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Urban Geography

-What is urban geography?

The branch of human geography that describes and examines the

spatial aspects of the locations, functions, hierarchies, and inter-

relations of cities, and the site, evolution, and socio-economic

development of cities.

Basic Terms in Urban Geography

▪ urbanization

▸ a process

– the movement of people from the country to the city and the

change in lifestyle that goes along with it

– as populations urbanize, areas on the periphery become

incorporated into the city

▸ a statistic

– the percentage of the total population that lives in cities

– 2006 world 48%, MDCs 77% LDCs 41% Canada 79%

– Highest Bahrain, Qatar, Singapore, Monaco – 100%

– Lowest: Burundi – 9%, Uganda – 12%, Papua-New Guinea, Lesotho –

13%, Malawi, Nepal – 14%

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World Urbanization 1800-2000

% Urbanization by Country, 1999

Source: www.maps101.com

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▪ urbanism – the urban way of life

▸ related to the main types of economic activity:

▸ primary sector

– resource extraction (farming, fishing, forestry, mining)

– few spinoff jobs, low skills, few options if closes -> RURAL

▸ secondary sector

– manufacturing jobs (making things) – tend to be in CITIES

▸ tertiary sector

– service jobs (retailing, clerical, leisure activities)

▸ quaternary sector

– professional jobs (medicine, law, education) & management

▸ quinary– top level corporate executives of corporations, political elite

– concentrated in Global Cities

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Basic Terms (con’t)

Urbanism

▪ With move from rural to urban areas, not only

employment changes, other aspects of lifestyle:

▸food

▸clothing

▸entertainment

▸cultural diversity

▸community

▸family structure

▸transportation

Basic Terms (con’t)

▸city

– a political term - same Latin root as citizen and civilization)

– in Europe “free” cities given charter from king releasing city (within walls) from

feudal obligations

– level of government

– can be defined by population (distinguish from towns / villages)

– Japan – 30 000 Quebec 5000 ROC 1000 Sweden 200

– cities have defined boundaries

– 82 in Montreal area, 15 on island of Montreal

– can be annexed, merged, demerged

– not very useful to urban geographers

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City of Pointe-Claire

Basic Terms (con’t)

▪ urban area

– more useful than numbers of people, takes instead the activities

of the population - non primary activities

▪ metropolitan area

▸ the combination of a:

– central city

– the one in the middle, the historic core area (i.e. Montreal)

– suburbs

– the expanding ring of cities surrounding the central city (81 around Mtl)

– Montreal metropolitan area stretches from Hudson to Mirabel,

Assomption, Contrecoeur, Chambly, to Beauharnois

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Government

▸how do you govern a metropolitan area?

– multiple municipal governments (Boston - >300)

– merger to one megacity? (Ottawa, Houston, Calgary)

– regional structures? (US counties, agglomeration council)

▸until 1920s, Montreal annexed most suburbs

– exceptions wealthy Westmount, Outremont, TMR...

– Drapeau – one island, one city

– Montreal Urban Community

– Merger / Demerger / Remerger?

2000

2002

2006

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Montreal Metropolitan Area

Megacities 2004

▪ city over 10 million population–1 in 1950, 20 in 2004, by 2025

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Basic Terms

▪ Global Cities

▸ some cities have direct, tangible effect on global affairs

through socioeconomic, cultural, and/or political means

▸ included are factors such as:

– global services (accountancy, advertising, legal, finance)

– first-name familiarity (without country)

– influence and participation in world affairs

– advanced communications infrastructure

– world-renowned cultural institutions and a lively cultural scene

– powerful, influential media outlets with an international reach

▸ emergence with globalization

Global Cities

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Basic Terms (con’t)

▪ Urban Landuses

▸ residential

▸ industrial

▸ commercial

▸ transportation

▸ public

▪ Urban Planning

▸ the use of government power to regulate urban landuses

Montreal Landuse

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Montreal Commercial

Montreal Employment

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Megalopolis

▸Jean Gottman

–merging of cities

along a

transportation

route

URBAN ORIGINS

▪Why did people settle down?

