CITIES AND URBAN

LAND USE
 DEFINITIONS OF URBANISM

Urban: the entire built-up, nonrural area and its

population, including the most recently
constructed suburban appendages. Provides a
better picture of the dimensions and
population of such an area than the delimited
municipality (central city) that forms its heart

City: conglomeration of people and buildings

clustered together to serve as a center of
politics, culture, and economics
 DEFINING CITIES

An urban settlement that has been legally

incorporated into an independent, self-
governing unit.
Legal definitions vary from country to
country
US 2500 persons
South Africa 500 persons
India 5000 persons with an adult population
predominantly in non-agricultural work
 DEFINING CITIES

Urban Areas City

Louis Wirth
Nucleated 3 Characteristics:
Core area Large Size
Many people
Central
Interact in passing
Business High Density
District (CBD) Lot of people, limited space
Non- Competition
Social classes
agricultural Social Heterogeneity
jobs Diverse backgrounds
Does not apply to MDCs anymore
All but 1% hold urban jobs
 DEFINING CITIES

6 Characteristics
1. Dense concentrations of people
2. Distinguished by functional complexity
3. Centers of power
Government, business or cultural
4. Human-created environments with patterns of
specialized land use
5. Linked to other urban (or rural) places
Through trade, transportation or communication
6. Contradictions
Example: Chance for opportunity, yet poverty exists
 INDUSTRY

Basic Nonbasic
Industries that sell their Industries that sell their
products or services products primarily to
primarily to consumers consumers in the
outside the settlement community
City-forming
City-serving
Examples:
Steel in Pittsburgh Examples:
Automobiles in Detroit Barber shops
Technology in Silicon Grocery stores
Valley Construction
 SITE VS. SITUATION

Site Situation
Absolute location Relative location
Cities chosen for: Cities chosen for:
Advantages in trade or Role in a larger context
defense Can change
Center of religious
Rome
practice
Center of Roman Empire
Cannot change (as Then head of Roman Catholic
easily) Church
Renaissance (Florence) &
Industrial Rev. (Naples) caused
changes in situation of Rome
 HISTORICAL PATTERNS OF
URBANIZATION
First urban revolution
Innovation of the city
5 Urban Hearths
1. Mesopotamia (3500 B.C.E.) (10k-15k pop.)
2. Nile River Valley (10k-15k pop)
3. Indus River Valley
4. Huang He (Yellow)/Wei (Yangtze) Valleys
5. Mesoamerica
Sometimes Peru is said to be the 6th urban hearth
 ROLES OF ANCIENT CITIES

Politics
Centers where heads of state were located
Religion
Centers where priests, temples & shrines were located
Economics
Centers where marketplaces, as well as wealthy merchants,
land & livestock owners and traders were located
Education
Centers that attracted teachers and philosophers
Anchors of culture and society, the focal points of
power, authority, and change. H. J. de Blij
 GREECE & ROME

Secondary hearth: Greece

Diffused from Mesopotamia
Athens
First to attain 100,000 (up to 250,000)
Roman Empire
Diffused from Greece
Controlled Europe, N. Africa & SW Asia
Urban settlements declined with the fall of the Roman
Empire in the 5th c.
 MEDIEVAL CITIES

Feudal lords revived urban life in the 11th c.

Lords gave charter of rights to residents of land
Residents would provide periodic military service
Mutually beneficial
Residents could now expand trade
By selling/exchanging goods in the city-center
Then began to expand trade between settlements
 OTHER URBAN HISTORY

Largest Pre-Columbian City in the Americas

Tenochtitln (est. 100,000)
During the sharp decline in urbanization following the fall
of the Roman Empire, places outside of Europe were
developing
Silk Road
West Africa
Timbuktu
Five most populous in 900
Baghdad (modern Iraq)
Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey)
Kyoto (Japan)
Changan (China)
Hangchow (China)
 URBAN HIERARCHY

