Urban Geography: Key Concepts

Key Definitions

• Population for a city is 5,000+ people
• Less than 25% of working men are employed in agriculture
• Location is where something is
• Place is what a location is like
• Site is why a location is there
• Situation is how a location is connected to the world
• Urban area constitutes a city plus surrounding suburbs
• Metropolitan area encompasses a city and surrounding areas, often influenced socially and economically by the city itself

Urbanization Factors

• Urbanization is influenced and changed by transportation, communication, population growth, migration, economic development and governmental policies
• Borcherts Epochs refers to urban growth that influences technology, and initially died out in the 1970s, but has since expanded to modern day technology

Types of Cities

• Suburbanization is communities with neighborhoods of homes
• Decentralization, population and industry moves from the city to outlying districts
• Edge cities exist on the fringes of larger cities, acting as regional hubs for suburban populations
• Exurbs are small communities located outside the suburbs of a city
• Boomburbs are rapidly growing suburban cities
• Megacities have a population of 10 million or more (e.g., Delhi, Shanghai, NYC, Cairo, São Paulo)
• Metacities have a population exceeding 20 million (e.g., India, China, South America)

Central Place Theory

• Central Place is a market center for exchanging goods and services
• Market Area refers to the area surrounding the central place

City Sizing Rules

• Rank-Size Rule: The second-largest city is half the size of the largest city, and the fourth-largest city is a quarter of the largest city, common in the USA
• Primate City: the largest city is more than twice the size of the second-largest city, commonly seen in Latin America

Gravity Model

• The interaction is greater between larger and closer places
• Examples places include London, NY, Yokyo, Dallas, Austin and Houston
• Tourism, religious sites, and government centers attract people regardless of size or distance

Urban Models

• Concentric Zone Model (Burgess): Cities that grow outward in rings from the central business district or CDB, with zones consisting of industry, working-class housing, middle-class housing and outer residential areas
• Sector Model (Hoyt): Cities develop in sectors extending from the center, with zones consisting of low and high rent areas, with transportation and industrial zones
• Multiple Nuclei Model (Harris-Ullman): Cities have multiple centers for different activities, exemplified by Houston and L.A.
• Galactic City Model (Harris): Suburbs spread outward from a declining CBD, forming mini-downtowns called Edge cities
• Urban Realms Model (Vance): Large cities have separate realms for different purposes, linked together and automobile dependent
• Latin American Cities (Griffin-Ford): structure is built around a core with a CBD with a church and central plaza, surrounded by wealthy housing and concentric zones of decreasing housing quality
• Southeastern Asian Cities (McGee): There is no single CBD, but several components spread across the city, including old colonial ports and new industrial parks
• Sub-Saharan African Cities (De Blij): A central city has three CBDs, which consist of a former colonial CBD, traditional CBD and market CBD

Housing Density Types

• Rural areas have low-density, countryside or farming areas
• Suburbs have low/medium-density, residential areas outside cities
• Urban areas have high-density, downtown areas with apartments and high-rise buildings

Infrastructure & Urban Design

• City infrastructure impacts local politics, society, and the environment
• New Urbanism is mixed-use areas that combine commercial and residential spaces that are walkable
• Greenbelts are open land around a city where building is restricted to prevent urban sprawl
• Slow-growth cities are the cities that grow slowly, facing different policy issues compared to rapidly growing cities

Urban Design Initiative Strengths

• Reduces urban sprawl
• Improves walkability and transportation
• Offers diverse housing options
• Enhances livability and promotes sustainability

Urban Design Initiative Criticisms

• Can increase housing costs
• May lead to de facto segregation
• Potentially causes loss of historical or place character

Urban Data

• Census: Official population count
• Survey Data: Information from individual responses used for statistical analysis
• Field Studies: Observations of geographic phenomena and human interactions
• Narratives: Personal experiences recorded as data

Challenges of Urban Changes

• Access to Services: Issues like food deserts
• Rising Crime
• Environmental Injustice
• Disamenity Zones: Areas lacking desirable features or infrastructure
• Zones of Abandonment: Areas deserted for economic or environmental reasons

Housing Discrimination

• Redlining: Denying loans based on neighborhood risk
• Blockbusting: Persuading sales based on racial fears to profit from resale
• Affordability: Unequal treatment in housing based on characteristics like race, gender, and religion
• Gentrification: Middle-class people moving into and renovating deteriorated neighborhoods, displacing low-income residents

Pros of Gentrification

• Improves living conditions
• Preserves historic buildings
• Reduces commuting strain

Cons of Gentrification

• Increases rent
• Displaces lower-income residents
• Raises questions about where displaced residents will go

Challenges of Urban Sustainability

• Suburban Sprawl: Expansion of low-density, car-dependent development
• Sanitation Issues
• Climate Change
• Air and Water Quality
• Large Ecological Footprint
• High Energy Use

Potential Solutions for Urban Sustainability

• Redevelopment of Brownfields: Reusing contaminated industrial sites
• Redevelopment of Greyfields: Reusing large, unused developed spaces
• Urban Growth Boundaries: Policies to limit urban sprawl
• Farmland Protection Policies: Preserving agricultural land