Urban Patterns

Chapter 13

Urbanization

Def.- the process by which the pop. of

cities grows

1.
2.

Made up of 2 factors
An increase in the # of people living in cities
An increase in the % of people living in cities

2 factors occur for diff. reasons and have

diff. global distributions

continued
In 1800, only 3% of World pop. lived in
cities and Beijing was the only city with
more than 1 million
Today of pop. lives in cities and more
than 400 cities have at least 1 million
people

Increasing Percentage of People in

Cities
3% in 1800
6% in 1850
14% in 1900
30% in 1950
47% in 2000
2008 urban % surpassed rural for first time
in human history

continued
In MDCs, live in cities
In LDCs, 2/5 live in cities

Exception

is in Latin Americaclosely
resembles pattern of MDCs

Higher % in MDCs due to industrial

revolution in 19th Century and growth of
service industries in the 20th

continued
In MDCs the need for fewer farm workers
has pushed people to cities to find work
Lure of factory jobs and now service jobs
has pulled them into urban areas

Led

to increase in % of people living in urban

areas and a decrease in % of people living in
rural areasDuh!

Continued

Process of urbanization in MDCs began

around 1800 and has pretty much ended
The % living in urban area cant increase much
more
People who wanted to do it already have

MDCs

are considered fully urbanized

continued

In LDCs the % has risen rapidly in recent

years
People

come looking for manufacturing or

service jobs due to declining farming
opportunities

Urban jobs are not assured in LDCs to those who

migratestage 2 Demographic transition model
very high population growth

10 largest cities in the World

According to your text

BuenosAires,
Aires,Argentina
Argentina
Buenos

Delhi, India

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Jakarta, Indonesia

Kolkata, India

Mexico City, Mexico

Mumbai, India

New York City, United States

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Tokyo, Japan

Increasing # of People in Cities

8 of 10 largest cities are in LDCs

NY

and Tokyo are the only exceptions

In 1900, 6 would have been in Europe and

three in the US

continued

Rapid growth of cities in LDCs not

because of industrialization or an
improved level of development

comes from migration for countryside for

job opportunities that may not even exist
comes from high natural increase rates

In African cities, natural increase accounts for 3/4

Defining Urban Settlements

Not an easy thing today
Top ten lists vary depending on the
publication because of differing definitions
of the word urban
2 important factors in distinguishing
between urban and ruralsocial factors
and physical factors

Social Differences Between Urban

and Rural

Louis Wirth 1930s

Different way of life for urban dwellers

Defined city as a permanent settlement with
3 characteristics
1.
2.
3.

Large size
High pop. density
Socially heterogeneous people

Large size
People know only a small % of pop.
People have specific roles and most
people you do know is according to those
roles

Ex. Im your teacher

Leads

to a different set of social relationships

High Density

Leads to specialization
Each

person in urban area has a specified

role that allows the complex urban structure to
function smoothly

Leads to competition of limited resources

for survival

Social Heterogeneity
Larger the settlement, the greater the
variety of people
More freedom to pursue different things

Unusual jobs, homosexuality, cultural interests

More accepted in large urban areas

Despite freedom, many feel lonely or

isolated in urban settlements
Surrounded

by indifferent people

Wirth Definition Today

Really only applies to LDCs
Everyone in MDCs lives urban lifestyles

Urban

jobs, cars, telephones, TV are available

to all in MDCs

Physical Definitions of Urban

Settlements

Used to be easycities were walled

Today there are 3 ways to physically
define an urban settlement
1.
2.
3.

By legal boundary
As a continuously built-up area
As a functional area

Legal Definition of a City

City- an urban settlement that has been legally

incorporated into an independent, self-governing
unit
Has

locally elected officials, ability to raise taxes, and

provides certain services to residents
Boundaries of city are the limit to the local gov.
authority
In the US, a city surrounded by suburbs is often called
a central city

Urbanized Area

In the US, the central city and surrounding

suburbs are called an urbanized area
Pop. Density must exceed 1000 per sq. mile
70% of US residents live in an urbanized area
30% in central cities and 40% in suburbs

Difficult

to work with this definition, because

few statistics are available for them

Metropolitan Statistical Area

Used because it more fully reflects the

influence of an urban settlement beyond
its legal boundaries

Watching TV stations, reading newspapers,

supporting sports teams, etc.

