Urbanization and the Internal Structure of Cities: A Definitive Study Guide

The Origins and Influences of Urbanization

Site and Situation Factors - Site relates to the physical features where a city "SITS" on the land. Key site factors include climate, landforms, availability of water, and soil fertility. - Example: Cincinnati is located on the north bank of the Ohio River in a valley surrounded by hills, featuring a temperate climate and fertile soil. - Situation relates to the relative location of a city and its connections to other sites. This often dictates the city's function. - Example: New York City is situated on the Atlantic coast, close to Europe for trade, serves as a major port, and is connected by rail and highways.
Transportation and Communication Influences - Waterways, railways, and highways facilitate the movement of raw materials to factories, goods to markets, and workers to jobs. - Prior to $1850$ , the location of all major North American cities was primarily determined by navigable waterways. - Technological advancement in transportation has driven the development of suburbs, urban sprawl, decentralization, and the cycle of urban growth and decline. - Evolution of technology and urban impact: - Transportation: Streetcars allowed people to live by the city center; cars moved people to suburbs; highways allowed businesses to move. - Communication: Landlines provided options; cell phones and the internet enabled international connections; $5G$ is considered potentially limitless.
Borchert’s Epochs of American Urbanization - First Stage: The Sail-Wagon Epoch ( $1790$ - $1830$ ) - Transportation: Sailing ships and horse-drawn wagons. - Features: Cities grew along coasts and rivers; trade was slow; settlements remained small and water-proximate. - Examples: New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Charleston. - Second Stage: The Iron Horse Epoch ( $1830$ - $1870$ ) - Transportation: Steam-driven railroads and steamboats. - Features: Rapid expansion inland; regional rail connected cities to industrial resources; major growth in river cities. - Example: Chicago became a massive railroad hub; Atlanta and Denver also grew. - Third Stage: The Steel Rail Epoch ( $1870$ - $1920$ ) - Features: Transcontinental railways emerged; industrial centers in the Northeast and Midwest thrived. - Impact: River cities like New Orleans declined as rail centers like Chicago (the meeting point of east-west rail) grew due to situational factors. - Fourth Stage: Auto-Air-Amenity Epoch ( $1920$ to Present) - Features: Decline of railroads; highway construction allowed cities to spread; airport hubs emerged. - Growth: Major urban growth in the Great Lakes region (automobile industry) and Sunbelt cities.
Population Growth and Migration - Rural-to-urban migration is driven by economic opportunities, education, and services. - Statistics: In $2017$ , $55\%$ of the world population lived in urban areas; by $2050$ , this is projected to reach $68\%$ . - Informal Settlements: Favelas, squatter settlements, and slums develop due to rapid population growth and lack of affordable housing in developing nations. - Definition of a Slum Household (UN criteria): Lacks durable housing, sufficient living space (<3 people per room), safe water access, or adequate sanitation. - Example: Rocinha in Rio De Janeiro is the largest favela in Brazil with roughly $70,000$ residents, built on steep slopes prone to landslides.
Economic and Government Influences - Cities develop specific economic profiles: Government (Washington, D.C.), Manufacturing/Energy (Houston, TX), Tourism (Cancun, Miami, Las Vegas), and Services (Wall St., NYC). - Government Policies: Used to attract business via tax/financial incentives, industrial parks, zoning, infrastructure, and improving schools or safety. - Forward Capitals: Capital cities relocated to newly planned locations, often to address congestion or establish an administrative center. - Example: Brazil moved its capital from Rio de Janeiro to the purpose-built city of Brasilia in the $1950s$ .

Spatial Organization of Cities

Spatial Outcomes of Urbanization - Megacity: A metropolitan area with a population exceeding $10$ million people. - Metacity: A metropolitan area with a population exceeding $20$ million people. - As of $2018$ , there were $33$ megacities, with approximately half in Asian and African periphery/semi-periphery areas.
Suburbanization and Decentralization - Suburbanization: People moving from cities to residential areas on the outskirts. These areas are less dense, less ethnically diverse, and connected via transportation (streetcars/trolleys). - Post-WWII Growth: Driven by the GI Bill (low down payments/long-term mortgages), the Federal Aid Highway Act, and increased car ownership. - Prefabricated Housing: Neighborhoods like the ones featuring "The Lincoln Homes" (series such as Patricia, Marge, Janice, Marie, Ruth, and Susan) offered quick construction. Example costs: The Patricia shell was approximately $\$7,510$ ( $\$8,460$ with erection) for $984$ sq. ft.
New Land-Use Forms - Edge Cities: Communities on outskirts with retail, office space, and amenities; primarily economic rather than residential (e.g., Chino, Ontario). - Boomburbs: Sprawling cities with populations over $100,000$ that "feel" suburban but have urban populations (e.g., Chino Hills, Eastvale). - Exurbs: Low-density residential areas beyond traditional suburbs; more rural and less connected to city cores, often including wealthy estates (e.g., Norco).
Challenges of Decentralization - Negative effects include placelessness (loss of identity), automobile dependence (pollution/traffic), and economic exclusion. - Urban Decay: When wealthy residents leave for suburbs, the inner city loses tax revenue, leading to disinvestment.

Cities and Globalization

World Cities - Large cities that drive the global economy and exert cultural and political influence. - Features: Top of the urban hierarchy, media hubs, financial centers (stock exchanges), and centers for fashion, design, and entertainment. - Global Power City Index (GPCI): Ranks cities like London, New York, Tokyo, Paris, Singapore, and Amsterdam based on economy, culture, and livability.
Interconnectivity - World cities are linked by networks for the diffusion of goods, ideas, and services through multinational corporations, banking, communication, and major events like the Olympics or Fashion Week.

