UNIT SIX: CITIES AND URBAN LAND-USE

1. The Origin and Influences of Urbanization

Learning Target: Explain the processes that initiate and drive urbanization and suburbanization.
Site: the place where the settlement is located. The absolute location of a city Ex. on a hill or in a sheltered valley
Situation: describes where the settlement is in relation to other settlements and features of the surrounding area. Relative
location of a city Ex. the settlement surrounded by forest or next to a large city
Urbanization: the movement of people from rural areas to cities.
Origins of Urbanization: 1. Early humans were nomadic, meaning no permanent home 2. Some decided to stop and stay
put in certain areas (settlements originated in Mesopotamia: part of the Fertile Crescent in SW Asia). 3.
These areas began to grow in size and became
cities as we know them today 4. Early settlements
were agricultural villages formed after humans
began growing food and crops 5. Typically located
in fertile river valleys (nutrient-rich topsoil/silt and
water source for crops) 6. Farmers were able to
produce surplus crops which could feed larger
populations 7. This led to people being able to
pursue other occupations and trades
Socioeconomic Stratification: differentiation of
society into classes based on wealth, power,
production, or prestige.
First Urban Revolution: agricultural and
socioeconomic innovations that led to the rise of
early cities.
Factors that influence Urbanization:
Transportation: innovations in transportation have shaped and reshaped the layout and size of cities and their
surrounding areas over time.
Communication: innovations in communication systems allowed businesses, and therefore cities, to grow.
Rural to Urban Migration: movement of people (typically farmers) from rural settlements to urban centers in search of jobs.
Redevelopment: a set of activities intended to revitalize an area that has fallen on hard times.

2. Cities Across the World

Learning Target: Explain the processes that initiate and drive urbanization and suburbanization.
Megacities: 10 million inhabitants or more (Cairo, Mumbai, Beijing, Dhaka, Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto)
Metacities: 20 million inhabitants or more (Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai, São Paulo, Mexico City)
Micropolitan Area: Population between 10,000 - 50,000 people. Smaller Cities and Surrounding Towns/Counties
Megalopolis: a region in which several large cities and surrounding areas grow together
Metropolitan statistical area: a central city of at least 50,000 people and urban areas linked to it
Suburbanization is a population shift from central urban areas into suburbs, resulting in the formation of (sub)urban
sprawl. As a consequence of the movement of households and businesses out of the city centers, low-density, peripheral
urban areas grow.
Sprawl (or urban sprawl): the tendency of cities to grow outward in an unchecked manner
Edge Cities: nodes of economic activity that have developed in the periphery of large cities.
Exurbs: a district outside a city, especially a prosperous area beyond the suburbs. Often found near farmland, beaches, or
mountains
Boomburbs: large, rapidly growing, incorporated communities of more than 100,000 residents that are not the biggest city
in their region.
 3. Cities and Globalization
Learning Target: Explain how cities embody processes of globalization.
World City: (or global city) a city that is a control center of the global economy, in which major decisions are made about
the world’s commercial networks and financial markets. (Tokyo, Paris, New York City)
Urban Hierarchy: Ranking urban settlements by: Population size and economic function (i.e. # of services provided)

Type of City Characteristics Examples

World City Dominant City in Terms of Economic Standing New York, London, Tokyo

Megalopolis An extended Conurban Area, Consisting of BosNYwash (the Area from BOSTON to NEW
Several Cities YORK to WASHINGTON DC)

Alpha City Primary Regional Nodes in the Global New York, London, Hong Kong, Sydney
Economy (Similar to World Cities)

Beta City Secondary Regional Nodes in the Global Washington DC, Dallas, Berlin, Wuhan
Economy (One Step Down from Alpha)

Gamma City Tertiary Regional Nodes in the Global Cleveland, St. Petersburg, Austin, St. Louis
Economy (One Step Down from Beta)
Source: fivable
Cities are connected globally by networks and linkages:
Transportation Services: those activities designed to assist a person to travel from one place to another to obtain services
or carry out life’s activities.
Communication Systems: advanced communication systems that provide immediate access to information.
Business Services: services that serve as links to the corporate headquarters of international companies.

