Understanding Urban Environments

Variety of Urban Environments

• Settlements include villages, towns, and cities, differing in size but sharing characteristics like housing.
• High building density is common among settlements, spanning housing and commercial or industrial activities.
• High density buildings includes housing, apartments, commercial activities (retail, entertainment, finance), and industrial activity, which can vary from small businesses to large urban industrial sites.
• Function refers to the dominant industry or use of a building.
• Function can refer to the dominant industry activity, like mining or finance, or to the main use of a specific building
• Hierarchy indicates the order of settlement types, showing the importance of functions and frequency.
• Land use describes the pattern of use for an area or district.
• Land use refers to the pattern of use for an area or district of a settlement, such as commercial or residential zones.
• A megacity is defined as a city with a population larger than 10 million.
• Site encompasses the physical and human characteristics of a location.
• Site is used in reference to an entire settlement or specific function
• Situation describes a settlement's location in relation to physical features, communication, and other settlements within a regional context.
• Sphere of influence is the area around a settlement from which people travel to utilize its functions.
• Spontaneous settlements refer to unplanned urban growth resulting in informal housing and slums.
• Urbanization is the movement of people to a town or city, while sprawl is the outward growth of a settlement.
• Settlements are classified based on country-specific conventions, population size thresholds, or political/religious importance.
• Classification of settlements varies by country.

Settlement Hierarchy and Types

• The hierarchy of settlements ranges from large conurbations to small, isolated dwellings, varying by size and frequency.
• Small villages tend to be more common on maps than small towns.
• Towns tend to be located away from each other.
• Hamlets are characterized as a small collection of homes with a population size of 10-100.
• Villages are rural in character.
• Villages have a population of less than 10,000.
• Towns are larger than villages but smaller than cities, and are defined by populations of less than 100,000.
• Cities have legal status in certain countries, with populations over 100,000.
• Conurbations consists of urban areas incorporating adjacent centers, such as former free-standing towns and villages, as defined by Patrick Geddes in 1915.
• Metropolis is a large urban agglomeration that surpasses the 1 million inhabitant mark.
• Millionaire cities have populations exceeding 1 million.
• Megalopolis consist of chains of roughly adjacent metropolitan areas.
• These chains of adjacent metropolitan areas were originally observed by Lewis Mumford in 1938’s ''The Culture of Cities''

Site and Situation Considerations

• Site refers to the actual land where a settlement is built, encompassing physical characteristics.
• Situation involves the relationship with the surrounding area, relating to features and communication routes.
• Defensive sites are difficult to attack.
• Defensive sites are difficult to attack, such as on a hilltop or island.
• Hill-foot locations offer shelter and flat land for building and farming.
• Gap sites are lower, sheltered areas between two hills.
• Wet point sites are close to sources of water in dry areas.
• Dry point sites are higher, dry areas near wet lands.
• Dry Point sites are found on higher, dry areas close to wet lands, like marshes or flooding rivers
• Route centers serve as the focus of routes from the surrounding area.
• Route centers are the focus of routes, like main roads, from the surrounding area
• Bridging points are the areas where bridges can be constructed over a river.

Urban Growth and the Central Place Theory

• As towns grow into economic cores they attract more people.
• Towns expand outward and become connected via transport routes, eventually merging into conurbations.
• Settlements grow along routes becoming urban sprawl.
• Rapid growth can create megacities.
• Demand placed on resources makes megacities contributors to economies but brings various challenges.
• The central place theory dictates that in a region there is one central city surrounded by a series of smaller towns that it caters to.
• Central cities provide essential goods and services to smaller outlying communities which contribute labor and market opportunities to it.

Factors Affecting Urban Economic Activities

• There are 32 megacities of which Asia encompasses half.
• Rate at which megacities occur is increasing.
• New Towns are created to reduce mistakes from previous cities.
• Location should be planned to ensure easy residential access; improved working conditions, and reduced air pollution.
• An effective design separates industrial and residential areas.
• Effective open space management ensures schools are accessible.
• Residential areas should have easy access to travel.
• There should be efforts to improve air quality by moving factories downwind and separating industrial areas from residential zones.

