Introduction to Chapter 13 - Urban Patterns
Cities require certain conditions in order to grow and become prosperous. During ancient and medieval periods this required access to water and transportation. If you look across the landscape it is littered with old cities that are within short distance of the water. In fact, there was no major civilization that developed without this. Below are some examples of major cities that have developed along and around waterways.
Urban Areas:
In order to learn about cities and how they have developed one must first have an understanding of the terminology that geographers use.
A city is a urban area that is legally incorporated into a self-governing unit. The area that surrounds the city is called the suburbs. When added together they form the urban area of the city. Two types of urban areas:
- Urbanized area with a population of at least 50,000
- Urban Cluster with population of 2,500 to 50,000.
Altogether these are called a metropolitan area, such as those extending from San Diego north to Oceanside, CA.
When large cities are connected through continuous urban complex it is called a megalopolis. Below is a map of examples found in the United States.
Cities in North America originally were found to have a density gradient. That is the level of population would be high in the city center and would decrease consistently as distance increased from the center.
This graph illustrates this concept as it was in 1990:
Lastly, cities continue to grow in size from settlement until they have reached their limits through the process of annexation. Annexation is the legal process of adding landmass to the city. Traditionally, residents of each area would vote on whether or not to allow/or be allowed to add land into a established city. Additionally, public services such as trash pickup, sewage services, watter supply, and police and fire protection comes with annexation to the added land.
The peripheral model suggest that a city consists of the central city surrounded by a large suburban. Around the city a beltway connects all portions of the city with nodes of consumer and business services that are called edge cities.
Urban Models
Concentric Zone Model-Burgess Model
The Burgess model is one where the center of the city is primarily a business zone or central business district (CBD). Outside the CBD lays the factories and industry sector where the primary work takes place and is connected to the next zone that house the workers directly connected to factories. The next two zones make up the middle class and commuter zone housing. The following is one illustration of the model:
Although the model had promise when it was conceived, many things have changed that make it obsolete. First, the model was formed prior to the days of mass car ownership and vast networks of roadways. Furthermore, types of homes, ownership, and type of factories has changed dramatically causing many of the old inner city operations to push outside cities. Lastly, people now choose to live in the suburbs and travel further to work with the hope of a better life for the family. These together have changed how cities have grown since the beginning of the Twentieth Century, which is the time when many major cities went through dramatic growth.
Sector - Hoyt Model
On the Hoyt model sectors radiate from the center, and if you notice the industry and factory sectors are largely connected to the CBD; likely the result of following a major road or other transportation means.
Multi-nuclei model
This model is much like the same model in rural settlements. There are many central nodes in the city in which the government and business services are located.
Features of the Central Business District
In many CBDs you find many of the following features:
- Multi-story tall buildings
- Shopping Centers, malls, and pedestrian areas
- Cultural centers, historical buildings, and museums (in some lands mountains)
- Business services
- Government services and offices
It is located here to be the center of transportation hubs and to make it most accessible for workers, businesses, and consumers.
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