Models of Urban Places

• Gideon Sjoberg explained the stages of urban development in The Preindustrial City: Past and Present (1960)

• Sjoberg said that all cities were a product of their societies and went through stages:– Folk-preliterate– Feudal– Preindustrial– Urban-industrial

Primate Cities

• Gideon Sjoberg was also the first to study the primate city.

• A nation’s leading city in size that serves as an expression of national culture.– Not necessarily large– Dominated by religious and

govt. buildings– Spacious with wealth near

the center– Less privileged near the

edge or outside wall

Primate Cities

Positives?• Advantages of

agglomeration• Large Market• High-order services• Enhanced flow of

information• Centralized Transportation• Global Trade

Negatives?• Unequal distribution of

investments, resource development, wealth

• Transportation network prevents equal access to all areas

• Disproportionate effect of disaster

• Brain drain

Rank-Size Rule• The larger the city-the fewer there are-• Model indicates that the population of a city or town in

inversely proportional (the fraction) to its rank in the hierarchy

• If largest city is 12 million then 2nd largest is 6 m. (1/2) 3rd largest is 4 m. (1/3) 4th largest is 3 m. or (1/4) 10th largest is 1.2 million

Rank-Size Rule doesNot apply to primateCities such as Paris,Mexico City and soforth

John Borchert’s “American Metropolitan Evolution”-4 Stage model of evolution

• First Stage-Sail-Wagon Epoch (1790-1830)

slow, primitive overland and waterway transport-Boston, New York and Philadelphia were major cities oriented to European trade.

John Borchert’s “American Metropolitan Evolution-4 Stage model of evolution

• Second Stage-Iron Horse Epoch (1830-1870)

Diffusion of steam-powered railroads-coal mining-boomed,

tracks laid coast to coast-manufacturing spread outward from New England hearth-by 1850 New York was primate city with Pittsburgh, Detroit & Chicago growing rapidly

• Third Stage-Steel-Rail Epoch (1870-1920)

coincided with the Industrial RevolutionSteel industry in Chicago, Detroit & PittsburghCoal & iron ore supply areas-northern Appalachia and Lake Superior (Mesabi) Agglomeration in raw materials and market location due to railroad. Steel replaced iron rails-safer-more powerful locomotives-larger freight cars & even refrigerated cars added.

Railroads between 1870-1920

• Stimulate economic growth: railroads connectivity/accessibility accelerated economic activity in cities

• Migration/labor force: population increased due to increased connectivity

• Corridors: cities increased in size along rail corridors due to increased connectivity

• Commercial zone: industrial land use area increased to accommodate rail yards, stations, warehouses, engine shops

• Cities declined: • • Bypassed cities: some cities declined that were not connected

to the RR network

How railroads affected the form of cities

• CBD growth: central business district emerged and expanded

• Urban pattern: star patterns or hub-and-spoke patterns, streetcar suburbs, wider roads

• Land values: real estate around passenger stations became more valuable and popular; railroads created socio-economic divisions

• Fourth Stage-Auto-Air-Amenity Epoch (1920-1970)

Gasoline-powered internal combustion engines-truck based regional and metropolitan distribution of goods; increased automation of blue-collar jobs; shift to white-collar jobs; highways, expressways and jet aircraft made travel faster & cheaper; amenities of suburbs, Sunbelt;New activities responded less to cost-distance factors

How highways affected U.S Urban Areas• Relocation of economic activities: services, offices, retailing centers,

transportation hubs, light industry and warehousing to highway interchange areas

• Suburbanization: larger suburban labor force could independently access downtowns by car without living there; contributed to decline or depopulation of city centers

• Land use change: sprawl, suburban area expands as highways radiated out of city; more land area to automotive uses (e.g., parking lots, more lanes, eminent domain); divides city and creates socioeconomic divisions

• Increased economic connectivity• Edge cities• Environment:• Some Cities decline due to by passes (Route 66)

• Fifth Stage?- (1970-Now)

decline of Rust belt continues;

high tech. will stimulate an even greater dispersal of city populations;

telecommuting, working from home, globalization and outsourcing change the way we work

Modern Urbanization

Southwest Asia-North Africa-great variety of urbanization.

Much of Middle East, esp. Arabian Peninsula are highly urbanized due to nucleation of the oil industry.

Jordan an exception-no oil wealth-but urban due to long tradition

Southern Arabia is oil poor and rural

Contrast-oil rich Libya is urban, oil poor Afghanistan is rural

Modern Urbanization

South Asia-low in urbanization, despite huge cities like Mumbai and Calcutta

Most nations in South Asia are under 30% urban

India-26%

Pakistan-28%

Bangladesh-16%

Subsistence farming

dominates life here

Modern Urbanization

Southeast Asia- Singapore is the only 100% urban state

Brunei & Malaysia are the only other nations with over 50% urban

Indonesia-31%

Myanmar-25%

Vietnam-20%

Thailand-19%

Subsistence farming

dominates life here

Modern Urbanization

East Asia- Averages 36%

Only Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are highly urbanized in

East Asia

China below-25%

Yet Shanghai & Beijing

Have 25 million between

Them, however most of

China’s 1.2 m. are rural

Problems in Urban America

200 years ago only 5% of world was urbanized

Today about 50% is urban

Germany, Spain & Belgium are over 90% urban

World wide urban problems are:

pollution

poor sanitation

drugs and crime

congestion and noise

substandard housing & slums

Problems in Urban America

• With urban sprawl and expanding suburbs-inner city shrinks

• CBD is often reduced to serving just the inner metro area

• As basic sector jobs leave-large cities have shifted to service industries

• Loss of tax base as businesses, industries and services leave

• Urban decay results

Problems in Urban America

• New York City a good example:– 3 million people plus uncounted

illegals crowd into 75 to 100 year old apartment buildings

– Many buildings are worn out, rat & roach infested with high crime rates, vandalism and cases of spouse & child abuse

• Yet despite the problems there is a sense of community that may be lost if the neighborhood is torn down

Making Cities in the Global Periphery and Semiperiphery

- sharp contrast between rich and poor

- Often lack zoning laws or enforcement of zoning laws

The Ibero-American City

• Latin American cities are growing rapidly-1950= 41% urban, 1997 74% urban

• CBD dominates the center with 2 main divisions-traditional market and modern high rises

• A commercial spine and axis of business is surrounded by elite residential housing

Griffin-Ford model

The Ibero-American City• The spine is an extension

of the CBD with offices, shops, high class housing, restaurants, theaters, & parks

• Zone of Maturity-Middle class housing 2nd best

• Zone of In Situ Accretion-high pop. Density of modest housing

• Periphery-Periferico-high density shanty towns of extreme poverty and no services (favelas)

The African City

• African cities often have 3 CBDs=Colonial, Traditional and Periodic Market Zone

• Sub-Saharan Africa is the least urbanized area of the world, but the most rapidly urbanizing

• No large cities to match Cairo-Kinshasa, Nairobi, Harare, Dakar, Abidjan were established by Europeans

de Blij model

The African City

• No large cities to match Cairo-Kinshasa, Nairobi, Harare, Dakar, Abidjan were established by Europeans

• South African cities-Johannesburg, Cape Town & Durbin are western cities with elements of European and American models-high rise CBDs and sprawling suburbs

The Southeast Asian City

• SE Asia-rapid growth of population & cities-1950-15% urban, 1990s-29% urban

• Most growth in coastal cities like Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

• Old colonial port zone surrounds the commercial district

• Unlike Western cities-no formal business zone, but separate clusters McGee model

The Southeast Asian City