Human Geography

Jerome D. FellmannMark BjellandArthur GetisJudith Getis

Human Geography

Chapter 11Urban Systems & Urban Structures

Hong KongPhoto Copyright 2003 by Jon C Malinowski

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Human Geography 11e

An Urbanizing World• Megacities

– Conurbation • When metropolitan

complexes eventually meet and bind together at their outer margins

• Extensive metropolitan regions

• Merging Metropolises– Megalopolis

• Regions of continuous urbanization made up of multiple centers that have come together at their edges

• A nearly continuous urban string that stretches from Boston to southern Virginia

Human Geography 11e

Settlement Roots• Brief Histories

– People are gregarious and cooperative– Sense of community for protection and

cooperative effort• Rural Settlements

– Communal dwelling became the near-universal rule with the advent of sedentary agriculture

Human Geography 11e

Origins and Evolution of Cities• The Nature of Cities

– Cities are among the oldest marks of civilization– The words “city” and “civilization” have the same

Latin root, civis – Cities originated in – or diffused from – the culture

hearths that first developed sedentary agriculture– Hinterlands are the productive areas

surrounding a population center– Those individuals who were not involved in

farming were free to specialize in other activities – metal working, pottery making, cloth weaving, perhaps – producing goods for other urbanites

Human Geography 11e

The Nature of Cities• All cities perform

functions• Cities generate

income necessary to support themselves

• Each city is part of a larger economy that has reciprocal connections

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Human Geography 11e

Origins and Evolution of Cities• The Location of Urban Settlements

– Site Characteristics: Break-of-Bulk, Head-of-Navigation, Railhead, Defensive Elements

– Situational Characteristics: Raw Materials, Markets, Agriculture

Human Geography 11e

The Location of Urban Settlements

• In order to adequately perform the tasks that support it, the cities must be efficiently located:– Centrality– Physical characteristics of the site - water

transportation was an important localizing factor when the major American cities were established

– Before the advent of railroads in the middle of the 19th century, all major American cities were associated with waterways

Human Geography 11e

Origins and Evolution• The Economic Base

– Basic Sector• Export activities• Money flowing into the community is the result

– Non Basic Sector • Producing goods for residents of the urban unit

itself• Do not generate new money• Responsible for the internal functioning of the

urban unit

Human Geography 11e

Origins and Evolution, (cont.)• The Economic Base

– Base Ratios– Multiplier Effects

• As a settlement increases in size, the number of non-basic personnel grows faster than the number of new basic workers

• Functional Classification– Transportation Centers– Special-function Cities

Human Geography 11e

Central Places– Walter Christaller

• Develop a framework for understanding urban interdependence

• Developed his theory in rather idealized circumstances:

1.A plain 2.Farm population would be

dispersed in an even pattern3.People would be uniform; that

is, they would possess similar tastes, demands, and incomes

Human Geography 11e

Central Places– Walter Christaller

• Results– A series of hexagonal market

areas that cover the entire plain will emerge

– There will be a central place at the center of each of the hexagonal market areas.

– The largest central places will supply all of the goods and services the consumers in that area demand and can afford

– The size of the market area of a central place will be proportional to the number of goods and services offered from that central place

Human Geography 11e

Systems of Cities• Urban Hierarchy• World Cities

– Urban centers that are control points for international production and marketing, and for international finance

• Rank-Size and Primacy• Urban Influence Zones• Network Cities

Human Geography 11e

Inside the City• Defining the City

Today– Suburb– Central City– Urbanized Area– Metropolitan Area

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Photo by Mark Bjelland

Human Geography 11e

Inside the City• Patterns of Urban Land Use

– The Central Business District• A single point at which the maximum possible

interchange could be achieved– Outside the Central Business District

• Models of Urban Form– Concentric Zone– Sector Model– Multiple-Nuclei Model– Peripheral Models

Human Geography 11e

Social Areas of Cities• Social Status• Family Status• Ethnicity• Institutional Controls

Human Geography 11e

Changes in Urban Form• Suburbanization

– Metropolitan Growth– Ethnoburbs– Edge Cities– Exurbs and Sprawl

• Decline of the Central City– Population Shift– Abandonment by Commerce and

Industry– Different Experience in Western

U.S.• Central City Renewal and

Gentrification

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Photo by Lynn Betts, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Human Geography 11e

World Urban Diversity• Western Europe• Eastern Europe• Rapidly Growing

Non-Western Cities– Colonial and Non-

Colonial Antecedents– Urban Primacy and

Rapid Growth– Squatter Settlements– Planned Cities

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