URBAN SITE AND SITUATION

Definitions

Site: the relationship between a city and the physical environment and landscape in which it is located

Situation: the relationship between a city and the rest of the urban system in which it is located

Defensive Sites

Mont Saint-Michel

Mont Saint-Michel

Would this be a good type of place for urban growth in the 21st century? No, there is no longer a need for this kind of

protection, so isolation becomes a disadvantage Yes, 21st century cities depend (among other

things) on tourism money, and Mont Saint-Michel is a prime tourist destination

Isolation has gone from being essential to being an inconvenience to being an amenity, …

Site characteristics are evaluated differently in different periods of a culture’s evolution

Carcassonne, France

This “defensive” city is invaded by some 3,000,000 tourists annually!

Sites favoring commerce

Situation is defined by a city’s place in the urban system

Different interpretations of Manhattan’s site

http://www.carto.com/chighlights/us_east.html

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~blkyn/Map/NY.1807.html

1764

1807

Pittsburgh, “the point”

Alleg

hen

y

River

Monongahela River

Ohio River

Originally a defensive site, but perfect for river-based commerce and later for industry …

The U.S. urban system,1800

(pre-railway)

Don Meinig Atlantic America, 1492-1800

In the mid 19th century Chicago vied with St. Louis for the role of the leading city in the “West”

Why Chicago?

Why St. Louis?

Print from Don Meinig, Continental America, 1800-1867 (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 1993)

Chicago’s site

Chicago’s situation

Given a certain technological system (a culture complex consisting of artifacts, sociofacts & mentifacts)

And given a certain landscape Chicago’s site predisposed it to be dominant

within the urban system Entrepreneurs and investors took advantage of

its site (some made money and some lost it) to turn this city into the leading city of the Midwest

The rail lines created a pattern…

west of Chicago they formed radial lines, like a funnel (W. to E.) or a sprinkler (E. to W.)

east of Chicago they formed a “trunk” to New York

Chicago’s situation

Dizzying time-space compression

Shipping rates were held in check by competition between water and rails

Chicago’s role was as coordinator of north-south and east-west flows

lumber traveled from north to south

hardware had to be directed from east to west

Chicago’s regional dominance was indicated by its debts in the recession of 1873-74

Compare to Peoria

What are the important site/situation factors today? Amenities

Factors that make a place appealing to prospective inhabitants

ConnectivityTo investment capitalTo educated workforceTo communication technologies such as

internet and wireless services

Austin, TX and Boulder, CO

What amenities do these cities have to offer?

Vancouver, BC

Amenities

Recreation Arts and culture Scenery Climate History All can be overlooked or drawn to people’s attention Cities increasingly market themselves for businesses as

a “great place to live,” hoping business executives will in turn believe they can use the location to attract employees

Connectivity

An Atlas of CyberspacesMartin Dodge & Rob Kitchin http://www.cybergeography.org/atlas/census.h

tml Global and World Cities study group and

networkhttp://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/

Just for fun…

World Cities of Various Ranks

J.V. Beaverstock, R.G. Smith and P.J. Taylor: A Roster of World Cities

World Cities

Maintain an economic hinterland that reaches beyond the borders of the state

Act as control points for international flows of capital and information Attract headquarters of transnational corporations and producer

services companies Attract a wide range of workers from recent immigrants to corporate

executives, corporate lawyers, and major investors and real estate developers, leading to the most extreme income gaps in the world

Top tier: New York, London, Tokyo Second tier: Chicago, L.A., Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Singapore, Hong

Kong Third tier: too many to list, see GaWC website

SUMMARY

Site and situation work together At a given point in history, within a particular culture, a certain site

may be perceived as advantageous or disadvantageous It may present a threat or an opportunity

Part of this judgment relates to the potential of a city to interact with other cities (its situation)

Situation changes over time due to changes in technologies of transportation and communication

Site changes much less, but again technology can rework a site to make it more accessible, easier to build on, more profitable, etc.