4. The Size and Distribution of Cities

Learning Target: Identify the different urban concepts such as hierarchy, interdependence, relative size, and spacing that
are useful for explaining the distribution, size, and interaction of cities.
Rank-Size Rule: the country's nth-largest settlement is 1/n the population of the
largest settlement. Describes a certain statistical regularity in the city-size
distributions of countries and regions. Example: US cities
Primate City: an urban area that dominates its country's economy, culture, and
political affairs and is more than twice the population of the next largest city.
Example: London, Paris, Bangkok
● Pro: can attract international trade and business, Con: all services in
one area
Christaller’s central place theory: explains how services are distributed and
why a regular pattern of settlements exists
Central place: a settlement that makes certain types of products and services
available to consumers
Threshold: the # of people required to support businesses
Range: the distance people will travel to acquire a good
Low-Order central place functions: are used by consumers on a regular/daily basis and, as a result, people are not willing
to travel far to use them (Walgreens, gas station, grocery store)
High-Order central place functions: are used less frequently by consumers and, as a result, people are willing to travel
further for them. (baseball games, football games, hospitals)
Gravity Model: interaction of places based on their population, sizes, and distances between them
● The greater the number of people in an area, the greater the number of potential customers for a service.
● The farther people are from a particular service, the less likely they will use it.
● Spatial interaction between places increases as the size and importance of places become greater and
decreases as the distance between them grows.
 5. The Internal Structure of Cities
Learning Target: Explain the internal structure of cities using various models and theories.

Urban Model

Concentric-Zone Model - Urban model by Burgess; divides Sector Model - Created by Homer Hoyt. Zones expanded
the city into five concentric zones, defined by their outward from the city center along transportation
function, centered around the CBD. Based on Chicago. corridors creating a wedge shape. Similar activities stay
in the same area and extend outward as growth occurs.

Multiple Nuclei Model - was created by Chauncey Harris & Galactic (peripheral) City Model - it consists of an inner
Edward Ullman in city, surrounded by large suburban residential and
1945 for business areas and tied together by transportation nodes
developed (edge cities)
countries and
large expanding
cities. The CBD is
scattered into
several nodes,
with
transportation
hubs near
industries and
airports.
Low-income housing is found near workers while
high-income housing is found in elite districts.

Latin American City Model: Model developed by Griffin and African City Model - Created by Harm DeBlij - fast-growing
Ford attempting to generalize Latin American cities. Mall, cities with three CBDs: Colonial CBD, Traditional CBD, and
spine, disamenity zone, etc. Market CBD. The quality of residence gets poorer the
farther from the CBDs. Lacks elite, middle-class, or
gentrification zones which shows a lack of development.

Ethnic neighborhoods reflect the tribalism that exists

throughout Africa.
 Southeast Asian Model -This model was developed in 1967 The bid rent theory- is a geographical economic theory
by T.G. McGee. McGee studied several cities in Southeast that refers to how the price and demand for real estate
Asia and change as the distance from the central business district
discovered that increases.
they shared
certain aspects of
land use. Some
similarities
include an Old
colonial port zone
surrounded by a
commercial
business district,
a Western
commercial zone,
an Alien
Commercial
Zone(dominated
by Chinese
merchants), No
formal central business district (CBD,) Hybrid sectors, &
zones overgrowing New Industrial parks on the outskirts of
the city

6. Density and Land Use

Learning Target: Explain how low-, medium-, and high-density housing characteristics represent different patterns of
residential land use.
Low-Density Housing: residential homes, lots of open space fewest people per geographic unit (Suburbs)
Medium Density Housing: townhomes, single-unit housing
High-Density Housing: high rises, most people per unit (cities). The land is more expensive in these areas and causes
people to be more crammed into smaller apartments
Infiling: The process by which population density in an urban center is increased by building on wasteland or underused
land.

7. Infrastructure
Learning Target: Explain how a city’s infrastructure relates to local politics, society, and the environment.
The location and quality of a city’s infrastructure directly affect its spatial patterns of economic and social development.
● Economic development and interconnection within urban areas are dependent upon the location and quality of
infrastructure (for example, public transportation, airports, roads, communication systems, and water and sewer
systems).
● The fastest-growing cities are found in developing countries that have just recently just industrialized. While
residents in both New York City & Moscow have elaborate airport, road, water, and communication systems, these
rapidly growing cities are having issues keeping up with the demands of population increases.
● In developing countries, modern technologies in transportation and public facilities are not very available. While
all cities in developing countries are different culturally, most share a few similarities other than not being able to
keep up with these public services and infrastructure. Secondly, some are ancient, but almost all have a colonial
legacy, established to serve the needs of the colonizing country
● Third, many of these cities have a large number of migrants illegally living on the outskirts of the city, called
squatter settlements, and finally, some governments have responded by moving the national capital away from the
overcrowded primate city to a new location. This action is called forward capital.
Source: fable
 8. Urban Sustainability
Learning Target: Identify the different urban design initiatives and practices.
Smart-Growth: urban planning that avoids urban sprawl and focuses on long-term implications with sustainable design
initiatives and guides development into more convenient patterns and into areas where infrastructure allows growth to be
sustained over the long term.
New Urbanism: walkable blocks and streets, housing and shopping in close proximity, and accessible public spaces.
Greenbelts: areas of undeveloped land around an urban area. A green belt usually includes running and biking paths and
tends to incorporate many tunnels and small gardens. Green belts also limit the sprawl of urban areas.
Slow-Growth Cities: slowing a city’s growth to limit the problems associated with growth and improve sustainability.