Created by US Census Bureau to

measure functional area of a city

continued

1.
2.
3.

Metropolitan Statistical areas include the

following:
An urbanized area with pop. of at least 50,000
The county within which the city is located
Adjacent counties with high pop. Density and a
large % of residents working in the central
citys county

continued
362 MSAs in the US in 200383% of pop.
MSAs are not perfect analysis tools

Also

include extensive land area that isnt

urban

continued
Micropolitan statistical area- an
urbanized area of b/w 10,000 and 50,000
residents, the county in which it is found,
and adjacent counties tied to the city
560 in 200310% of pop

Mostly

in area of South and West that used to

be rural

Overlapping Metropolitan Areas

Sometimes MSAs overlap

A county

in between might send large # of

residents to work in both areas

In the NE US, MSAs are so close together

they now form one continuous urban
complex
Called

Megalopolis
Megalopolis Boston to DC

Some call Boswash or Bosnywash

continued

Other continuous urban complex exist as

well
Between

Chicago and Milwaukee to

Pittsburgh
Los Angeles to Tijuana

Three Models of Urban Structure

Created to help explain where different

types of people tend to live in an urban
area
All three were created using Chicago as
the model
1.
2.
3.

Concentric Zone Model

Sector Model
Multiple Nuclei Model

Concentric Zone Model

Created 1923 Sociologist E. W.

Burgess
Def.- a model of the internal structure of
cities in which social groups are spatially
arranged in a series of rings

continued

1.

5 zones
CBD central business district

2.

Innermost ring- concentration of non-residential

activities

Zone in Transition

Industry and poorer-quality housing

Often subdivided apartment houses
Often filled by immigrants

continued
3.

Zone of Working Class Homes

4.

Zone of Middle Class Homes

5.

Modest older houses occupied by stable families

Newer and more spacious homes

Commuters Zone

Area of people who dont live in city where they

work

Concentric Zone Model- Burgess

Sector Model

Created in 1939 by economist Homer Hoyt

Def. a model of internal structure of cities in
which social groups are arranged around a
series of sectors, or wedges, radiating out from
the CBD
Certain areas of cities are more attractive for
various activities
Due

to chance or environmental factors originally

continued

As city grows, activities spread outward in

wedges/sectors from the center
Once a high rent housing district is established,
the more expensive new housing grows on the
outer edge of that sector

Best housing found in a corridor extending from downtown to

outer edge of city

Industrial and retail activities develop in other

sectorsusually along good transportation lines

Sector Model - Hoyt

Multiple Nuclei Model

Created in 1945 by geographers C. D. Harris

and E. L. Ullman
Def.- a model of internal structure of cities in
which social groups are arranged around a
collection of nodes of activities
Cities

are complex and include more than one center

around which activities revolve

Ex. Ports, neighborhood business centers, universities,

airports, parks

continued

Some activities are attracted to particular

nodes, whereas others try to avoid them
Bookstores

and pizza joints tend to cluster

around Universities
Hotels and warehouses around airports
High-class housing rarely in same
neighborhood as manufacturing

Multiple Nuclei Model

Harris and Ullman

Geographic Applications of the

Models
Help understand where people w/ diff.
social char. tend to live in an urban area
Explain why certain people tend to live in
particular places
Effective use of models relies on data at
neighborhood levels

continued
In the US, the data comes form the census
Census tracts- an area delineated by the
US Census Bureau for which statistics are
published; in urbanized areas they roughly
correspond to neighborhoods

Contain about 5000 people

Includes info. on things such as number of
nonwhites, median family income, and % of adults
with high school diploma

continued

Spatial distribution of this data can be plotted on

a map
Called

social area analysis

Separately, none of the models can completely

explain why diff. types of people live in
distinctive parts of a city
Critics say models are too simple and are too old
to represent contemporary urban life

continued

When combined they help geographers

explain where different types of people live
in a city
People

tend to reside in certain locations

depending on their particular personal
characteristics

Most people prefer to live near others with similar

characteristics

Use of Models Outside of North

America
Models dont work as well elsewhere
Social groups in other countries may have
diff. reasons for selecting their particular
neighborhoods

