GEOGRAPHY SUMMARY 4

4.1
An area where people live together in a group of houses is a settlement. If there are also roads, a
church or a mosque and a shop or a bakery, we call it a village. But when does a village become a
city? In general the following applies:
-a city has more residents and the population density is higher
-a city has more densely packed housing, and there are more high-rise blocks
-a city has more infrastructure (connections) such as roads, railways and internet
-a city offers more employment and different kinds of work, especially in industry and service sector.
In villages people more often work in agriculture
-a city has more facilities and more types of services, such as hospitals and higher education.

Around 1760 a new economic sector arose in England: industry. The invention of the steam engine
allowed manual work to be done by machines. As result, society changed so radically in such a short
time that we call the period the industrial revolution. Factories were built in the cities. Many people
migrated from the countryside to the cities to find work. As a result the proportion of the population
that lived in the city increased: it was called urbanization. The rapid growth of cities caused problems
such as shortage of sanitation. The steam engine also made all kinds of other new machines possible.
The train for example, it was indispensable for the delivery of coal for steam engines and raw
materials for production. Most cities had several railways and one or more stations. They were built
on the outskirts of the city. Because cities continued to grow in the course of the twentieth century,
those stations are now in the Centre of the city.

4.2
From 1960 onwards, the Dutch economy grew rapidly and the average income of the population
rose. More and more people could buy cars so that it was no longer necessary to live close to work.
Many families found cities overcrowded and dirty and houses too small. They moved to villages
around the city. This phenomenon is called suburbanization. the villages close to the cities grew
rapidly. Particularly people with higher incomes left the cities and people with lower incomes
remained in the cities, such as the elderly, less week educated and unemployed. It led to
impoverishment of some districts: lack of maintenance, empty houses, crime and drug- related
problems were increasing. Not only many people, but also city center was becoming less accessible.
Students, artist and young working people, for example, liked to stay in the city because of its
facilities (such as universities, museums, pubs and theatres) these groups began to renovate housing
at different locations in the city. The renovated districts drew new residents, and these areas
gradually became attractive again. This process in which residents themselves effect the
improvement of a district is called gentrification.
The government did not want the countryside around large cities to be completely built up.
Therefore, the government designated growth centres. These were existing or new towns close to
large cities, where many new houses had to be built. On the other hand, rural communities were
hardly allowed to build any new housing. The government tried to draw people to the cities by
making them more attractive. For instance, new apartment blocks were built on deserted industrial
estates and other empty sites around the center. This allowed more people to live in the city than
before: the city became more impact. Since 1995 new housing estates have been built on the
outskirts of large cities to keep families in the city. Gentrification, the compact city and vinex-estates
have caused the population of most cities to grow again.

4.3
Like many European cities have a medieval city center, many Arab cities have a medina. That part of
the city can be more than a thousand years old. The streets were laid out in such way that a stranger
could hardly find the way. In Islamic culture privacy was very important. Other characteristics of the
medina are: a casbah (castle) to protect the city, one or more mosques, a central souk (market) and
districts where people live and work. Rich and poor residents also live largely separate from each
other. This is called spatial segregation.
The Arab world stretches from North Africa to the middle east. Some countries in this region were
colonies. For instance morroco Algeria and Tunisia were colonized by France. The French built new
centers next to the medinas during their oppression. The streets in these ‘volles Nouvelles’ (new
cities) are straight and wide.
Just like in European cities, much has changed in the Arab cities in the previous century. For example
Marrakech in morroco. Marrakech grew up considerably after the arrival of people who came from
the countryside. Many of those migrants ended up in the slums. The government was keen to get rid
of the slums, and that’s why several were demolished in the past. While the government is building
houses for the homeless people, contractors also develop gated communities in Marrakech. Within
the secured gates there are large homes for the rich, with beautiful gardens and swimming pools.

4.5
China’s economy is growing rapidly, the country was closed to the rest of the world for a long time,
but the borders opened in 1979. The government designated some areas along the coast where
Chinese companies were given more freedom than in the rest of China, and where foreign companies
were allowed to settle too: the Special Economic Zones (SEZ). Shenzhen was one of those areas.
Since the establishment of these zones, foreign companies have been eager to come to China,
because the employees are very cheap. This allows these companies to make products at lower cost.
Due to its location along the pearl river delta, major harbours could be built in Shenzhen for the
import and export of products. The coastline is long and the water is deep enough for large ships.
Shenzhen has become one of the largest cities in the world.
Economic growth in china is not distributed evenly across the country. Rural areas, where most
people are subsistence farmers, clearly lag behind. Migration in china it not easy: to be allowed to
settle in a city one needs a residence permit. Often these are only given to well educated migrants.
Many people in rural areas have completed primary education at most. Yet they also wanted to
move to the city. This is why a large part of the city population lives there without a permit.
Due to the differences in education and people with and without residence permits, the contracts in
cities like Shenzhen are great. The migrants often live in poor conditions. Many have to share a room
with strangers and the average living space per person is only six square meters. Most migrants only
earn minimum wages. Over 40% of their money is spent on rent and food. Migrants without
residence have fewer rights than other city dwellers. Their children cannot attend to official schools.
Without a residence permit they are not entitled to health care and social security benefits after.
There are also rich people in Shenzhen. This attracts more migrants. As a result the city is bursting at
the seams, because available space is limited. The only possible direction for growth is upwards. The
Chinese do not mind high: high-rise provides status to the cities in China, It is a sign of prosperity.