Hamlet
Generally a few dozen people
Limited services
Villages
Larger than hamlets
More services
Towns
50 few thousand people
Urban area, but smaller than city (pop. & area)
City
Tens of thousands of people
Densely populated
Metropolis
Must have over 50,000 people
Large pop, large area, centered around a city
Megalopolis (conurbation)
Several metropolitan areas linked together
Ex: Boston to Washington on Eastern U.S.
 OTHER URBAN HIERARCHIES
Megacity
City with more than 10 million people
World City
London, New York & Tokyo are generally considered the leading world cities
Alpha World City
London, New York, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore
Beta
Mexico City, Sao Paulo, San Francisco, Moscow, Madrid, Seoul, Brussels
Gamma
Boston, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Beijing, Shanghai, Rome, Prague
Edge City
A large node of office and retail activities on the edge of an urban area.
Galactic City
A mini edge city that is connected to another city by beltways or highways
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)
In the United States, a central city of at least 50,000 population, the county within which the
city is located, and adjacent counties meeting one of several tests
Micropolitan Statistical Areas (SA)
An urbanized area between 10,000 and 50,000 inhabitants, the county in which it is found,
and adjacent counties tied to the city.
MSA
AN
EXAMPLE

17
US METROPOLITAN &
MICROPOLITAN AREAS
 HISTORICAL URBAN GROWTH

1950
2000
2005
Projected 2015

Any predictions?
 1950
1. New York, U.S.A.
1. 12.3 million
2. London, England
1. 8.7 million
3. Tokyo, Japan
1. 6.9 million (though some numbers as high as 11.3 million)
4. Paris, France
1. 5.4 million
5. Moscow, Russia
1. 5.4 million
6. Shanghai, China
1. 5.3 million
7. Essen, Germany
1. 5.3 million
8. Buenos Aires, Argentina
1. 5.0 million
9. Chicago, U.S.A.
1. 4.9 million
10. Kolkata (Calcutta), India
1. 4.4 million
 2000
1. Tokyo, Japan
1. 34.4 million
2. Mexico City, Mexico
1. 18.1 million
3. New York-Newark, U.S.A.
1. 17.8 million
4. Sao Paulo, Brazil
1. 17.1 million
5. Mumbai (Bombay), India
1. 16.1 million
6. Shanghai, China
1. 13.2 million
7. Kolkata (Calcutta), India
1. 13.1 million
8. Delhi, India
1. 12.4 million
9. Buenos Aires, Argentina
1. 11.8 million
10. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, U.S.A.
1. 11.8 million
 2005
1. Tokyo, Japan
1. 35.2 million
2. Mexico City, Mexico
1. 19.4 million
3. New York-Newark, U.S.A.
1. 18.7 million
4. Sao Paulo, Brazil
1. 18.3 million
5. Mumbai (Bombay), India
1. 18.2 million
6. Delhi, India
1. 15.0 million
7. Shanghai, China
1. 14.5 million
8. Kolkata (Calcutta), India
1. 14.3 million
9. Jakarta, Indonesia
1. 13.2 million
10. Buenos Aires, Argentina
1. 12.6 million
 2015 (PROJECTED)
1. Tokyo, Japan
1. 35.5 million
2. Mumbai (Bombay), India
1. 21.9 million
3. Mexico City, Mexico
1. 21.6 million
4. Sao Paulo, Brazil
1. 20.5 million
5. New York-Newark, U.S.A.
1. 19.9 million
6. Delhi, India
1. 18.6 million
7. Shanghai, China
1. 17.2 million
8. Kolkata (Calcutta), India
1. 17.0 million
9. Dhaka, Bangladesh
1. 16.8 million
10. Jakarta, Indonesia
1. 16.8 million
 TOP 10 FASTEST GROWING CITIES

10. Chittagong, Bangladesh

9. Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
8. Lagos, Nigeria
7. Faridabad, India
6. Bamako, Mali
5. Kabul, Afghanistan
4. Surat, India
3. Sanaa, Yemen
2. Ghaziabad, India
1. Beihai, China
Created by: Chris Hall
 RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION

Most urban growth can attributed to rural to urban

migration
In LDCs
In MDCs, countries are nearly entirely urbanized so rural to
urban migration isnt a big factor
In addition, we must factor in NIR
Why move from rural areas to urban areas?
Economic opportunities
Better life (individual or family)
Effects
Squatter Settlements
An area within a city in a less developed country in which
people illegally establish residencies on land they do not own or
rent and erect homemade structures.
 MODELS OF URBAN SYSTEMS