Urban Economic and Land Use Terminology

• The Central Business District (CBD) is the commercial center of an urban area.
• Commercial activity includes shops, restaurants, offices, finance, and tourist attractions.
• Gentrification is the modernization of a neighborhood through the migration of wealthier individuals.
• Industrial activity refers to manufacturing and heavy industries.
• The rural-urban fringe defines the margin where an urban place meets the countryside.
• The sphere of influence measures the distance people are willing to travel to visit an urban place.
• Bid-rent Value - the prices of land to rent normally per meter squared a year.
• Deindustrialization involves the closure of industries in HICs due to the global shift.
• Global shift defines the movement of manufacturing and heavy industries.
• Nodality is the degree of connectivity in a place.

Economic Activity and Land Use Zoning in Urban Places

• Cities develop core economic advantages defining its identity.
• Developing core economic advantages may be illustrated by London as a finance center and Detroit as a car manufacturing hub
• Heavy industry is located in the core of cities, which is close to consumer and labor markets and well-connected.
• Commercial activities occur in shops, banks, and entertainment venues.
• Market-oriented services are located close to large markets.
• Places of worship establish themselves in centers.
• Urban places contain clustered commercial activity in its central sector.
• Geographers coined this the Central Business District.

Urban Models

• The Burgess Model consists of a CBD referring to a downtown/loop economic core.
• It represents retail, business offices, finance, and entertainment functions.
• It creates busy high streets, business sectors, and tourist attractions.
• The model's factory zone surrounds the CBD.
• In the factory zone, industry is located outside of the core.
• Many cities have distinct neighborhoods functioning like towns with similar higher land prices.
• These neighborhoods have similar functions as urban nodes.

Bid Rent Theory

• Rent is at its highest closest to the CBD and decreases from it.
• Dominant land use is determined by commercial interest.
• Manufacturing needs more space and therefore can't afford to locate in CBD.
• Rent decreases as it loses frequency with distance from the CBD
• People aren't able to afford to live in the CBD and can only afford residential.

Sphere of Influence and Nodality

• The sphere of influence is the distance people will travel to access a particular function.
• Larger functions tend to dictate a larger sphere of influence.
• Cities have larger spheres than towns because they have important functions.
• Nodality dictated connectivity for a specific site with the CBD being the most accessible/in demand.
• Roads lead to transportation such as rail or bus stations.
• The greater the nodality the greater commercial value and bid-rent value.
• Commercial centers are developing on the urban rural fringe driven by higher nodality.
• This area has ease of public transport routes.

Relationships Between Industry and Cities

• Industry used to be concentrated close to cities due to nodality and access to consumer markets.
• Due to lower bid-rent values with more space industry developed outside the CBD.
• With cheaper land, cities can follow more of a sector model where certain zones are all industrial.
• The Hoyt Sector Model showcases how industry establishes in sectors that have transport links such as railway lines, rivers, or canals

Inner City Change

• Economic activity in urban places fluctuates.
• Some HIC cities saw industry decline brought about by the global shift in manufacturing in low cost labouring countries.
• These cities saw rapid market decline.
• This is known as deindustrialization; the process of industrial closures.
• Some locations that went into decline are being regenerated via government incentives.
• Gentrification is a renovation of urban communities due to affluent residents inhabiting.

Factors Affecting Location of Economic Activity

• Industry's factors typically needs large amounts of flat lands for easier/spacious production.
• Close to the source of raw material for easier transportation and processing.
• Polluting heavy industry sites are located downwind to ensure air quality.
• Coastal or river aligned cities often developed heavy industry for natural advantages such as ports and transports.

Informal Economy

• Is predominant in emerging economies of urban and employment.
• Consists of unregulated business that not contribute to the taxing of government resources.
• This is an important structural characteristic as it demonstrates how people still have access to products.
• Is unhelpful to classify as illegal because near everyone is connected.
• It distinguishes between mens' roles and women in terms of risk and poverty where women are more at risk.
• You can expect to find every type of economic activity here.
• It is linked to informal settlements of high housing density and high economic activity side by side.