European Cities

Like the US, wealthier people in Europe

cluster along a sector extending out from
the CBD
In

contrast to US, wealthy Europeans live in

the inner rings of the upper-class sectornot
just in the suburbs

Provides access to regions best shops,

restaurants, and cultural facilities

continued

Wealthy Europeans live in townhouses

and apartmentsno private yards

Rely on parks for open space

Many

purchase abandoned farm buildings in

rural settlements for weekend homes away
from the city

continued

Low-income people usually live in large high-rise

apartments in the suburbs today
Used to live in inner cities with the wealthy before the
invention of electricity

Vertical social segregation

Poor lived in basements and upper floors, while wealthy lived on

main levels

Today the poor have long commutes by public

transportation
Suburbs are centers fro crime, violence, and drug
dealing

continued

European Gov.s encourage high-density

suburbs to avoid the sprawl that has
occurred in America

Less Developed Countries

Poor also concentrated in suburbs,
wealthy closer to city center
Similarity to Europe is not coincidental

Colonization

continued

1.
2.
3.

Most cities in LDCs have had three

stages of development
Pre colonization
Colonial Period
Since Independence

Pre-colonial Cities

Few cities existed in Latin America, Africa, and

Asia before European colonization
Cities were often laid out surrounding a religious
core
Ex.

Mosque
Center would also include a bazaar and wealthy
homes
Narrow winding streets would lead to lower status
neighborhoods far from the corerecent immigrants
would live on the edge

continued
Commercial activities were arranged in a
concentric and hierarchical pattern
The more important the activity the closer
it would be to the religious center
Read about the Aztecs and Tenochtitlan
on page 443

Colonial Cities

Europeans expanded existing cities to provide

services such as administration, military
command, international trade, and housing for
Europeans
Sometimes

existing city was demolished (Saigon/Ho

Chi Minh City was built after demolishing the old city)
Sometimes the new city was built next to the old, as
in the case of New Delhi

continued
European cities generally had wider
streets and public squares, larger houses
surrounded by gardens, and much lower
density
Colonial cities had standard plans

The

Laws of the IndiesSpanish plan that

outlined how cities would be built in Latin
America

Cities Since Independence

Cities have become the focal points of change

since independence
Millions

have migrated in search of work

In Latin American cities wealthy people live in a

well-defined elite sector that pushes out from the
center
Has

services such as water, electricity and access to

restaurants, theaters, parks, and zoos

Squatter Settlements

LDCs are unable to house the rapidly growing #

of poor who migrate to cities
Squatter settlements- an area within a city in a
LDC in which people illegally establish
residences on land they do not own or rent and
erect homemade structures
Called

India

many things- often barrios in LA, bustees in

continued

UN estimated that 175 million people worldwide

lived in squatter settlements in 2003
AN

INCREASE OF 75 MILLION SINCE 2000

Have few services, water comes from a truck or

central well, no schools, paved roads,
telephones or sewers
Electricity

might be stolen from the nearest power line

No bus service or carsresident must walk to work if
employed

33% in Sao Paulo, 85% in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Inner-City Physical Problems

Major problem is poor condition of the
housing- most built prior to 1940
Can be demolished and rebuilt or
rehabilitated

Process of Deterioration

As # of low income residents increase in cities,

the territory they occupy expands
Filtering- a process of change in the use of a
house, from single family owner occupancy to
abandonment
Once

wealthy dwellings have been subdivided for

lower income residents
Once the maintenance costs of the home, become
more expensive than the rent collected the houses
are often abandoned

continued

When the homes are abandoned, the schools

and shops associated with the neighborhoods
close with the declining population
Redlining- a process by which banks draw lines
on a map and refuse to lend money to purchase
or improve property within the boundaries
makes

it diff. to fix-up deteriorating homes

Highly illegal for banks, but difficult for gov. to enforce

Urban Renewal

Def.- program in which cities identify

blighted inner-city neighborhoods, acquire
the properties from private owners,
relocate the residents and businesses,
clear the site, build new roads and utilities,
and turn the land over to private
developers

continued

Substandard housing demolished and

replaced with public housing
Housing owned by the gov; rented low-income
residents in the US, rent set as 30% of residents
income
Built by federal gov, and managed by local gov.

