ECO 270 270 Urban Economics This weeks readings

ECO 270: 270 Urban Economics This week’s readings are on Blackboard You should get your textbook before the 3 rd Week of classes! (e-book version is available on Amazon)

What is this Course about? Why do Cities Exist? Why did cities become so important in the last century? What determines the location, size, shape and the growth of cities? What is the relationship between cities and global capitalism, political economy, real estate, and culture? Which policies can modify the shape, socio-economic conditions and cultural outlook of a city?

Why are cities important? - Because they facilitate growth - Because of their benefits (innovation, production, trade) exceed costs (cities are noisy, dirty and crowded)

What is a City? Economic City: Area with a relatively high population density that contains a set of closely related and economically integrated activities (flow of workers, money, etc. . . ). Political City: Area over which a municipal corporation exercises political authority, providing local government services and collecting taxes. Census Bureau Definition: An urban political unit that generally contains more than 25, 000 individuals.

Why do Cities Exist? Three basic conditions (that have been getting more important over time): Agricultural surplus (to feed cities) Urban production (to buy food) Transportation (to exchange food and urban production)

What are the common characteristics of urban cities? 1) A high degree of specialization/division of labor and mass production of goods and services. 2) Continuous change in technologies, fashions, etc

What are the common characteristics of urban cities? 3) Detachment from traditional controls & high mobility 4) Subordination to mechanical time 5) Increasing commitment to records and contracts & constant surveillance

What is Urbanization? Urbanization refers to the proportion of people in living in cities. It also refers to the process in which rural populations move to urban areas. Urbanization refers to all of the cities in a country, considered as an urban system. The urban system is the network of individual cities within a region or country.

URBANIZATION TODAY AND TOMORROW (Davis 2006) *In 1950, 86 cities with a population of more than one million; *In 2006, 400; *In 2015, there will be at least 550. ((and he was right; there are currently 573 of these!))

Cities with more than 1 million people in 2011 by Country

URBANIZATION TODAY AND TOMORROW (Davis 2006) *Asia’s urban population is set to rise from 1. 9 billion now, to 2. 6 billion in 2020 (equivalent to the world’s total population in 1955). *Africa’s urban population will rise from 300 to 750 million *Latin America’s from 400 to 600 million.

URBANIZATION TODAY AND TOMORROW (Davis 2006) Urbanization refers to the proportion of people in living in cities. It also refers to the process in which rural populations move to urban areas and make contacts with it.

Types of Cities *‘Megacities’ are urban areas with a population of over 8 million people. *Around 24 megacities in 2004; almost all in the developing world and will continue to grow rapidly (The number of megacities are projected to reach 30 in 2020. )

Types of Cities • ‘Hypercities’ are those with more than 20 million inhabitants (Davis 2006: 5). • In 2000, Tokyo was the only hypercity (Mexico City, NY, Seul followed). • In 2025, more than 12 cities are projected to pass the threshold.

Urban Growth Cities grow in a number of ways: Rural to urban migration is a key process. Rural–urban migrants tend to be young and have high fertility Rural–urban migration in the developing world is currently responsible for much urban growth.

Urban Growth in Developed World In the developed world, counter-urbanization tends to balance the influx of migrants to towns and natural increase is low due to low fertility rates. The more developed the megacity, the slower the rate of growth.

Urban Growth in Developing World [In the developing world, ] the size of a city’s economy often bears surprisingly little relationship to its population size. (Davis 2002: 13) Source: Marshall, J. 2005

Slums *Newcomers to the developing world megacities face stark choices in terms of housing. *Some inhabit ‘old’ inner-city slums (e. g. Dharavi in Mumbai). *Alternative squatter settlements spring up on the ‘edges’ of the city. (located on dangerously steep slopes, next to polluted rivers, on marshland, etc).

Slums Increasing numbers of people live in the slums and shanty towns of the developing world’s megacities: *60% of Mumbai’s population live in slums crammed on 6% of city’s land. *Slums in Mumbai are growing at a rate of 2. 2% per year. *The world slum population was 1 billion in 2005 estimate for 2020 is 1. 3– 1. 4 billion

Megacities are very diverse. Some are at the early or immature stage in the cycle of urbanisation, whereas in others the rate of growth is slowing (consolidating). Developed world megacities (mature) tend to have very slow growth rates and are dominated by suburban sprawl. They are increasingly feeling the effects of counter-urbanisation.

Megacities Mature, slow growing Europe and North America Population 70%+ urban No slums Consolidating, growing South America and southeast Asia Population 40– 50% urban Under 20% slums Immature, rapidly growing South/southeast Asia and Africa Population under 30% urban 20%+ slums Osaka Tokyo Moscow Los Angeles New York Beijing Rio de Janeiro Shanghai Buenos Aires São Paulo Mexico City Jakarta Dhaka Karachi Lagos Mumbai Kolkata Cairo Delhi Manila

Will cities lose their appeal in the future? As seen above, cities have been growing in all around the world and reaching at record high population numbers. Yet, some urban experts have long suggested that information technologies are rapidly making the need for face-to-face contact and thus, cities, obsolete. Could they be right? Especially in our present reality of the coronavirus pandemic? ?

What will happen to the city after the pandemic? Cities and urban thinking are currently challenged by the quarantines, social distancing and global disconnection that the pandemic brought about. What happens when the thing that makes cities great also makes them dangerous? Will it drive a change in the way we plan and manage cities? Urban scholars are thinking about these sort of questions every day.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: Do you think there will be a decline in urbanization in the upcoming years? Why and how? What impacts are emerging from covid-19 for urban futures? What are some of the trends that might change urban economies? Discuss these questions in two paragraphs using Porter’s article, outside sources (with proper citations!) and your own point of view (supported by analysis). Finish your reflections with a discussion question so that your classmates’ can have a chance to engage!

**Post your responses in the Discussion Board under Week 1 !** • You have till Friday night to post your original responses • And till Sunday night to reply to classmates’ postings. Re-read the requirements of online discussions assignment before submitting any work and if you have any questions, please share! Good luck!