Patterns and Characteristics

• The exact layout of residential areas depends on the development and economic planning of the cities.
• These patterns reflect urban prioritizes
• HIC cities showcased wealth increases over long-term with instances of wealth from CBD.
• Inner-city areas comprise of low income residents over space.
• Wealthier populations have tendency to reside on periphery with slums near the core in Latin countries
• A transect shows land and residential income groups.
• Housing in the center, inner-city, suburb, and outer-suburb reflect population wealth and ethnicity

Contrasting Patterns

HIC

• Housing value can be great.
• Elite families reside downtown.
• The inner-city tend to be ethnic with low income housing, close to public transport etc.
• Inner-suburbs are larger.
• Outer-suburbs contain larger detached units.

LIC

• Wealthy elites and civil servants reside in the core for ease of access.
• Inner-city is highly segregated wealthy neighborhoods.
• Housing here is a mixture of both modern and colonial architecture.
• Outer city slums are high density informal settlements with limited electricity, water, and poor sanitation.
• Streets here are narrow.
• Outer gated communities are on main travel routs for easy access and high value.
• Apartments come with security and middle classes.

Factors of Segregation

• Urbanized cities see patterns in ethnicity among cities.
• Suburbanization prompts wealthier and more established families to live in the periphery.
• Deindustrialization has made it difficulty of industries in the city area due to unemployment and tourism.
• Neighborhoods suffer urban decay and loss of investments.

Immigrant populations

• Labour shortages in industry.
• Ethnic citizens tend to form community in urban sector.
• Growth among commercial and cultural activities.
• Discriminating urban policies- Ethnic groups encounter institutional challenges which make them to to integrate.

Gentrification and Regeneration

• Gentrification occurs when businesses or weather individuals move into an area, modernizing neighbourhoods.
• This has often priced lower income peoples out of their neighborhood.
• As suburbanization occurred, there was outmigration of middle income groups being replaced by low paying immigrant.
• This made inner cities less diverse but fuelled wealth with the low paying sector.

Informal Settlements

• Slums - Disadvantaged place with low building quality.
• Informal built illegally.
• This built with no access to service and threatened eviction.
• Dominate many cities and are estimated rise by 4bil by 2050.

Changing Urban Systems & Urbanization

• The incidence of deprivation and industry and the need for housing.
• Urban growth and infrastructure improvements.
• Pollution and climate as part of this change and gentrification are the central forces for rural areas being taken.
• Rural urban.
• Movement due to cities.

Drivers of Urbanization & Urbanization Effects

Drivers

• Rural-urban migration
• Natural increase. LIC and NEEs are experiencing fastest rates.

Effects

• Centripetal movement is a population movement around the countryside
• Natural incerase involves birth exceeding death increasing population.
• The movement from rural explained by push and pill impacts.
• Factors depend on who decide to migrate.
• Rural areas have poverty, insecurity.
• In the future, urban profile be more male dominant and consist of higher income families which increase pressure.

Urbanization in HICs

• HICs have counter urbanization as people are pushed out.
• Counter Urbanization/Distrubanization: Defines movement away from city centres because of decentralization.
• Reurbanization- movement of people to metro and into activity growth.
• Suburbanization is a movement to urban outskirts and sprawl.
• Levels have slowed due to the high existing urbanization and relationships surrounding country space.
• Cities in HICs experience a high amount of internal migration both within the city and in the relationship and connection to the surrounding countryside.

Gentrification Benefits

• Increased houses.
• Greater agency.
• New business.
• Creates better low-income values and rates.
• The central movement prompts people to move towards the countryside.

Push and Pull Drivers

• Counter urbanization stems from the decline of large industries which prompts pollution and investment as well as higher crime rates.
• Drivers includes larger greener houses by commute roads leading to better schools.
• Sprowl - Major driver of suburbanization.

Urban System Growth Including Infrastructure

• This included transport and water systems.
• As the system grows processes such as increased water and transport arise.
• In Brussels roads form along linear lines.
• They called "Ribbon Developments".
• Roads construction is a fundamental facilitator of sprawl increasing necessary works.
• Housing developments infill the space between ribbon developments, increasing housing density.
• Airports support the growth of service industries and business parks.
• As urban development progresses and expands, key services such as energy networks, water supplies, and internet, are extended into newly established districts.

