CBD.
    • Hoyt Sector Model: Wedge-shaped development from the center.
    • Harris-Ullman Multiple Nuclei Model: Cities consist of multiple nodes around a CBD.

  • Latin American City Model: Features commercial axes and peripheral squatter settlements.

  • Southeast Asian City Model: Focused around colonial port zones.

  • African City Model: Complex due to colonial legacies, with multiple CBDs.

  • Urban Challenges:

    • Housing discrimination, red-lining, affordable housing, high crime rates, environmental injustice.
    • Squatter Settlements: Informal communities lacking basic services.

  • Urban Responses:

    • Inclusionary Zoning: Affordable housing provisions.
    • Gentrification: Economic renewal with possible displacement of existing residents.

  • Sustainable Urban Development:

    • Urban sustainability balances current needs with future impacts.
    • Smart Growth: Urban planning to mitigate sprawl, focus on sustainability.

  • Residential Land Use Patterns:

    • Low Density: Few homes, large open areas.
    • Medium Density: Mix of single and multi-unit homes.
    • High Density: Multi-unit high-rise buildings.

  • Zoning: Land classification for specific activities (e.g., residential, industrial).

  • Greenbelts: Natural land restricted from development to manage urban expansion.