Chapter 13 1 Where Have Urban Areas Grown

Chapter 13. 1: Where Have Urban Areas Grown?

• In 1800, only 3 percent of the Earth’s population lived in cities and only one city in the world had 1 million (Beijing). • Today there are over 400 cities with more than 1 million people.

Urbanization • Urbanization has two factors • Increasing percentage of people in cities – Remember that 3 percent? In 2000, 47% of world population lived in cities – MDCs have a higher percentage of people living in urban areas (3/4 MDC vs. 2/5 LDC) – This change is taking place because the IR created factory jobs in cities – Improvements in farming also reduced rural population – This process has ended in MDCs as the percentage living in urban areas cannot really increase any more (people now choose to stay in rural areas)

• Increasing number of people in cities – MDCs might have a higher percentage, but LDCs actually have more of the extremely large urban settlements (Delhi, Mexico City, Seoul) – These high populations are a result of high NIRs and people migrating for jobs that are not available – So this is NOT a measure of development

Defining Urban Settlements • People cannot always agree on what areas are urban and which are rural • Geographers use social and physical factors to determine if it is an urban area • Social differences- way of life in city is different that rural – Large size: Small town vs. huge city where you know only a very small percent of residents, usually through your business dealings (cashiers, boss, lawyer, etc. ) – High density: Each person plays a specific role (specialization), social groups also compete for territory – Social heterogeneity: Large cities have much more diversity and end to be more accepting of different social behaviors.

• Physical definitions- cities used to be surrounded by walls, now it is more difficult to measure – Legal definition: Local governments draw boundaries defining the extent of a city – Urbanized area: Urban areas consist of the central city and surrounding built up suburbs where population exceeds 1000 people per square mile – Metropolitan statistical area: Includes a cities zone of influence (TV stations, sports teams, etc. ) Includes the following: • County where the city is located • Urbanized area with 50, 000 plus • Adjacent counties with high population densities and large percentage of citizens working in the central cities county

Large Cities Fig. 13 -2: Cities with 2 million or more people. Most of the largest cities are now in LDCs.

Percent Urban by Region Fig. 13 -2 b: Although under half of the people in most less developed regions are urban, Latin America and the Middle East have urban percentages comparable to

Chapter 13. 2: Where Are People Distributed Within Urban Areas?

• People are not randomly distributed within an urban area. – They concentrate in certain neighborhoods depending on their social characteristics.

Three Models of Urban Structure • Each helps to explain where different types of people tend to live in an urban area – Concentric Zone Model • Says a city grows outward from a central area in a series of concentric rings • Width and size of each ring varies from city to city, but each city has the rings – CBD- nonresidential activities – Zone in Transition- Industry and poorer housing – Working Class Homes- Modest, older homes owned by stable working class families – Better Residences- Newer homes, occupied by middle class – Commuter Zone- Smaller towns outside the built up area

Concentric Zone Model Fig. 13 -5: In the concentric zone model, a city grows in a series of rings surrounding the CBD.

– Sector Model • Says that a city develops in numerous sectors, not rings • Some areas of the city are more attractive to certain groups and as a city grows its activities expand in a wedge • Showed the highest social class district stayed in the same area and expanded outward

Sector Model Fig. 13 -6: In the sector model, a city grows in a series of wedges or corridors extending out from the CBD.

– Multiple Nuclei Model • States that a city is a complex structure that includes more than one center around which activities revolve • Nodes include ports, business centers, universities, etc. • Each node attracts different groups of people (heavy industry- working class, university-educated/wealthy)

Multiple Nuclei Model Fig. 13 -7: The multiple nuclei model views a city as a collection of individual centers, around which different people and activities cluster.

Use of the Models Outside North America • The three models were developed in the US • Social groups in other countries might not have the same reasons for choosing where to live • European Cities – Wealthy Europeans tend to cluster together in cities but are more likely to be in the inner ring – As the downtown areas are very small, many wealthy Europeans purchase rural farms or other areas to “get away” – Poorer people tend to live on the outskirts of the city

• Less Developed Countries – The poor are usually located in the suburbs just like European cities – This is not a coincidence, but a result of European colonialism – The wealthiest neighborhoods are located where energy, water, and sewage is available – With the rapidly expanding populations of these cities, squatter settlements pop up – Extremely high density with very few services – Begin with people sleeping in the street, then building crude shelters with whatever materials are available – Percentages of people living in these conditions range from 33% in Sao Paulo Brazil to 85% in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Professionals in Glasgow Fig. 13 -11: Top professionals in Glasgow, Scotland, are more likely to live near the center of the city, in contrast to most U. S. cities.