Rank-Size Rule
Central Place Theory
Gravity Model
 RANK-SIZE RULE

Relatively developed societies produce a ranking in

the hierarchy of their cities according to a
mathematical formula
The nth largest settlement in a region is 1/n the population of
the largest settlement in the region
Felix Auerbach (1913) suggested
George Zipf (1941) created formula
Zipfs Law
Generally applies more to MDCs than LDCs
 UNITED STATES

Projected Population 2010 Population

1. NYC 1. NYC
1. 8,310,212 1. 8,310,212
2. LA 2. LA
1. 4,155,106 1. 3,792,621
3. Chicago 3. Chicago
1. 2,770,070 1. 2,695,598
4. Houston 4. Houston
1. 2,077,553 1. 2,099,451
5. Philadelphia 5. Philadelphia
1. 1,662,042 1. 1,526,006
6. Phoenix 6. Phoenix
1. 1,385,035 1. 1,445,632
7. San Antonio 7. San Antonio
1. 1,187,173 1. 1,327,407
8. San Diego 8. San Diego
1. 1,038,776 1. 1,307,402
9. Dallas 9. Dallas
1. 923,356 1. 1,197,816
10. San Jose 10. San Jose
1. 831,021 1. 945,942
 URBAN PRIMACY

In less developed countries/regions, the largest city is

overly populated. The pattern of settlements is such that
the largest settlement has more than twice as many
people as the second largest settlement.
These large cities are known as primate cities
The largest settlement in a country, if it has more than twice as
many people as the second-ranking settlement.
Often located in former colonial cities that were the center of
economics/politics
Also located in countries that have (or had) strong monarchies
Binary Distribution: when there are two very large cities of
almost equal population within the same region
India: Mumbai & Delhi
 PRIMATE CITIES

Primate Cities 2nd Largest City

Mexico City, Mexico Guadalajara
8,605,239 1,646,183
London, UK Birmingham
8,174,100 1,074,300
Paris, France Marseilles
2,234,105 853,000
Copenhagen, Denmark rhus
1,213,822 242,914
Bucharest, Romania Iasi
1,900,000 315,000
 Rank-size distribution: EU, 2006

8,000,000

7,000,000

6,000,000

5,000,000

4,000,000

3,000,000

2,000,000

1,000,000

0
London Berlin Madrid Roma Paris Hamburg Budapest Warsaw Wien Barcelona

Actual population Predicted population

 Rank-size distribution: ASEAN, 2006

12,000,000

10,000,000

8,000,000

6,000,000

4,000,000

2,000,000

0
Manila Jakarta Bangkok Bacalod Yangon Singapore Ho Chi Minh Surabaya Medan Bandung
City

Actual population Predicted population

 Rank-size distribution: Spain, 2006

3,500,000

3,000,000

2,500,000

2,000,000

1,500,000

1,000,000

500,000

0
Madrid Barcelona Valencia Zaragoza Malaga Murcia las Palmas Palma de Bilbao Cordoba
Mallorca

Actual population Predicted population

 Rank-size distribution: Italy, 2006

3,000,000

2,500,000

2,000,000

1,500,000

1,000,000

500,000

0
Roma Milano Napoli Torino Genova Bologna Firenze Firenze Bari Catania

Actual population Predicted population

 Rank-size distribution: Greece

800,000

700,000

600,000

500,000

400,000

300,000

200,000

100,000

0
Athens Thessaloniki Piraeus Patras Iraklion Peristerion Larisa Kallithea Kalamaria Arkharnai

Actual population Predicted population

 Rank-size distribution: Philippines, 2006

12,000,000

10,000,000

8,000,000

6,000,000

4,000,000

2,000,000

0
Manila Bacalod Davao Cebu Antipolo Zamboanga Cagayan Dasmarinas Dadiangas Iloilo

Actual population Predicted population

 Rank-size distribution: Indonesia, 2006

9,000,000

8,000,000

7,000,000

6,000,000

5,000,000

4,000,000

3,000,000

2,000,000

1,000,000

0
Jakarta Surabaya Medan Bandung Bekasi Tangerang Makasar Semarang Depok Palembang

Actual population Predicted population

 Rank-size distribution: Vietnam, 2006

4,000,000

3,500,000

3,000,000

2,500,000

2,000,000

1,500,000

1,000,000

500,000

0
Ho Chi Minh Ha Noi Hai Phong Da Nang Bien Hoa Hue Nha Trang Can Tho Rach Gia Vung Tau
City

Actual population Predicted population

 CENTRAL PLACE THEORY

A.K.A. Christallers Theory

Walter Christaller: The Central Places in Southern Germany
(1933)
Central Place Theory
A theory that explains the distribution of services based on
the fact that settlements serve as centers of market areas
for services; larger settlements are fewer and farther apart
than smaller settlements and provide services for a larger
number of people who are willing to travel farther.
Determines where places in the urban hierarchy (hamlets,
villages, towns & cities) are located spatially & functionally
Establishes a central place surrounded by the market area
 WHY HEXAGONS?