Less

than 2% of all homes in US, but a high

% of housing in inner-city neighborhoods

continued

Most of the projects built in the 1950s

and 1960s were high-rise apartment
buildings
Now

considered terrible environments for kids

Broken elevator, drug use and dealing, and
crime are major problems

Some argue that high-rises put too many lowincome residents into a high density environment

continued

Many high rise projects have been torn

down in recent years
Newer

public-housing projects consists of 2 or

3 story apartment buildings or row houses
Some cities spread projects throughout the
city to avoid heavy concentrations of lowincome residents

continued

US gov. no longer supports public housing

#

of units diminished by 1 million b/w 1980 and 2000,

while # of households who need it has increased by 2
million

Many blame urban renewal for reducing the

supply
Often

called negro removal in 1960s because most

of those displaced were African American

Renovated Housing

An alternative to demolishing deteriorated

housing is to renovate them
These

homes usually attract middle-class people

Gentrification- a process of converting an urban
neighborhood from a predominately low-income
renter-occupied area to a predominately middle-class
owner-occupied area

Attracted by ornate architectural details of older homes or to

proximity of downtown
Appeals to those with no childrennot concerned about
quality of schools

continued

Gentrification is altering ethnic patterns in

some cities
Ex.

Chicago

White pop. Is increasing in inner-city

neighborhoods

Inner-City Social Problems

Besides gentrified neighborhoods innercities are increasingly home to a

permanent underclass
A group in society prevented from participating in
the material benefits of a more developed society
because of a variety of social and economic
characteristics
High rates of unemployment, alcoholism, drug
addiction, illiteracy, juvenile delinquency, and crime

continued
Neighborhoods lack adequate police and
fire protection, shops, and hospitals
Residents lack technical skills necessary
for most jobs

Less

than half complete high school

High paying jobs dont exist for uneducated

anymore

And low status jobs are increasingly in the suburbs

continued

Many of the underclass are homeless

Estimated

1 million in the US on any given

night
Perhaps 3 million throughout course of a year
1/3 are mentally ill
children

Culture of Poverty

2/3 of babies in inner-cities are born to

unwed mothers
Mothers

must choose to work for income or

stay home to care for child

Drug usage is high in inner cities

Leads

to an increase in crime

Drug $ or drug related

Inner-city Economic Problems

Residents require public services but can

pay very little of the taxes required to run
them
Cities

often have to reduce services like

libraries, public-transit routes, less frequent
trash pick-up, etc.
Other alternative is to raise tax revenues

Tends to drive out wealthier residents and

industries

Annexation
Def.- the process of legally adding land
area to a city
Peripheral residents no longer want to be
annexed

Would

rather organize their own services than

pay city taxes

The Peripheral Model

Almost 90% of people prefer suburban life

Single

family homes, private land, parking spaces are

all seen as perks
Families with children esp. like suburbs

North American urban areas follow the

peripheral model
Says

that urban areas consist of an inner city

surrounded by large suburban residential and
business areas tied together by a beltway

continued

Peripheral areas lack many of the problems

facing inner-city neighborhoods
But

causes the problems of sprawl and segregation

Edge cities- a large node of office and retail

activities on the edge of an urban area
Originated

to service those living in suburbs but

evolved into specialized nodes of their own

Density Gradient

Def.- the changes in density in an urban

area from the center to the periphery
#

of house per unit of land diminishes the

further from the city center you travel

Changes in Density Gradient

1.
2.

Two changes have affected the density

gradient in recent years
# of people living in city center has
decreased-causing a gap in the center
An increase in density of the suburbs as
apartment complexes have increasingly
been built

Cost of Suburban Sprawl

Sprawl- the progressive spread of

development over the landscape
Developers

seek cheap land to build new

housing developments

Land is often not contiguous with the existing builtup area

Sprawl

also spurred by desire some families

to won large amounts of land

continued

Sprawl is expensive
Roads

and utilities have to be extended into new

housing areascovered by taxes
Wastes landsome farmland may be lost

Many European countries try to fight sprawl

Greenbelts- a ring of land maintained as parks,
agriculture, or other types of open space to limit
sprawl of an urban area

Read pages 454 - 460

Information will be on your test about

public transportation and local government
fragmentation