Urbanization AP Human Geography Overview

Definitions Urbanization – process by which people live and are employed in a city Nucleated Form of Settlement – center area of development (CORE AREA) Dispersed Form of Settlement – rural areas where houses are far apart Thresholds – minimum number of people needed to meet the needs of an industry – amenities like pro sports teams

History of Urbanization Early Cities – economic centers – small Medieval Cities – walls were constructed, church in center Indigenous Cities – constructed by natives before colonization Colonial Cities – after arrival of Europeans, major trading posts or ports Hydraulic Civilizations – government admin ensures water distribution to entire city

Urban Economies Commercialization – selling of goods and services for profit Basic Industry – city forming industries (auto, steel, computers, etc) Nonbasic Industries – city serving industries include construction to industrial equipment Employment structure – industrial to tertiary/quaternary activities Post-Industrial City – specializing in information based work Deindustrialization – shift toward more specialized economic activities, factories shut down but new jobs appear in customer service, pro services, management Underemployment – too many employees are hired and there’s not enough work for them to do, layoffs ensue

Urban Hierarchies Unincorporated areas – once considered urban, only 2-3 families live there today Hamlets – few dozen people, limited services Villages – larger than hamlets, offer more services Towns – 50-a few thousand, urban area w/ defined boundary, but smaller than city Hinterland – surrounding farms of the towns Cities – large, densely populated areas, 10s of thousands of people Metropolises – large population, large areas, focused around one city, over 50,000 people Megalopolis (conurbation) – several metro areas linked together to form one huge urban area

City Types Emerging Cities – population growth, increasing economic and political clout throughout region Gateway Cities – connect two areas and serve as gateway Festival Landscape – space within an urban environment that can accommodate a large number of people

Characteristics of US Cities Central Business District – commercial center – downtown Bid Rent Theory – only commercial landlords can afford the land w/in the central business district Shopping Mall – group of retail outlets that either share a roof or are connected by walkways Grid Street Systems – streets run east/west and north/south Suburbs – located on outskirts of central city, usually residential

4 Stages of US Cities Stage 1 – sail wagon period – , sailing (trade) Stage 2 – iron horse period – , railroad transportation Stage 3 – steel rail period – , steel building material Stage 4 – auto air amenity period – , engine (auto) transformed landscape

European Cities Zoning Laws – determine how land and buildings can be used Residential Zoning – housing Commercial Zoning – business/retail Industrial Zoning – manufacturing plants Dendritic Pattern – root system of trees, streets curve and meander thru city Greenbelts – rural areas set aside to prevent development from extending too far outward In filling – process of cities that are close, merging together

Latin American Cities Urban Growth Rate – rate at which individual cities increase their population Squatter Settlement – areas of squalor and extreme poverty (favelas and barriadas)

Asian Cities Entrepots – reexport goods, sending them to all areas of the globe Office Parks – agglomerations w/ shared phone and internet services and transportation infrastructure High Tech Corridors – provide world w/ computer equipment needed to run its operations on a daily basis

Islamic Cities Jani – primary mosque Bazaar – street market

African Cities Colonial CBD – architecture resembles that of the colonizers’ country Traditional CBD – current commercial center of these cities Market/Bazaar CBD – sells anything and everything

Models of US Cities Concentric Zone Model – lower classes live closest to the central business district while upper classes live farther out because they can afford the communte into city to work – 1. Central Business District – peak land value – 2. Zone of Transition – slums (high density areas of lower class citizens live in substandard housing, tenements – rundown apts) – 3. Zone of Independent Workers’ Homes – lower class housing – 4. Zone of Better Residences – middle class housing – 5. Commuter’s Zone – upper class housing

Models of US Cities Sector Model – based on class but describe social structure based on transportation systems rather than on distance from central business district – 1. Central Business District – 2. Transportation and Industry – 3. Low Class Residential – 4. Middle Class Residential – 5. High Class Residential

Models of US Cities Multiple Nuclei Model – urban growth is independent of the central business district, more emphasis placed on type of economic development – 1. Central Business District – 2. Wholesale, light manufacturing – 3. Low Class residential – 4. Medium class residential – 5. high class residential – 6. heavy manufacturing – 7. outlying business district – 8. residential suburb – 9. industrial suburb

Central Place Theory Shows relationship between urban areas (including hinterlands) and the range that individual cities need to maintain their size Range – max distance that people are willing to travel to purchase a product or partake in a service Threshold – product min number of customers needed for it to succeed Hinterland/market area – area in which a product, urban area, or commercial outlet has its influence Rank Size Rule – size of cities within a country will be in proportion to each other Primate city – more than twice the population of any other urban area in that country

Built Environment and Social Space Catacombs – dead buried underground, pockmarks in the soil and ground unstable to support weight of skyscrapers Cityscape – artwork that shows a city Symbolic landscape – urban landscape that reflects a city’s history and has become synonymous with the city

Suburbanization of the US Suburbanization – source of growth White flight – movement of white middle class people away from the inner city to the suburbs Underclass – people who are excluded from the creation of wealth Urban sprawl – second ring suburbs are growing infringing on surrounding rural areas Planned community – developer can plot out each house and can build the entire development from scratch

Problems in Urban Areas Counterurbanization – problems become so great, people leave Decentralization – distribution of authority from central figure to other sectors in the city Centralization – opposite, focusing power into one authority Urban hydrology – how a city gets clean water to citizens and removes dirty water Urban heat island effect – cities create own heat by pollution and congestion Urban morphology – street patterns, structures, physical form of city Gentrification – process of wealthy people moving into inner city neighborhoods Post modern architecture – blends historical foundations with modern touches Modern architecture – boxy structures, concrete and glass Restrictive covenants – prevent economic decline of new gentrified areas Block busting – real estate agents try to induce people to sell homes because different race is moving into the neighborhood Racial steering – real estate agents show homes only in certain neighborhoods based on race of buyers Segregation – separation of races Redlining – refusal of lending institutions to give loans to minorities in high risk areas