Circles: gaps & overlap

Squares: Distance varies from center
Hexagon: compromise between the two
 CENTRAL PLACE THEORY
ASSUMPTIONS
1. Flat & no physical barriers
2. Soil fertility would be the same everywhere
3. Population & purchasing power would be the
same
4. Uniform transportation networks
5. From any given place, a good or service could be
sold in all directions out to a certain distance
Christaller knew these assumptions werent realistic
Hexagons might not exist in reality
Distribution of settlements based on market areas,
population size & distance
 Spheres of Influence
 MARKET AREAS

The area surrounding a central place from which

people are attracted to use the places goods and
services.
Market area varies based:
Range
The max distance people will travel for a service
Threshold
The minimum number of people needed to support a service
Market areas are good examples of functional
(nodal) regions
an area organized around a node or focal point.
 OPTIMAL MARKET LOCATION

Calculate range
How far are people willing to drive for a service?
Example: 10 miles for a pizza
Calculate threshold
How many people do we need to use our service to make
a profit?
Example: $5,000 a week/average people spend $5 a week on
pizza = 1000 people
Draw the market area
Draw the 10 mile market. If there are more than 1000
people within that 10 mile market, it should be optimal
1997
2012
LATIN AMERICAN EXPANSION
 GRAVITY MODEL

Optimal location based on population & distance

Positively related to population
More people = more interaction
Inversely related to distance
The farther people must travel = less interaction
Calculated
Interaction is proportional to the multiplication of the two
populations divided by the distance between them
(distance decay); based on Newtons Law of Gravity
 CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT

The area of a city where retail and office

activities are clustered.
Characteristics
Compact
Easily accessible
High land prices due to competition
Intensive land use
 CBD SERVICES

High threshold retail services

High range retail services
Provides services for office workers
Producer services
Financial, legal, & other services
Greater efficiency
Public services (government)
 CBD COMPARISON

North American European

Skyscrapers Low-rise buildings
Fewer people live More people live downtown
downtown Older structures (some as
Newer structures old as medieval times)
(relatively) Parks (formerly private
Few parks, gardens), butchers, bakers,
supermarkets, etc. supermarkets
More cars Few cars (narrow streets)
Low rent High rent
 FUNCTIONAL ZONATION

The division of a city into different regions or zones

(residential, industrial, etc.) for certain purposes or
functions (housing, manufacturing, etc.)
This is the idea that we have certain areas of a
larger city that play certain roles in the citys life
House people
Produce goods
Educate students
Governmental administration
 ACTIVITIES NOT FOUND IN CBD

Manufacturing
High land cost & improved transportation
now mean that manufacturing does not
need to be located in the CBD
Residential
High land cost means few people can
afford to live in CBD
 BID RENT

The price paid to

rent or purchase
urban land is a
reflection of its
utility or
usefulness.
Utility is a product
of accessibility to
customers &
workers or for
residents to jobs
and amenities.
 INTERNAL CITY STRUCTURE

NORTH AMERICAN MODELS

Concentric Zone - Burgess
Sector Model Hoyt
Multiple Nuclei - Harris and Ullman
ASSUMPTIONS OF LAND USE MODELS

1. Heterogeneous society/culture
2. Competition for central land (CBD)
3. City center = center of employment
4. Base of the economy is industry
5. Private land ownership
6. Expansion from one zone to the next
7. No historical significance to influence land-use
8. No differences in terrain
9. Hierarchy of land-use
 CONCENTRIC ZONE

E.W. Burgess
Concentric Zone = Burgess Model
1923
Based on Chicago
5 rings
1. CBD: nonresidential activities
1. Can be subdivided into other sub districts (theater, retail,
government, etc.)
2. Zone in Transition (ZIT): Industry & lower-income housing
3. Working-class homes
4. Zone of middle-class homes
5. Commuter zone
As areas expand, zones will overflow into subsequent
zones (invasion) causing current residents to move
further away (succession)
 SECTOR MODEL

