Trends related to Urbanization

Most of the land in urban settlements is devoted to housing, where people live within U.S. urban areas◦ the most fundamental

spatial distinction is between inner-city residential neighborhoods that surround the CBD and suburban residential neighborhoods on the periphery

Inner cities in the U,S, contain concentrations of low-income people

Inner-city Issues◦ Physical◦ Social◦ Economic

Major physical problem face by inner-city neighborhoods is the poor condition of the housing◦ Most built before

1940

Process of Deterioration

As the # of low-income residents increase in the city, the territory they occupy expands

Filtering◦ Large houses built by wealthy

families in the 19th century are subdivided into smaller dwellings for low-income families

◦ Definition: Process of subdivision of houses and

occupancy by successive waves of lower-income people

◦ As rent decreases, so does maintenance Eventually no one will rent, buildings

abandoned Leads to schools, shops closing as

well Redlining

◦ Definition: Drawing lines on a map to identify

areas in which they will refuse to loan money (done by banks)

◦ As a result, families that try to fix up houses in “bad” neighborhoods have difficulty loaning money

◦ Technically illegal but difficult to enforce

Underclass◦ Inner-city residents often

referred to as a permanent underclass because they are trapped in an unending cycle of economic and social problems

◦ Suffers from: High rates of unemployment,

alcoholism, drug addiction, illiteracy, juvenile delinquency, and crime

◦ Schools, hospitals, shops are all deteriorated Lack adequate fire/police protection

◦ Homeless Estimated that nearly 1 million are

homeless in America

◦ Future is bleak Little to no technical skills Fewer than ½ complete high school Atmosphere ignores “good habits” With less Primary and Secondary

jobs, even more unemployment

Culture of Poverty◦ Trapped in cycle because they

live in a culture of poverty 3/4ths of babies in inner-cities born

to unwed mothers 3/4ths of children live with 1 parent

Many mothers have to stay home “Deadbeat Dads” no help

◦ Many turn to drugs Rates of use have most rapidly

increased in inner-cities recently Many obtain through criminal

activities Leads to gangs controlling drug

distribution Contributes to gang violence

◦ Many neighborhoods segregated Most inner-city residents are

African-American and Hispanic

Eroding Tax Base◦ Low-income inner-city residents

require more public services But can pay very little of taxes

necessary to support those services◦ Central cities face growing gap

between need of services and funds to pay for them Two choices:

Reduce Services Close libraries, eliminate bus routes,

collect trash less frequently Raise Tax Revenues

Provide tax breaks for downtown offices, luxury hotels, restaurants, shops

Even with break, still pay more taxes than abandoned buildings

◦ Federal Aid to cities has significantly decreased since 1980s Declined 2/3rds

Impact of Recession◦ Once of the principal causes of

severe recession in 2008 was collapse of housing market Primarily in the inner city Banks had increased loans to low-

income inner-city households buying their 1st home Many had poor credit, no background

checks Called subprime mortgages

◦ Investing in housing viewed as way to get higher rate of return than other investments House prices increased rapidly

◦ Concentric model shows inner- city residents more likely to be renters Banks saw this as an opportunity to

increase # of home owners◦ When people can’t repay loans=

bank foreclosure In 1st year of recession 10% of

Americans behind on their mortgages

◦ Compounding problem- the housing bubble burst Homes have decreased in value Home now worth less than mortgage

Ghettoization◦ Definition:

Refers to the growth of areas of concentrated poverty

◦ Originally comprised of mostly immigrants

Newly-arrived Irish, Italian, and German immigrants

But even larger African-American and Hispanic ghettos have grown since the 1950s

Real Estate developers and banks contributed to growth of urban ghettos in 3 ways:◦ Blockbusting

When real estate agents and developers used racism to “bust up” a block by bringing in a minority family into a predominately white neighborhood Then profited in all the turnover

◦ Racial Steering When real estate agents would

intentionally or unintentionally steer people to buy a home in a neighborhood based on their race, which contributed to racially segregated housing patterns

◦ Redlining Banks refusing loans in central

neighborhoods that were “red-lined”

Urban Renewal Cities identify blighted

inner-city neighborhoods They acquire property,

move residents, demolish, and rebuild National government

grants help finance Has been criticized for

destroyed older neighborhoods and reducing supply of low-cost housing Called “Negro Removal” in

1960s Many North American and

European Cities have turned away from

◦ Public housing Many sub-standard inner-

city houses have been demolished and replaced with public housing In U.S. public housing is

reserved for low-income households Must pay 30% of their

income for rent Maintained by housing

authority Only 1% of all dwellings U.S. has stopped funding

most public housing Instead looks to renovating

old buildings from 1950s and 1960s

◦ Renovated housing Some non-profit

organizations renovate low-income housing and sell or rent to low-income people Example: Habitat for

Humanity

Definition:◦ Process by which middle-class

people move into deteriorated inner-city neighborhoods and renovate housing

Why?◦ Houses may be larger◦ More substantially constructed◦ Cheaper than suburbs◦ Architectural details◦ Close to work◦ No children

