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Urban Geography • Spatial development of towns/cities • Variations between cities • Variations within cities
Urbanism • Way of life • Attitudes/values • Patterns of behavior
“Oldest” City: • Jericho, Israel • Dates back to 10,000 BC – or earlier! • Went through several periods of destruction • Many cities in Middle East, China, Andes, Mexico, also quite old—depends on latest findings
Oldest Continuously Inhabited City Damascus, Syria (8,000-10,000 BC)
European Urban History • Greeks (750 – 490 BC) • Romans (~100 BC – 600 AD) • Medieval Cities (450 – 1300 AD) • Mercantile Cities (1400 – present) • Colonial Cities (1498-1850) • Transportation Cities (1800 – present) • Modernism (1950 – present)
Classical Architecture from the Greeks and Romans Parthenon Oracle at Delphi Arches And Columns
Roman Aqueduct (Segovia, Spain)
The Medieval City in Europe (450 to 1300) • Centered on Catholic Church • Defensive /Control structures: walls, turrets • Symbol of power • Cities unable to grow (walled in)
Medieval City Layout • Narrow, twisty streets • Buildings close together • Walled city (high pop density) • Boulevard around wall • Poor live • outside city wall • Located on water source • Metes and Bounds • Streets drawn • from point • to point • Not continuous Vienna, Austria
Medieval Cities (Castles) Toledo, Spain
Quebec City? (only walled city in North America Very Old!)
Gothic Architecture (Began in 12th Century) • Often used for churches (Catholic) • “Flying Buttresses” • Pointed Arches • Huge Stained Glass Window(s) • Cluster Columns • “Skeletal” looking • Often in shape of cross from bird’s eye view
Mercantile (Trade) Cities(1400’s-1600’s) • Port cities / Major Route Cities (coastal / on river) • Reflective of exploration interests • Many medieval cities / city-states grew due to… • TRADE! • Venice, Genoa, Pisa • Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam • Marseilles, Paris, Seville • London, Lisbon, Hamburg, Many others • Development of centralized trade centers in city • Radial street pattern • Baroque Architecture
Radial Patterned CitiesParis Arc de Triomphe
Baroque Architecture • Crazy! Obnoxious! • Straight lines become curved • HIGHLY ornamented • Ornate carvings, sculptures, entryways • Oftencolorful Baroque church near Moscow Baroque Monastery in Ecuador
Colonial City • A city founded / claimed beyond the existing borders of a colonial power for Three Reasons: • Colonization = Land • Commercial = Trade (often a port) • Specific resource: coffee, gold, cacao, sugar, etc. • Administrative = Political Americas, Asia, Africa—usually founded on coast (ocean)
Oldest Colonial City in the Americas Santo Domingo,Dominican Republic
Hong Kong New Flag Old Flag Owned by the United Kingdom (now China) until 1997
Transportation City(later evolved into Industrial City: ~1800 on) • Most Major American Cities • Industrial Revolution: • Steel • Steam engine • Canals • Railroads • (Power) Loom • Cities all over the world evolved into transportation / industrial cities—even if they were established for other reasons
Illinois and Michigan Canal Erie Canal • Canals acted like highways • Created direct shipping • routes with major cities • - NYC with Great Lakes • - Chicago with Gulf of Mexico
Modernism • Reflection of: • Automobile-based society • Industrialization • Increased Urban / Suburban Population • * Appears in all parts of the world
Modernist Architecture • “Function over Form” = Functionalism • Simple, less adornment • Rejection of past • Local: Horizontal Orientation (more land, fewer people) • Urban: Vertical Orientation (less land, more people) Tampa, FL
Cleveland, Ohio Modernist Not Modernist
Communist Architecture • Square-shaped • No adornments • Functional • Extremely modernist
Modernist Homes • Horizontally Oriented • Unadorned • Squarish • Frank Lloyd Wright-esque • More suburban than urban
Suburbanization • Modernist / Function over form • City conveniences without the city • Began after WWII (mass production, cars) • Automobile dependent (shopping, banking, school, etc.) • Led to the decline of the city • Loss of “neighborhood” / community • Loss of private ownership (i.e. “Mom and Pop shop”) to corporate chains
Conflict: Urban Sprawl vs. the Environment • Encroachment into Wilderness • - Animal conflicts • Plants conflicts • Environmental Impacts • Water Pollution / Depletion • Overwatering of land (Las Vegas grass ban) • Golf courses: chemicals • Depletion of aquifers • Wetland / natural habitat destruction • Smog / Pollutants from vehicle emissions • Lack of exercise (car)
The American City (Models) • Three Major Models • Sector Model • Concentric Ring Model • Multiple Nuclei Model • Three Major Districts in a City • CBD (Central Business District) • Warehouse (Industrial) District • Residential Districts
Sector Model • Sectors / population built along transportation lines (rail, river, road) Detroit: Population along railways CBD