Homer Hoyt
1939
Response to the limitations of the Burgess model
Impact of transportation routes
City develops in sectors, not rings
Industry will develop along good transportation lines
New housing develops on the outer edges of a sector
Creating a cone (wedge, sector, slice of a pie)
 MULTIPLE NUCLEI

Harris and Ullman

1945
CBD losing its dominance
Multiple centers (polycentric) emerge around various activities
Ports
Universities
Airports
Parks
Suburban businesses
These centers might attract other activities
Universities might attract activities that are beneficial to higher
education & students
Bookstores, fast food, etc.
Airports might attract hotels, etc.
More complex than concentric zone or sector
 SIMILARITIES

Accessibility is important
CBD is most accessible \ more competition \higher land
values
Distance decay is applicable
Land value & population decrease with distance
Clearly defined boundaries
Ignore the influence of skyscrapers (or other high-
rise buildings) on urban land use
Separated residential areas
Due to socioeconomic status (SES)
 CRITICISMS

Ignores the importance of high-rises

There are not clearly defined boundaries between
zones
Dont display the impact of terrain (physical) or
government policy
Urban re-development
Dont account for gentrification
A process of converting an urban neighborhood from a
predominantly low-income, renter-occupied area to a
predominantly middle-class, owner-occupied area.
Dont apply outside of North America
 FUSED MODEL

Combines elements of all three models

Characteristics:
Central core (CBD)
Several smaller business districts
Concentric zones develop around business districts
Sectors emerge along transportation routes
Star-shaped city with radial zones expanding out
from business districts
Includes factors such as SES
Terrain, culture, social influences, governmental policies and
other various impacts
 URBAN REALMS MODEL

James E. Vance
1964
Attempt to improve the multiple nuclei model
Based on San Francisco, CA
City is made up of small realms which are self-sufficient
5 Criteria (the five factors that influence realms)
1. Terrain
2. Size of overall metropolis
3. Strength of economic activity within a realm
4. Internal accessibility
5. Inter-accessibility
Most geographers believe this is more accurate than
traditional models
Development of edge cities
A large node of office and retail activities on the edge of an urban
area.
MODELS OUTSIDE OF
NORTH AMERICA
 LATIN AMERICA

A.K.A. Griffin-Ford Model

1980
Combines traditional Latin American culture with forces of
globalization
CBD
Traditional market sector
Modern high-rise sector
Commercial Spine
Extends from CBD, surrounded by elite residential housing
End of Spine is mall a small edge city
Housing
Elite residential surrounds commercial areas
Higher income housing closer to CBD
Squatter settlements develop in outer rings
SES decreases as distance increases from city center
 EUROPE

Cities are much older

Streets
Narrow (pre-automobile)
Arranged like the root system of trees
Residential
SES decreases as distance increases
Skyscrapers located farther from city center
Greenbelts
A ring of land maintained as parks, agriculture, or other
types of open space to limit the sprawl of an urban area.
Used to prevent urban sprawl
 SE ASIA

T.G. McGee
1967
Port
Central part of the city
No CBD
Broken into areas surround port (government zone, etc.)
Alien Commercial Zone
Dominated by the Chinese
Often has smaller zones within other larger zones
 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Less urbanized, but fastest growing urban areas

Colonialism played a big role in the development of
cities
Kinshasa (DRC)
Nairobi (Kenya)
CBD
3 CBDs
Colonial (former)
Market zone
Traditional CBD
Residential
Often along ethnic lines
 ISLAMIC CITY

Climate
Light-colored surface
Buildings designed to catch rainwater
Twisting streets to maximize shade
Religion
Mosque at the center of the city, main focal point
Promote privacy
Smaller windows
Cul-de-sacs/dead-end streets limit foot traffic in residential
areas
Other characteristics
Open-air markets
FUNCTIONAL CHARACTER
OF CONTEMPORARY CITIES

