APHG Unit 6
Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes
Chapter 12 & 13
City Basics:
Settlement: a permanent collection of buildings where people reside, work, and obtain services
classified as urban or rural
Services: any activity that fulfills a human want or need and returns money to those who provide it
consumer services- stores, education, health, recreation
business services- (cater to businesses) finance, legal, transportation
public services- police, fire, military, public education
Basic Sector/ Industries: production of goods/services for sale to consumers outside the settlement
bringing money into the economy of the settlement
Non-Basic Sector/Industries: consumer services for people who live in the settlement
makes it possible for people to live in the settlement
teachers, doctors, office workers
Economic Base: unique collection of basic industries
6.1 The Origin and Influences of Urbanization
Site: the physical characteristics of a place
climate and weather patterns
natural resources
plant and animal life
physical features
**Site features determine where humans were going to live.
Situation: the location relative to other places
access to other places
how connected one place is to another place
**Influence the degree of interaction between places. Ex: bodies of water are seen as barriers, even though they cause interaction.
Urbanization: the process by which the population of cities grow
increases in: number of people, percent of people on cities
**Historic trend of urbanization:
1800: 3% of the world's population lived in cities
2000: 47% of the world's population live in cities
Today: around 56% of the world's population lives in cities
2050: it’s projected that 68% of the world's population will live in cities
In MDCs:
majority of the population lives in an urban area (80%)
most urban area growth is done
In LDCs:
nearly half (52%) of population lives in an urban area
still room for urban area growth: rural to urban migration and population growth
Factors the lead to urban/suburban growth:
Transportation:
highways, bus lines, trains, etc. they let people travel to and from work
Communication
telephone, internet, cell service. allow people to work from any location
Population growth
more people leads to larger urban areas
Migration
people move to areas that have what their current area lacks
Economic development
A city’s economic function will influence growth and development: manufacturing, tourism, service industry, government/political
Government policies
Governments want businesses to locate and stay in their cities: amenities for workers- good schools, safe transportation, entertainment. Financial incentives: cash grants, tax credits, rebates, etc.
6.4 The Size and Distribution of Cities
Rank size rule: the nth largest settlement is 1/n the population of the largest settlement
ex: the 2nd largest settlement would be ½ the size of the largest
This rule works best in MDCs because services are more distributed.
Primate City Rule: the largest settlement in a country has more than twice the population of the second ranking city
primate cities tend to represent the perceived culture of the country
ex: Paris is the first ranking city (population 9 million), and Marseille is the second ranking city (population 2 million).
Central Place Theory: explains how services are distributed and why patterns exist
created by Walter Christaller
assumes flat geography with no physical, political, or cultural boundaries
retail market is the most important influence on behavior
Market area: (aka hinterland) the area surrounding a service from which customers are attracted
Central place: market area for the exchange of goods and services by people attracted from the surrounding area
Range: maximum distance people will travel for a good or service
everyday services (ex: groceries)- low range
specialized service (ex: concert)- high range
Patterns relating to range:
People go to the nearest provider possible
People measure in terms of time, not distance
Threshold: minimum number of people needed to support s service
US census data to ensure that there are enough customers to make a profit
different products target different groups of people
Gravity model: degree to which two places interact with one another
cities have influence based on size
large city has greater pull than smaller city
model assumes that the interaction of people with goods is proportional to the output of goods
predicts the optimal location of a service directly related to the number of people in the area and inversely related to the distance people must travel to access it
assumes flat surface
doesn’t consider boundaries, physical features, or cultural differences
6.3 Cities and Globalization
Global cities: a city generally considered to be an important mass in the global economic system
Information and capital flow through these cities
Economic:
MNC headquarters, financial institutions, and law firms
Political:
Headquarters for international organizations, capitals of countries, and play leading roles in int’l events
Cultural:
Presence of cultural media, sports, and education institutions
Infrastructural:
Major airports, health care facilities, and advanced communications
Consumer:
Large numbers of wealthy people in global cities
Public:
Centers of national or international power
Outsourcing: a company hires another firm to perform a specific task/part of the process, typically customer service or “back office” jobs (HR, processing, etc)
Offsharing: outsourcing to a company in a different country (often a developing country)
Benefits of offshoring to developed countries:
Lower wages
Ability to speak English
Lower tax rates (avoid paying taxes of home country)
Fewer legal requirements (asserts can be “hidden” due to lack of disclosure laws).
