Urban Urban GeographyGeography

Chapter 9Chapter 9

City – a conglomeration of people and buildings clustered together to serve as a center of politics, culture, and economics.

Urban-The buildup of the central city and the suburban realm – the city and the surrounding environs connected to the city.

20th Century-the Urban Century20th Century-the Urban Century

• 1900 only 13 cities had 1 million people

• 1999 about 362 cities had 1 million

• By 2025 there will be 650 cities of 1 million or more

• Sometime in 21st cent. The world will become mostly urban

• Western Europe, US & Canada are 4/5 urban

• China and India are only 3/10 urban

Urban DefinitionsUrban Definitions• Urban-a general term for

towns, cities and suburban areas

• City-nucleated settlement with many functions and a central business district

• Town-small than a city-less complex

• Suburb-subsidiary area that is exclusively residential, commercial or industrial-not self sufficient.

Urban MorphologyUrban MorphologyThe layout of a city, its

physical form and structure.

Berlin, Germany

With wall (above)

And without wall (right)

Ancient CitiesAncient Cities• Between 7,000 & 5,000

b.p. agricultural societies became more complex with irrigation & larger scale farming

• Stratified societies developed with priests, merchants, administrators, soldiers and farmers

• Central authority or the state developed which led to the rise of ancient civilizations such as Egypt, Greece & the Roman Empire.

Urban DefinitionsUrban Definitions• Central City-main city around

which suburbs have grown• Urbanized area-continuously

built up area with buildings & population density with no reference to political boundaries

• Metropolitan area-a large scale functional entity containing several urbanized areas that are integrated as an economic whole

Attributes of CitiesAttributes of Cities

• Centers of political power

• Centers of industrial power

• Centers of technology• A market place for

goods• Specialization in

products and services• Services of all types• Medical advances

• Cultural and Artistic pursuits

• Centers of education and research

• Entertainment of all types

• Sports teams, arenas and parks

• An anchor of society

Five Hearths of UrbanizationFive Hearths of Urbanization

• Mesopotamia, 3500 BCE• Nile River Valley, 3200 BCE• Indus River Valley, 2200 BCE• Huang He and Wei River Valleys, 1500 BCE• Mesoamerica, 200 BCE

Five Hearths of UrbanizationFive Hearths of Urbanization

In each of these hearths, an agricultural surplus and social stratification created the conditions necessary for cities to

form and be maintained.

Function & LocationFunction & Location• Earliest civilizations probably

developed with the need for organization to create irrigation and provide enough food

• Availability of water, good farmland and defensible sites helped certain towns thrive

• Positions on travel & trade routes created urban growth.

• Urban elites or decision makers evolved.

• Writing made the codification of laws and record keeping possible.

Maya and Aztec AmericaMaya and Aztec America

Theocratic CentersTheocratic Centers• God-kings or theocratic

rulers developed in some ancient cities.

• Priests, temples and shrines took center stage in the Yucatan, Guatemala and Honduras when the Maya Indians developed the great cities of Tikal, Chichen-Itza, Uxmal and Copan.

• They also served as educational centers with teachers and philosophers