World Urbanization: Spaces, Landscapes, and Global Megacities

Course Overview and Core Problematic

  • Course Title: Geography – G1: World Urbanization (L'urbanisation du monde)
  • Chapter Title: Chapter 1 – Spaces and landscapes of urbanization: geography of centers and peripheries (Espaces et paysages de l'urbanisation : géographie des centres et des périphéries)
  • Central Problematic: What are the spatial and landscape transformations (mutations) of cities brought about by globalization? (Quelles sont les mutations (transformations) spatiales et paysagères des villes engendrées par la mondialisation ?)
  • Key Statistic: Today, more than 1 out of 2 inhabitants live in a city (aujourd'hui, plus d'1 habitant sur 2 vit dans une ville).

Course Structure and Target Skills

  • Course Outline:
    • Part I: Shanghai: a geography of centers and peripheries (Shanghai : une géographie des centres et des périphéries)
    • Part II: Perspective: a world undergoing urbanization (Mise en perspective : un monde qui s'urbanise)
  • Target Skills and Competencies:
    • Describe an urban landscape and its transformations (Décrire un paysage urbain et ses transformations).
    • Locate the main global metropolises (Localiser les principales métropoles mondiales).
    • Locate case studies on maps across various geographic scales (Localiser l'étude de cas sur des cartes à différentes échelles).

Key Terminology and Concepts

  • Globalization (Mondialisation): The process of increasing integration and interdependence among countries, economies, and culture globally.
  • Urbanization (Urbanisation): The process by which an increasing proportion of a population comes to live in urban areas rather than rural regions.
  • Gentrification (Gentrification): The process of transforming a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses, changing its social and physical landscape.
  • Central Business District / Business Quarter (Quartier d'affaires - CBD): The commercial and financial core of a city, characterized by high concentration of office buildings and corporate headquarters.
  • Urban Sprawl (Étalement urbain): The unrestrained expansion of urban areas into neighboring rural land and peripheries.
  • Gated Communities (Communautés fermées - gated community): Enclosed residential neighborhoods with controlled access, designed to separate residents from public space.
  • Edge City (Ville-lisière): A secondary business and commercial hub located on the outskirts or suburbs of a large metropolitan area.

Global Distribution of Major World Agglomerations

Map of the 12 largest world agglomerations

  • Classification Threshold: Cities/agglomerations with a population exceeding 16 million inhabitants (agglomération de plus de 16 millions d'habitants).
  • Map Scale: 3000 km3000\,\text{km} measured at the Equator (échelle à l'Équateur).
  • Geographic Inventory of the 12 Largest Metropolises:
    • North America:
    • Mexico
    • New York
    • South America:
    • Sao Paulo
    • Africa:
    • Le Caire (Cairo)
    • Asia:
    • Karachi
    • Mumbai
    • Delhi
    • Dhaka
    • Beijing
    • Shanghai
    • Tokyo
    • Osaka-Kyoto-Kobé
  • Major Ocean Basins Represented:
    • Pacific Ocean (Océan Pacifique)
    • Atlantic Ocean (Océan Atlantique)
    • Indian Ocean (Océan Indien)