6.2 Cities Across the World
European Cities:
older than most in the US
they have specific characteristics:
prominence of church
complex, narrow street system
walls for defense
low skylines
greenbelts common
wealthy live near city center (country homes)
Cities in LDCs:
Pre-colonial Cities
Few cities existed in Africa, Asia, or Latin America
Most people rural
City patterns:
Religious core
Wealthy near center
Commercial activities located by importance
Example: Tenochtitlan
Existing cities expanded for use as:
Colonial administration
“European Districts”
Areas built to fit with European ideas
Wider streets
Public squares
Larger houses with gardens
Lower density
Typically followed a standard plan
Let to similarities with European cities
Squatter Settlements: (informal settlements) residential area that has developed without legal claims to the land and usually lacks infrastructure and services
AKA barrio, bidonville, shanty towns, slums, etc
Few services or infrastructure
Buildings grow slowly as material is found
Far away from employment
6.6 Density and Land Use
Central Business District (CBD): (downtown) area where retail stores, offices, and cultural activities are located
high building densities
transportation systems converge (come together to bring people into and out of the CBDs)
tends to be the oldest part of the city
Land use patterns:
Intensive land use:
Extreme competition for land = high land prices
CBD builds up since it cannot build out = skyscrapers
Vertical geography: building above and below due to high land prices in urban areas
Underground city: network of infrastructure below street level (parking space, utility lines, etc).
Excluded Activities:
Manufacturing:
Factories require large areas of land
Land is cheaper in the suburbs
Residential:
Businesses are more able to afford the CBD
Cultural preferences of living in the suburbs
Resurgence of “urban living”
Business Services in the CBD:
Offices cluster in CBDs
Business services need to be close to other professionals (want to interact)
Central location: allows businesses to employ workers from a variety of neighborhoods
Agglomeration: the benefits obtained from the clustering of similar businesses near one another
It’s easier to communicate/interact with businesses, have access to important locations/related firms
Retail Services in the CBD:
Types of retail services in the CBD:
High Threshold
Need many customers to stay in business
Large department stores
High Range
Very specialized; infrequent customer visits
Expensive jewelers or fur shops
Serving Downtown Workers:
Customers shop during lunch or working hours
Office supplies, computers, clothing, copying, repairs, etc.
Suburban Sprawl:
the progressive spread of development over the landscape
characteristics of U.S. suburbs and cities
caused by:
desire to own lots of land
developers selecting land for potential rather than proximity to urban areas
Suburban Segregation:
suburbs segregated by:
Residents are separated from commercial and manufacturing activities
Communities built for a single social class and exclude others
We tend to live by people who we are similar to
Urban Land Use:
Urban segregation
Historical vertical separation
Shops on street level
Wealthy people nearer to street (so they don’t have to walk up the stairs, because they are too superior)
Poor people on highest levels or in a basement (they had to walk on the stairs)
Replaced by territorial segregation when cities grew
I.E: ethnic and racial neighborhoods
Transportation & suburbanization:
people lived in cities to be within walking distance of shops and jobs
invention of railroads allowed people to live in suburbs
“streetcar suburbs” have higher densities of homes near trolley stations
public transport used during rush hour:
rush hour: four consecutive 15 minute periods that have the heaviest traffic
public transportation:
cheaper
pollutes less
more efficient
less space
but people want to drive
public transport use is declining:
rapid transit (rail) is increasing
6.7 Infrastructure
Infrastructure:
the facilities and systems that serve the population
critical to the functioning of any city
many elements:
transportation (road, bridges, parking lots, signs)
communication (cell towers, internet service, cable TV)
utilities (water, gas, electricity)
buildings (police and fire stations, courthouses, city hall)
collection systems (sewage and garbage)
recreation (museums, theatres, sports facilities)
open spaces (public parks and town squares)
often difficult to decide where to build and who pays
as cities age, infrastructure must be improved
Transportation
Public transportation: busses, subways, light rail, and trains that are operated by the government
pollute less than individual cars
reduce traffic congestion and drive times
use less space than roads and parking lots
help lower income families
more common worldwide than in the U.S.
