Urban Geography Notes

Vocabulary

  • Hamlet: Sparsely populated, <1,000 people, no traffic light.
  • Village: Larger than a hamlet, may have one traffic light.
  • Town: More densely populated than a village, local government forms.
  • City: More densely populated than a town, >10,000 people.
  • Urban: Densely populated area.
  • Rural: Farm or sparsely populated area.
  • Urbanization: Moving to a city.
  • Specialization: Developing one product with most resources.
  • Urban elite: Small group with power in a city.
  • PV1: Area with highest land value.
  • Hinterland: Economic reach of a city.

The Rise of the City

  • Cities are relatively new.
  • Started with agriculture ~14,000 years ago.
  • Before cities, the planet was 100% rural.
  • Recently, reached 50% rural / 50% urban.
  • The United States reached 50/50 status around 1920.

Influences on City Location

  • Geography influences city locations: resources, elevation, climate, arable land. Site is the absolute location.
  • Situation is the relative location.

Urban Revolutions

  • First: Rise of cities with the Agricultural Revolution, near water resources.
  • Second: Industrial Revolution (around 1750), people flock to cities, often near natural resources.
  • Early cities: Heavily polluted, poor living conditions, no zoning laws. Zoning laws dictate land use.

Primate Cities

  • A primate city is the dominant city in a country (e.g., London, Paris, Mexico City, Tokyo).

Rank Size Rule

  • Countries without a primate city follow the rank-size rule.
  • Example: Largest city - 20 million, 2nd largest - 10 million, 3rd largest - 5 million, etc.

Walter Christaller: Central Place Theory

  • Explores city locations based on urban hierarchy.
  • Market areas arranged in a regular pattern.
  • Fewer large settlements, farther apart than small settlements.
  • Neighborhoods provide services with small thresholds and ranges.

Comparing Cities: Core vs. Periphery

  • Core: More developed regions.
  • Periphery: Less developed regions.

Cities in the Core

  • Galactic cities, new urbanism.
  • Constant change, rich/poor contrast, zoning laws, urbanization.

Cities in the Periphery

  • Rapid urbanization.
  • Squatter villages, shantytowns.
  • Lack of zoning laws.
  • Congestion, pollution.

Zoning Laws

  • Designed for common land use areas.
  • Most core cities have them, most periphery cities do not.
  • Exception: Houston, Texas.

Cities of the United States

  • Location based on ports, waterways, railroads, natural resources, climate, elevation, arable land.
  • Historical segregation: Blockbusting and redlining (now illegal).
  • White flight.

Urban Sprawl

  • Older cities: Compact, tall, dense (East Coast).
  • New cities: Growing outward (galactic cities).

Rise of the Suburb

  • Since the 1970s: suburbs are on the rise.
  • Suburbs are areas around the city that have evolved from being neighborhoods to mixed use areas that sometimes even compete against the city
  • City fights back through urban planning: Gentrification, DINKs, cultural districts, sports stadiums.

City Comparisons

  • American City: Skyscrapers, rich live outside, suburbs for middle class, urban sprawl.
  • European City: Historic districts, rich live inside, suburbs for lower class, more parks, compact, public transportation.
  • Latin American City: Wealthy in inner city with a "spine", peripheral squatter settlements.
  • Sub-Saharan African City: Fast-growing, imprint of European colonialism, informal "townships".

Ethnic Neighborhoods

  • Immigrants settle in "safe, comfortable, familiar" areas.
  • Examples: Little Italy, Little Saigon, Chinatown.