1. CHANGING EMPLOYMENT MIX

2. CHANGING DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIAL STRUCTURES
 CITY EMPLOYMENT

Cities are made up of two types of industries

Basic
Industries that sell their products or services primarily to consumers
outside the settlement
Nonbasic
Industries that sell their products primarily to consumers in the
community
Which industry produces more jobs: Basic or Nonbasic?
According to some geographers, one basic industry job
produces two to four jobs
Nonbasic jobs increase the cities tax base
Increasing the tax base allows for more services
This is a problem for the inner-city
Diminishing tax base leads to a reduction in services or increasing taxes
 CHANGING EMPLOYMENT MIX

Cities that are established on a basic industry do

not remain that way forever
Manufacturing towns (Pittsburgh, PA)
University towns (Athens, GA)
Mining towns (Virginia City, NV)
As time goes, cities diversify and change
Deindustrialization of the U.S. Midwest (Rust Belt)
New industries arrive as a result of increasing population
density
Most cities now fall under a diversified city
category
 CHANGING EMPLOYMENT MIX

Over time, employment demographics change

Due to:
Immigration
Dual-income households
Immigration
Ravensteins Laws of Migration
Industrial cities always need workers, which attract migrants
Dual-income households
From early 1900s to now, gender demographics have
moved toward equality
This leads to an increase in the number of dual-income
households
 URBAN PLANNING

Planning the land use with a city or metropolitan

area
Only about 100 years as a profession
Consider a number of different factors
Aesthetics
Transportation
Public services
Many others
Zoning Laws
Limit what industries/functions can be established in certain
city areas
 NEW URBANISM

New urbanism Outlined by a group of architects, urban

planners, and developers from over 20 countries, an urban
design that calls for development, urban revitalization, and
suburban reforms that create walkable neighborhoods with a
diversity of housing and jobs.

1. Walkability
2. Connectivity
3. Mixed-Use & Diversity
4. Mixed housing
5. Quality Architecture & Urban Design
6. Traditional Neighborhood Structure
7. Increased Density
8. Smart Transportation
9. Sustainability
10. Quality of Life Celebration, FL
 URBAN DESIGN

Beaux Arts City Beautiful Movement

Started in Paris & Vienna Promote order in
Combined older, industrial areas
classical forms of Created urban areas
architecture with new that stressed a sense of
industrial forms morality & civic pride
Characteristics Chicago after fire of
Wider streets 1871
Big parks Huge parks
Monuments that focused Big monuments
on freedom & national Orderly street pattern
pride
BEAUX ARTS
BEAUX ARTS
CITY BEAUTIFUL
CITY BEAUTIFUL
 URBAN DESIGN

Modern Postmodern
Mid-20th C. Response to plain,
Little attention to sterile Modern
ornate designs & architecture
minute details Used historical designs
Efficient & geometric Lighthearted
Concrete & glass Brighter colors
Designed to be
people-friendly
MODERN
MODERN
POSTMODERN
POSTMODERN
 TRANSPORTATION AND
INFRASTRUCTURE
Modes of transportation
Car
Bus
Train
Subway
City landscapes change as transportation
infrastructure changes
With the introduction of personal motor vehicles & highway
systems, allowed Americans to move further out to the
suburbs
 BORCHERTS MODEL

Model of interstate (or international) travel

1. Sail-Wagon Epoch (1790 1830)
1. Limited connections between cities, more isolated
2. Iron Horse Epoch (1830 1870)
1. Invention of steam-powered engines
2. Connected regions
3. Steel-Rail Epoch (1870 1920)
1. Connected the country, national rail system
2. Growing interdependence
4. Auto-Air-Amenity Epoch (1920 1970)
1. Invention of gasoline & diesel engines
5. Satellite-Electronic-Jet Propulsion Epoch (1970 - ?)
1. Not a formal stage of Borcherts model
 ADAMS MODEL

Model of intrastate (or intra-city) travel

1. Walking-Horse cart Era (1790 1888)
1. More narrow streets
2. Electric Streetcar Era (1888 1920)
1. Era of mass transit
3. Recreational Auto Era (1920 1945)
1. For people who could afford it (High SES)
2. Everyone else still used public transportation
4. Freeway Era (1945 Present)
1. Era of commuter travel
2. Expansion of suburbs
 TRANSPORTATION &
SUBURBANIZATION
A subsidiary urban area surrounding and connected to the
central city. Many are exclusively residential; others have
their own commercial centers or shopping malls.
Suburbs
Post WWII
Personal cars & highway system
Cheap fuel
Cap on work week = more leisure time
Baby Boom = need for bigger houses
95% of transportation within the U.S. is by personal motor car
Less than 5% is by public transportation (bus or rail)
Peripheral Model
Chauncey Harris
Inner city surrounded by large suburban residential & business
areas
Linked by highway or beltway
Edge cities developed on the outskirts the peripheral model
 EDGE CITIES