Private transportation (cars) often restricted from urban areas through tolls, permits, or bans
6.8 Urban Sustainability
Suburban Sprawl
Levittown
early suburban development
houses looked similar (even identical)
mass production
GI bill and baby boom
segregated
racial covenants
Federal Highway Act
Dwight Eisenhower in 1950s
Interstate highways
Led to suburbanization of US
Suburban sprawl
Created a car-centric culture
Accelerated “white flight” and disinvestment in inner city infrastructure
6.9 Urban Data
Quantitative data:
Information that can be counted, measured, or sequences by numeric value
Used to identify the need for and location of public services
Libraries, schools, parks
Emergency medical services, police, fire
Public utilities (trash and sewer)
In the US comes from Census data
Where people live
Peoples income, age, gender, ethnicity, race, family size, etc
Census data is available at many scales
Census tracts: urban areas that are contiguous geographic regions that typically consist of 4,000-12,000 people
Where to build a new airport
Census blocks: densely populated urban area consisting of a single block bounded by four streets (larger in rural area)
Where to built a new park
Just use the proper scale of data to make the best decisions
Qualitative data:
information based on surveys, field studies, photo and video evidence, and interviews from people who provide personal perspectives and meaningful descriptions
helps researchers understand how people feel about issues in their communities
questions must be worded to be object and impartial
biased: do you agree that our city does a good job of providing services?
unbiased: how satisfied are you with the services provided by our city?
used to verify quantitative data
Planning for Sustainable Cities
Ecological footprint: impact on the environment/amount of land needed to sustain use of natural resources
2% of the worlds land uses 75% of all resources
Negative Impacts of cities
air, water, land, light, noise pollution
high energy usage
long commutes from sprawl and traffic
aging/deteriorating infrastructure and buildings
Reducing Ecological Footprint:
reduce pollution through recycling programs
use renewable energy and implement energy efficient systems
utilize public transportation systems
make cities more walkable
create more green spaces in cities
renovate old housing and commercial areas
Urban Green Belts
Green belt: ring of parkland, agricultural land, or other type of open space around an urban area to limit sprawl
Greenbelts contribute to ecological health of region
limits pollution
promotes plant growth
protects wildlife habits
gives city dwellers place to enjoy nature
Can cause higher home prices because fewer are built
Mixed-use development: multiple uses of space (residential, retail, recreational, office space, industrial, etc)
Goals of MUD:
improve walkability between housing and workplaces and other other amenities
increase affordability of housing
revitalize downtown urban areas
Responses to Challenges:
Brownfields: abandoned and polluted industrial sites in central cities and suburbs
Sustainability efforts:
removing contaminants and open land up for new development
often repurposes to mixed use development
allows use of existing infrastructure
Urban Renewal and Gentrification
Urban renewal: nationwide movement developed in the US in the 1950s and 1960s when cities were given massive federal grants to tear down and clear out crumbling neighborhoods and former industrial zones as a way to rebuilt their downtowns
Gentrification: intention to improve and rebuild downtown areas or inner-city neighborhoods
Developers or middle- and upper- income people buy up deteriorated buildings to restore or renovate
benefits: increased property values, higher tax revenues, increase tourism, attract new businesses and investors, neighborhood improvements to infrastructure
negatives: displacement of poorer residents, displacement of elderly and marginalized groups, push property costs up, could lead to increased homelessness, loss of unique culture, loss of locally owned business
Smart Growth Policies
Smart growth policies: goal is to create sustainable communities
focuses on limiting urban expansion and preserving nature and usable farmland
Slow growth cities: cities where planners have used smart growth policies to decrease outward growth of cities
Zoning important aspects of smart growth:
example: until 2019, Minneapolis zoned so only single family detached homes could be built
now, changes to law allows up to three dwellings on one piece of land; means more likely people can find homes at affordable price
Mixed-use zoning vs traditional zoning
mixed use allows multiple land uses for same structure or space
traditional zones separate based on land-use type or economic activity
New urbanism ⭐️⭐️⭐️
arose to deal with urban sprawl of the mid 20TH century
creation of more walkable neighborhoods through mixed-use development
Goals of new urbanism:
Reduce the amount or area of urban and suburban sprawl
Increase walkability or pedestrian-friendly areas
Expand the variety of housing types in the same area
Build green buildings or energy- efficient structures
Promote sustainability; minimal environmental impact, eco-friendly technology
Decreasing commuting time or live near work
Develop more public space
Increase public transportation, more energy-efficient transportation
Build more compact living space; support denser populations