Latin American City Model Fig. 13 -15: In many Latin American cities, the wealthy live in the inner city and in a sector extending along a commercial spine.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Fig. 13 -16: High income households in Rio de Janeiro live in the CBD and in a spine along the ocean. Low-income households often live in peripheral areas.

Chapter 13. 3: Why Do Inner Cities Have Distinctive Problems?

Physical Problems • The biggest physical problem is the poor condition of inner-city housing • Process of deterioration – As low income populations grow, the neighborhoods spread into the middle class – Middle class families typically move out of these neighborhoods and rent their homes out – In some cases large homes are slit into multiple residences for rent – Eventually the landlords stop paying for repairs and the buildings rapidly deteriorate – Sometimes banks decide not to give certain parts of a city loans, this is called redlining and while illegal it is hard to enforce – Redlining prevents people from getting the money to fix up inner city homes

Dayton, Ohio, Inner City Fig. 13 -17: Drug-related arrests (left) have been concentrated in the inner-west side of the city. In the 2001 mayoral election, votes for Rhine Mc. Lin concentrated in the African-American section of the city.

• Urban Renewal – Cities identify deteriorated neighborhoods and move out all residents in order to bulldoze the neighborhood and build it back up – Often times the government replaces this land with government housing, or homes built specifically for low-income families – An alternative to demolishing is to renovate inner-city neighborhoods – This renovation often attracts middle class people. • When middle class families move back into this neighborhood it is known as gentrification

Social Problems • Inner-city residents are often referred to as a permanent underclass since they are locked in an endless cycle of social and economic problems • They suffer from high rates of unemployment, alcoholism, drug abuse, illiteracy, juvenile delinquency, poor education, and crime

• Two social problems – Lack of job skills • Due to poor education, residents are unable to compete for skilled or technical job • Good learning habits such as doing homework and attending school tend not to be important • Nearly 3 million Americans are considered homeless in the course of a year

– Culture of poverty • 90% of children in the inner-city have only one parent. Because of inadequate child services, single mothers must choose between work and raising their child • Drug use and dealing are a serious problem • Cities are also often segregated by ethnicity, with Blacks and Hispanics often living in the inner-city while the suburbs are predominantly white

Economic Problems • With a high concentration of poor people, the inner city often lacks enough tax money to maintain and improve the neighborhoods • One solution is to reduce services by closing libraries, under funding schools, etc. • Another solution is to collect more taxes by attracting new businesses

Chapter 13. 4: Why Do Suburbs Have Problems?

• In 1950, only 20 percent of Americans lived in suburbs • In 2000 that percentage has increased to 50%

The Peripheral Model • Says an urban area consists of an inner city surrounded by large suburban residential and business areas tied together by a beltway or ring road • These areas lack the problems of the inner city but are characterized by urban sprawl and segregation • Around the beltway areas of consumer and business services called edge cities. • Originally residential areas, they grow with the addition malls, office parks, light manufacturing and even specific nodes such as theme parks and warehouses

Peripheral Model of Urban Areas Fig. 13 -19: The central city is surrounded by a ring road, around which are suburban areas and edge cities, shopping malls, office parks, industrial areas, and service complexes.

• As you travel out of a city, the density of residents declines… this change is called a density gradient – Two recent changes to density gradient include a decline in the number of people living in the center – And an increase in the density of the outer parts of the city… leading to a reduction in the gradient • Suburbs are also characterized by sprawl which is the progressive spread of development over the landscape – It is created by the desire for many families to own large areas of land – It tends to waste land limits the ability of city dwellers to get to the country for recreation. It also wastes energy with increased use of automobiles • The other major problem is suburban segregation: 2 ways – Residences are separated from commercial and manufacturing activities – Homes are also separated by social classes as suburban homes exclude low income residents

Contribution of Transportation • Urban sprawl makes people much more dependent on transportation to meet their basic needs • Cars – The explosion of suburban growth is directly related to the growth of automobiles – This has allowed the growth of sprawl as people are able to travel greater distances – 95 percent of all trips in the US are made by car – This has also led to extensive land use devoted to highways and roads… the average city has one fourth of its land area devoted to roadways

• Public Transportation – Forty percent of all trips made in and out of the CBD are made during four hours of the day – Public transportation is much better suited for moving large numbers of people, but Americans still prefer cars – Americans lose 36 hours per year and waste 55 gallons of gas in the course of a year sitting in traffic but since – Americans value their privacy and flexibility, most continue to avoid public transportation – The one major exception is the use of rapid transit such as subways in New York and Boston – Europe takes a much different view and in places such as England, France and Japan people are far more likely to use public transportation