A large node of office and retail activities on the

edge of an urban area.
Started out as residential areas, where residents
would live & commute to the central city
Eventually, other industries & businesses developed
Shopping malls
Smaller manufacturing
Specialized industries
Theme parks
Airports surrounded by hotels & warehouses
 TYPES OF EDGE CITIES

Boomburgs
Cookie cutter suburban communities that have popped up
recently
Greenfields
Open areas potentially viewed for urban development
Uptowns
Residential area up town from the CBD
LOW-INCOME AREA COMPARISONS

MDCs LDCs
High unemployment Squatter Settlements
Lack skills
An area within a city in a
Higher rates of alcoholism
& drug addiction less developed country in
which people illegally
Illiteracy
establish residencies on
Run-down schools
land they do not own or
Juvenile delinquency &
rent and erect
crime
Limited police & fire
homemade structures.
protection
Public housing
GHETTOIZATION & URBAN DECAY

More affluent families leave the inner city for

suburbs
Predominantly white, thus labeled as White Flight
Leaves immigrants and people of color in the inner cities
As people leave, the tax base diminishes
Fewer people = less services = jobs leave = limited
employment opportunities
Cities then become the center of poverty
In North America
 REDLINING & FILTERING

As affluent houses are vacated

Owners will subdivide the house & rent it out to multiple
renters
Filtering: A process of change in the use of a house, from
single-family owner occupancy to abandonment.
As the city decays
Banks identify areas that they refuse to loan money to
Redlining: A process by which banks draw lines on a map
and refuse to lend money to purchase or improve property
within the boundaries.
Illegal
Community Reinvestment Act (U.S.) requires banks to track
by census tract where their investments go
 PUBLIC HOUSING

Housing owned by the government; in the United States,

it is rented to residents with low incomes, and the rents
are set at 30 percent of the families incomes.
Low-income housing, generally in the inner city
Built & reserved for people who must pay 30% of their
income to rent
Only 1% in US
14% in UK
Less money devoted to public housing in the US
Decreased the number of units by 1 million (1980-2000)
Number of people who need public housing up 2 million in
same time period
UK
Subsidies to build public housing for single mothers, disabled,
poor, elderly, immigrants, etc.
PUBLIC HOUSING

The Robert Taylor Homes

in Chicago, completed in
1962, was the largest
single public housing
project in the world 28
sixteen story buildings and
nearly 30,000 people.
Because of a
combination of factors
poor planning, lack of
opportunity, crime, etc.
all of the 28 buildings
have been demolished
and the area is being
redeveloped.
 GENTRIFICATION

A process of converting an urban neighborhood from a

predominantly low-income, renter-occupied area to a
predominantly middle-class, owner-occupied area.
Low-income areas attract middle-class groups for a number of
reasons
Larger residences
Stable construction
Cheaper
Attractive architectural designs
Location near downtown employment, services, entertainment
Groups
Yuppies = Young Urban Professionals
SINKS = single individual with no kids
DINKS = dual-income households with no kids
Empty nesters = older parents whose children have left the nest
All have limited/no family obligations & higher incomes
 LAS VEGAS

Downtown Project
Downtown Container Park
 SQUATTER SETTLEMENTS

UN: 175 million people live in squatter settlements

43% of LDC urban population live in these settlements
Known as barriadas, barrios, favelas (Latin America),
bidonvilles (N. Africa), shantytowns (S. Africa), bastees
(India), gecekondu (Turkey), kampongs (Malaysia) &
barong-barong (Philippines)
Periphery of city
Built with whatever people can find
Cardboard, wood boxes, crushed cans, corrugated metal
Limited/no services
Schools, paved roads, telephones, sewers
Most people employed informally or illegally
Drugs & violence often dictate squatter settlements
INDIA
INDIA
PHILIPPINES
SOUTH AFRICA
BRAZIL
BRAZIL
SHANTYTOWN RESORT
AFRICA LIVE REPORT
COMMENTARY
 COMMENTARY

Stephen Colbert: Shantytown Glamour Camping