Deindustrialization Causes For Change

• Closure of industries in HICs can cause change.
• Can cause related macro economic pressure which impacted many areas.
• Raw materials needed for manufacturing have declined costing high and making it less comeptitive due to global.
• HICs must restrict by a certain policy.
• There are certain rules that are needed to adapt to have neo-liberalism.
• Allow for global.
• Lower cost of manufacture.
• Modern day companies tend to be footloose and not bound by location factors.
• Companies produce lighter products that can be transported more flexibly.

The Urban Environmental and Social Stressors

• Include the urban heat island effect, and air pollution patterns and its management.
• Caused by heat generated by atmospheric activity.
• Albedo-Amount of radiation being converted.
• Atmosphere surrounding heat.
• Canopy amount as it increases.
• There’s winds increasing speed.
• Islands Effect process areas becoming more dense.
• Urban Microclimate modification and management involves studing the Urban Heat Island effect and air pollution.
• Anthropogenic Heat - Atmospheric heat generated by human activity

Urban Heat Island Effect

• Effect caused by locals.
• Factors include local elements and global forces.
• This affects all cities equally.
• Reguiaties affects climate
• Not all cities are affected equally.
• Tropical climates don’t present a significant UHIE due to humidity and high temperature.
• Temperate climate zones demonstrates a greater UHE.
• This accounts for significant change in climate during 24 hour periods.

Urban Planning

• Has greater insulation that stays warm with an impact on elements.

Atmosphere

• Impacts pollution as well as traffic and traffic.
• Quality and the areas.

Smog

• Causes nitrogen as it is a VOC. Coal factories and cars all push smog.
• Smog is prominent with high pressure.
• Factor contains heat and act as barrier.

Urban Innovation

• Increases space in cities. Also has water.
• Should make buildings block air and cool building.
• Screening trees will create lungs.
• Lowes noise and also can cause accidents on the street.

Economic Growth

• New lines for new structures.
• Growth is meant to make lagos safer.
• Land in urban is meant to be equitable.
• Can focus on economic goals for society.

Land Changes

• Infrastructure prompts the process of integration.
• Land needs to address property.
• Planning needs to prioritize economy and the wealth of others. In addition, the use of structure is used for productives.
• Displaces groups into separation.
• Issues between impacts.
• Social inequality measured access that enables them to proper service and support.
• Some cities face pressure due to development. Planning prompts relocation.
• Mixed neighborhoods improve integration.
• Inhibit with schools.

Causes

• Poorism. Police need to take look causes. Schools need to support poorer students. More better in integration.

Creating Investment

• Increase the quality of local areas.
• Offer access to low group.

Businesses for locals are tax cuts

• Projects are more job effective.
• Provide services for local areas.
• To increase access.

Additional Info

• Lines can be set to show when points of temp are equal.
• Where lines are close there can be steep gradient.
• Concrete glass has low key albedo.
• Cities have lower rates to compare.
• Winter climates can be impacted with heating and vehicles.
• They also have limited protection.

AirQuality

• Is significant due to waste. Also is impacted by low cities. Also has pollutants.
• There can also be many distinct parts.

Smog

• Is often concentrated. The areas can low.

Enviornment

• Blue can increase covers as does planting.
• Plan building.

Improve Quality - Reduce Sources

Government

• Should increase public transports. Also limit cars and bike lanes.
• These can stop the scheme.

Power Needs

• Run off and needs into a system

Land

• Can be an impact due to land.

Access

• Increase space

• Support services for transport - These are all means to measure.

• These also depend, needs, will impact, must depend.

• Social- Deprive - This includes access. It addresses causes via creating job to do so.

• There can also be challenge where communities can not integrate in a similar manner to other.

• This cause unemployment.

• Policy

• These all prompt a school. - They can prompt a quality for high class citizens.

• Inner will suffer from these.

• Also, often these services will be given to encourage them to relocate.

• Projects tend to support effective labor. They aim often for effective labor. And these have led these projects to work around and improve. This improve the ability, often for those seeking for help around them and those who had planned to help.