Urban Geography

1. Urban Geography What is a city?

2. Population • United States definition= 2500 • Japan’s definition= 30,000 • What is the problem with population alone as a definition ?

3. Cities • City – a conglomeration of people and buildings clustered together to serve as a center of politics, culture, and economics.

4. Key Question: When and Why did People Start Living in Cities?

5. Origins of the city • People moved to cities for employment, protection, and to be apart of civilization

6. The First Urban Revolution Two components enable the formation of cities: 1. an agricultural surplus 2. social stratification (a leadership class)

7. Five Hearths of Urbanization In each of these hearths, an agricultural surplus and social stratification created the conditions necessary for cities to form and be maintained.

8. The Second Urban Revolution A large scale movement of people to cities to work in manufacturing. Made possible by: 1. second agricultural revolution that improved food production and created a larger surplus 2. industrialization, which encouraged growth of cities near industrial resources

9. Industrialized regions of Europe, 1914

10. Urbanization • The process by which a city grows • The two dimensions of urbanization • Increase in the number of people living in the city • Increase in the percentage of people living in the city

11. Shenzhen, China The Modern Process of Urbanization – a rural area can become urbanized quite quickly in the modern world

12. Shenzhen, China Shenzhen changed from a fishing village to a major metropolitan area in just 25 years. 25 years ago, all of this land was duck ponds and rice paddies.

13. Urbanization • 1800 only 3% ofThe World’s population lived in cities • London the only city over 1 million citizens • 2000 almost half of the World’s population inhabit cities • 400 cities with at least 1 million

14. Cities with 10 million

15. Suburbanization Definition • Movement of upper and middle-class people from core areas to surrounding outskirts. • Suburban means territory inside the metropolitan area that lies outside the central city • Suburbs have been growing faster than central cities for a century • The process began in the mid-nineteenth century but became a mass phenomenon in the late-twentieth century.

16. The U. S. suburban population grew from 26.7% in 1950 to 49.8% in 2000.

17. Causes of Suburban Growth • Six Reasons: • Government policies • Government financing of a system of metropolitan expressways • Land within the legal boundaries of the city had already been developed • Suburban housing costs were initially lower • Demographic changes • Preference of single-family homes with own lots

18. Key Question: For Tomorrow Where are Cities Located and Why?

19. Site * absolute location of a city * a city’s static location, often chosen for trade, defense, or religion. Situation * relative location of a city * a city’s place in the region and the world around it. Site and Situation