–Agricultural surplus

–Trade

–Religion

–Defence

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Urban Origins (con’t)

▪ HEARTHs of city development

▸ 1.Egypt / Mesopotamia (modern Iraq)

▸ 2.Indus River valley (Pakistan)

▸ 3.Hwang Ho valley (northern China)

▪ However:

▸ 4.Mesoamerica - (central America)

▸ 5. Andean Highlands (Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia)

▪ other areas?

Preconditions for Urban Growth

▪ Population

▪ Environment

▪ Technology

▪ Social Organization

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Types of Cities

▸Preindustrial City

– animate energy / transportation sources (animals and humans)

– centres of small scale exchange and artisanal production

– small size & population

– rigid social structure

– centred on market (exchange) and religious temple

Preindustrial City

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Montreal 1762

Industrial City

▸Industrial City

– beginning in Britain in the 1700s, shift over to inanimate energy

sources (especially coal) and cities became centres of industrial

production rather than exchange

– explosion in city size - both population and area

– middle and upper classes fled city centre for suburbs

– streetcar and automobile transportation

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Industrial City

Post-Industrial City

▸The Post-Industrial City

– a recent phenomenon (post 1945)

– gradual shift of employment to the suburbs (Edge City)

– deindustrialisation of inner city (to suburbs or LDCs)

– rising unemployment, especially in cities built on low skill

industrial labour (i.e. Montreal and the textile industry)

– urban areas experience difficulties supporting infrastructure as tax

base is eroded

– The DONUT EFFECT

– All the good stuff around the outside and a hole in the middle

– Edge City – suburban “downtowns”

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Edge City - Tysons Corner Virginia

The Urbanization Curve

▸Initial Stage

– low levels of urbanization

– Pre-Industrial City

– Montreal 1760

▸Acceleration Stage

– increasing rates of urbanization

– Industrial City

– Montreal 1900

▸Terminal Stage

– Urbanization levels out at 75 - 80%

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Urbanization Curve

Montreal1759

1901

2000

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LDC Cities

▪ urbanization process much later in LDCs than MDCs

▪ in part due to colonialism

▸ colonies exported raw materials (primary), few

manufactured (secondary) products

▸ most cities were ports for export (i.e. Calcutta,

Bangkok, Lima)

LDC Cities

▪ Since 1950 massive wave of urbanization in LDCs

▪ push factors (lack of land, education, employment and

services in rural areas)

▪ pull factors (job prospects, services, excitement of city)

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LDC Cities

▪ speed and scale of urbanization much faster than MDCs

▪ 300 LDC cities with more than 1 M people, with a total

population of over 1 B

▪ two main perspectives on LDC cities:

▸ modernization

– LDC cities are following model of MDC cities

▸ dependency / world systems

– LDC cities have been “underdeveloped” by

colonialism / capitalist MDCs

▪ see “overurbanization” / “false urbanization” differently

LDC Cities

▪ problems especially in employment and housing

▪ Employment problems

▸ matching unskilled migrants to limited number of jobs

▸ higher levels of technology mean fewer jobs even in low

tech industry

▸ most jobs are in informal sector

– small scale, little capital, long hours, low wages,

usually self-employment often illegal activities

– in most LDCs informal sector employs over 50% of

labour force

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Informal Sector

LDC Cities

▪ Housing problems

▸ lack of supply and affordability

▸ existing housing stock is poor in quality, overcrowded

(10-12 per room) and too expensive for new migrants

▸ squatter settlements have sprung up as a result

– illegal housing built by migrants themselves

– few services, constant risk of demolition

– Typically 50 - 90% of people in LDC cities live in

squatter settlements

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Squatter settlements

LDC Cities

▪ Environmental problems

▸ cities in LDCs face variety of environmental problems

▸Water

– problems of supply and quality

– overpumping of aquifers, polluted rivers

▸Waste Disposal

– little organized disposal of liquid or solid waste

– large uncontrolled garbage dumps

▸Air Pollution

– as cities industrialize, problems with factory emissions

– shift in transportation to automobile leads to increased pollution

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Mexico City

▪ Case study: Population Pressure video

▸ see question sheet in Workbook