The Size and Distribution of Cities

Urban Hierarchy Theories - Rank-Size Rule: The $n^{th}$ -largest city is $1/n$ the size of the largest city. Indicates even development (e.g., largest = $1$ million; $2nd$ = $500,000$ ; $3rd$ = $333,333$ ). - Primate City: One city is much more than twice the size of the next largest city, dominating economically and culturally. Indicates uneven development. - Example France: Paris ( $9.6$ million) vs. Marseilles ( $1.3$ million). - Example Mexico: Mexico City ( $21.8$ million) vs. Guadalajara ( $5$ million). - Gravity Model: Predicts interaction based on city size and distance. Large cities interact more with other large cities regardless of distance; small cities are pulled into the orbit of large cities.
Christaller’s Central Place Theory - Explains city distribution based on consumer behavior. Uses nesting hexagons to eliminate overlap/gaps. - Threshold: Minimum number of people needed to support a service. - Range: Maximum distance people are willing to travel for a service. - High-Order Goods: Expensive/rare items (specialty hospitals, arenas, universities) with large thresholds and ranges. - Low-Order Goods: Common/inexpensive items (gas, groceries) with small thresholds and ranges.

Internal Structure of US and World Cities

Bid-Rent Theory - Land value is highest near the Central Business District (CBD). Users needing accessibility (retail) pay more for smaller parcels close to the center; units needing space (warehouses, residential) move further out where land is cheaper.
US Urban Models - Burgess Concentric Zone (1920s): Based on Chicago. Structure: $1.$ CBD, $2.$ Transition Zone (factories/low income), $3.$ Low-income housing, $4.$ & $5.$ Higher income/commuter zones with single-family homes. - Hoyt Sector Model: Land use develops in sectors/wedges along transportation routes (rail/water). - Harris and Ullman Multiple Nuclei: Cities have multiple focal points (nuclei) rather than one CBD. Similar businesses cluster to share labor/suppliers. - Galactic City (1980s): Most modern; focuses on decentralization, highways, and edge cities.
World City Models - Latin American: Features a "Spine" of high-end commercial growth leading from the CBD to a secondary "Mall." Includes Disamenity Zones (dangerous terrain) and Zones of In Situ Accretion (transitional housing). - African: Characterized by $3$ CBDs: Traditional (small shops), Colonial (grid-like/European architecture), and Market Zone (open-air). - Southeast Asian: Centered on a Port Zone with no formal CBD. Includes an "Alien commercial zone" (Chinese merchants) and a "Western commercial zone."

Density, Land Use, and Infrastructure

Residential Density - Influenced by Bid-Rent Theory: High-density (apartments/skyscrapers) occurs near CBDs; low-density (suburbs) occurs further away. - Cultural impacts: Older cities (Paris, Tokyo) are built for walking, leading to higher densities and public gathering spaces. Newer US cities are built for cars, leading to sprawl and privatization.
Zoning and Infilling - Zoning consists of local regulations designating land as residential, commercial, or industrial. - Infilling: Redeveloping vacant or underused land (e.g., converting Longworth Hall in Cincinnati from a railway warehouse to multi-use offices/venues).
Infrastructure - Refers to systems like roads, power, Wi-Fi, sewage, schools, and hospitals. - Quality of infrastructure correlates with economic development. Prosperous areas (Capitals, Core countries) have high-quality systems funded by tax revenue. - Informal infrastructure: In favelas or squatter settlements, infrastructure is often built by residents due to lack of government support.

Urban Sustainability and Challenges

Sustainable Design Initiatives - Mixed-Use Development: Combining residential, commercial, and recreational uses in one area to increase density and reduce commute times. - Walkability: Encouraging pedestrian/bicycle traffic (e.g., Denmark's dedicated bike lanes). - Transportation-Oriented Development: Designing cities around mass transit; $40\%$ of Washington, D.C. residents use public transit. - Greenbelts/Slow Growth: Using urban growth boundaries or protected green space to stop sprawl (common in Great Britain and Portland, Oregon).
Challenges to Sustainability - Suburban sprawl leads to larger ecological footprints. Global hectares (gha) measure resource consumption versus biocapacity. - Sanitation: In Indonesia, only $5\%$ of urban wastewater is safely treated. - Air Quality: In New Delhi, PM2.5 levels can reach hazardous extremes ( $400$ micrograms per cubic meter).
Urban Inequality and Discrimination - Redlining (1930s): Banks refusing loans based on racial composition of neighborhoods. - Blockbusting: Real estate agents inducing white flight to buy property cheap and sell high to minority families. - Food Deserts: Areas lacking affordable, healthy food, leading to health issues like diabetes and obesity. - Environmental Injustice: Poor/minority communities are disproportionately exposed to pollution and lead pipes.
Government Responses - Inclusionary Zoning: Requiring developers to include low-income housing. - Urban Renewal: Federal programs (post-WWII) to modernize cities; often displaced families of color (e.g., $93\%$ of the $6,713$ families displaced in Cincinnati were people of color). - Gentrification: Renewal by private developers; increases tax base and reduces crime but causes displacement and loss of historic character. - Brownfield Remediation: Decontaminating abandoned industrial sites for redevelopment. Example: Crosley Radio Building in Cincinnati received a $\$2.4$ million grant for this purpose.

Urban Data

Quantitative Data: Numbers and statistics from sources like the Census. Useful for tracking population composition and size changes.
Qualitative Data: Personal narratives and field studies describing attitudes and opinions. - Example: Dolores Wilson, age $83$ , recounted the loss of home and wedding pictures during the rapid demolition of the Cabrini-Green housing project in Chicago.