Learning Target: Explain the effects of different urban design initiatives and practices.
De Facto Segregation: Racial segregation that happens by fact rather than by legal requirement
Positive of Urban Sustainability: Reduction of sprawl, improve walkability and transportation, improved and diverse
housing options, and improved livability and promotion of sustainable options.
Negatives of Urban Sustainability: Increased housing costs, possible de facto segregation, and potential loss of historical
or place character.
9. Urban Data
Learning Target: Explain how qualitative and quantitative data are used to show the causes and effects of geographic
change within urban areas.
● Quantitative information about a city’s population is provided by census and survey data and provides
information about changes in population composition and size in urban areas.
● With this data from the census, lawmakers can create maps to look at residential and racial segregation
● Qualitative data from field studies and narratives provide information about individual attitudes toward urban
change.
● Maps commonly show the ethnicity of neighborhoods and other characteristics like predominant gender.

10. Challenges of Urban Changes

Learning Target: Explain the causes and effects of geographic change within urban areas.
Redlining: a discriminatory real estate practice in North America in which members of minority groups are prevented from
obtaining money to purchase homes or property in predominantly white neighborhoods
Blockbusting: a real estate technique to encourage people to sell their property at a very low price by giving the
impression that the neighborhood was changing for the worse, especially about minorities moving in and led to a
significant turnover in housing which benefitted real estate agents and led to the “white flight” to the suburbs
Affordable Housing: residential units that are economical for the section of society whose income is below the median
household income
● Access to services; rising crime; environmental injustice; and the growth of disamenity zones or zones of
abandonment
● Access to services: the measure of people’s ability to pay for services without financial hardship
● Rising crime rates: contributing factors include lack of job availability, less access to quality schools, and real or
perceived lack of opportunity
Environmental injustice: disproportionate exposure to communities of color and the poor to pollution and its effects on
health and the environment; includes lack of access to healthy food (deserts), inadequate transportation, and unsafe
neighborhoods with poor air and water quality.
Disamenity Zones: areas located within the city characterized by slums and the homeless and in extreme cases are
controlled by gangs
Zones of abandonment: areas with a lack of jobs, declining land values, and falling demand that cause people to leave
and businesses to close
Squatter settlements: residential areas characterized by extreme poverty with shelters constructed of found materials that
usually exist on land outside of cities that are neither owned nor rented by its occupants with little or no access to
necessary services.
Zone of Abandonment (Disamenity Zone): The very poorest sectors of cities that in extreme cases are not connected to
regular city services
Land Tenure: system regulating the rights to ownership and control and usage of land
Inclusionary Zoning: planning ordinances that provide affordable housing to people with low to moderate incomes
Local Food Movements: food that is produced within a short distance of where it is consumed, often accompanied by a
social structure and supply chain different from the large-scale supermarket system
Urban Renewal: the redevelopment of areas within an urban area, typically neighborhoods in economic decline
Gentrification: the restoration of deteriorated urban areas by wealthier people who move into, renovate, and restore
housing and sometimes businesses.
● Negative: impact on existing groups, displaces poorer residents, disregards the needs and interests of vulnerable
groups, disregards the lawful rights of vulnerable groups, and disproportionately improves the quality of life
● Positive: New employment opportunities, improved housing, improved infrastructure, and an increase in
visitors/tourism

11. Challenges of Urban Sustainability

Learning Target: Describe the effectiveness of different attempts to address urban sustainability challenges.
Urban sustainability: The goal of improving the social and economic conditions of an increasingly urbanized population
while maintaining environmental quality.
Suburban Sprawl: the spreading of developments (such as housing developments and shopping centers) into suburban or
rural areas.
● Pollution leads to increased greenhouse gasses, acid rain, and ozone depletion.
● As cities expand, particularly on suburban fringes, extensive amounts of land are developed, leaving less land for
agriculture and causing the loss of natural habitats and fragile landscapes that are difficult or impossible to
regenerate.
Brownfield: is a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or
potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.
Ecological Footprint: the measure of the human pressures on the natural environment from the consumption of renewable
resources
Responses to the Challenges of Urban Sustainability: Regional planning efforts, remediation and Redevelopment of
Brownfields, the establishment of Urban Growth Boundaries, and farmland Protection Policies