Not concerned with inner city schools

In cities where there is strong gentrification, ethnic patterns are being altered◦ Chicago

Inner-city white population increasing African-Americans, Hispanics declining

Moving farther from center

Renovations are expensive!◦ Cities encourage with low-cost

loans and tax breaks◦ Encourages middle-class to move

in, low-class to move out U.S. and other countries have laws to

protect low-class families Reimbursed for moving and rent

increases over 4-year period

Some argue helps disperse lower-income families more evenly throughout city ◦ Instead of clumping in one area

Annexation◦ Definition:

Process of legally adding land area to a city

◦ Rules concerning annexation vary from state to state Usually only happens when majority of

residents in the area vote in favor of doing so Often desired in 19th century because

cities offered more services Today it is less likely, most don’t want

to pay city taxes

Defining Urban Settlements◦ City: a legal entity◦ Urbanized Area: a continuously

built up area◦ MSA: a functional area

The city◦ Definition:

Defines an urban settlement that has been legally incorporated into an independent, self-governing unit

◦ In the U.S. a city surrounded by suburbs is sometimes called a central city

◦ Boundaries of a city define the geographic area within which the local government has legal authority

Urbanized Area◦ Definition:

In the U.S. the central city AND surrounding suburbs

Approximately 70% of U.S. population lives in urbanized areas

MSAs◦ Functional area

Minimum of 50,000 people Surrounding counties with high

population density and large % of residents working in the central city

Also have micropolitan statistical areas

Definition:◦ The increase in rural

populations that result from the out-migration of city residents from their city and suburban homes in search of non-urban lifestyles

Exburbs◦ Noticed in the 1950s◦ Rings of wealthier

communities that grew just outside of the suburbs

Telecommuting◦ Modern form of

commuting that involves only commuting of information, not the worker

Developed by Chauncy Harris

According to model, an urban area consists of an inner city surrounded by large suburban and residential areas tied together by a beltway or ring road

Edge Cities◦ Definition:

Around the beltway are nodes of consumer and business services

◦ Originally built as suburban residences Services grew with population Many are specialized nodes

Collection of hotels around airports, etc.

Density Gradient◦ As you travel

outward from the center city, the population density declines According to the

density gradient, the # of houses per unit of land diminishes as distance from the center city increases

Urban Sprawl:◦ Diffusion of urban

land use and life-style into formerly non-urban, often agricultural lands

Uneven Development◦ Definition:

Refers to urban development that is not spread equally among a city’s areas Leaves some areas richly

developed and others continually poor and decrepit

◦ Often caused by cumulative causation When money flows to

areas of greatest profit

As suburban regions grew and became more desirable two consequences occurred◦ Segregated social

classes◦ Segregated land uses

Residential Segregation◦ Prior to suburbs, vertical

integration in cities◦ Once cities spread out

replaced by territorial segregation

◦ Suburban neighborhoods discouraged entry of low-income or minority residents Feared loss of property values

Segregated Land Uses◦ Zoning ordinances were

developed in European and North American Cities in the early decades of 20th century Prevented to mixing of land-

uses within the same district

Businesses have moved to the suburbs too◦ Manufacturers have

selected peripheral locations because land costs are lower

◦ Services have moved to be closer to customers

Suburbanization of Retailing◦ Most residents no longer want

to make journey to CBD◦ Retailing has increased in

planned suburban shopping malls Malls have become centers for

activities in suburban areas

Suburbanization of Factories and Offices◦ Factories and warehouses have

migrated to suburbia for more space, cheaper land, and better truck access

◦ Offices that do not require face-to-face contact are increasingly moving to the suburbs

Historically, growth of suburbs was constrained by poor transportation◦ People lived in crowded cities

because they had to be within walking distance of shops and employment Invention of railroad 1st allowed

people to live in suburbs but work in the central city

Later improved to streetcars/trolleys, then subways to accommodate commuters

Motor Vehicles◦ Suburban explosion of 20th century

relied on motor vehicles Rather than railroads of 19th century rail-lines restricted development to

narrow ribbons within walking distance of stations

◦ Cars/trucks permitted large-scale development from the center Provided more flexibility

◦ Ownership nearly universal in American households

Public Transit◦ Few people now live within walking

distance of employment Urban areas are characterized by extensive

commuting

European cities like London, England have worked to limit urban development to a particular area by installing a green belt◦ A boundary that forces all

urban development to occur within the city’s urban core

North American cities have a difficult time setting such boundaries◦ Can attract investors who

want to develop lands and grow the city at the expense of rural lands

Portland, Oregon◦ One U.S. city that has

effectively instituted a boundary to contain urban sprawl Boundary forced revitalization of

the inner-city, not outward growth

While it did work, it also increased cost of living and real estate prices substantially

Definition:◦ Movement to bring together

trends in healthy living, sustainable growth, and urban development

One neo-urban trend is planned communities◦ Neighborhoods with master-

planned housing designs, walkable pathways, recreational facilities, and security features

Many recent, neo-urban designs include festival settings◦ Large recreational areas for

communities, such as waterfront parks along rivers