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The Urban Mosaic
The Human Mosaic
Chapter 11
Culture Regions
Urban culture regions Cultural diffusion in the city The cultural ecology of the city Cultural integration and models of the city Urban landscapes
Introduction
Like society, the city is composed of many different groups
Theme of culture regions can be applied to those parts of the city where people live who share similar traits
Most city dwellers are intuitively aware of urban culture regions
Visual clues are important to distinguishing different urban culture regions
Social regions
Distinguishing between social culture regions and ethnic culture regions depends more on the researcher’s emphases and interests than on communities themselves
– Social region studies usually focus on socioeconomic traits, such as income, education, age, and family structure
– Ethnic region studies highlight traits such as language and migration history
– The two concepts overlap because there can be social regions within ethnic regions and vice versa
Social regions
One way to define social regions is to isolate one social trait and plot its distribution within the city
United States census is a common source for trait information– Census tracts are small enough to allow subtle
texture of social regions to show
Social regions
United States census is a common source for trait information– For example, the next slide shows rough distribution of income in
Berkeley, California Tracts with similar average incomes have been lumped together Show areas of high, middle and low income In a rough way correspond to social stratification in city High income areas in hilly east area, where white people dominate Lower-income areas are on flatlands, closer to bay-front industrial
areas, and made up of students and minorities– Similar mapping could be done using age, education, or
percentage of families below poverty level
Social regions
A visual check is often a simple first step in mapping social regions
Another approach is to correlate various social indicators
– Politicians have long known districts with certain demographic characteristics tend to vote certain ways
– Urban analysts look at the degree of correlation among factors such as income, occupation, age, and ethnicity
– Results can be translated into a pattern of multiple-factor urban social regions
Neighborhoods
Often used to describe small social regions where people with shared values and concerns interact daily
A conventional sociological explanation for neighborhoods is that people of similar values cluster together to reduce social conflict
– Where social consensus exists regarding such matters as home maintenance, child rearing, everyday behavior, and public order, there is little need to worry
– People who deviate from the consensus face social coercion
– Celebrates social homogeneity of small spatial communities
Neighborhoods
Increasingly, neighborhoods are found with more heterogeneity
The current concept of neighborhoods is more flexible
– Embraces traditional components of locality, such as geographic territoriality, political outlook, and shared economic characteristics
– Also embraces the consensus from both insiders and outsiders perception of a certain area as a “neighborhood”
Neighborhood: Montreal, Canada
Neighborhood: Montreal, Canada
This working class neighborhood is inhabited by descendents of nineteenth and early twentieth century Irish immigrants.
Here, much social activity takes place on the street.
The corner store, tavern, park, and Roman Catholic church are also nodes of activity.
Neighborhood: Montreal, Canada
Although the larger area is French, the Irish are bilingual.
On public holidays, the Irish fly the red and white, Canadian maple leaf flag, while the French post the blue and white, Quebec fleur-du-leis.
Neighborhood: Montreal, Canada
White, plastic chairs are found on the balconies of both groups because sitting outside and people-watching is a traditional Quebec pastime.
With shared values and concerns, these people interact daily in their neighborhood.
Neighborhoods
May be ethnically and socially diverse, yet think of itself as a social community sharing similar political concerns
– Hold neighborhood meetings to address these problems– Recognized by city hall as a legitimate group with political
standing– Neighborhood may only develop when a community
coalesces around a specific political issue– Cohesion may actually erode and wane as issue passes
Neighborhoods
Concept usually implies people have access to a permanent or semi-permanent place of residence– Increasingly in United States’ cities more people
are homeless– Divorced from ties of neighborhood– Nearly impossible to determine number of
homeless in United States
Neighborhoods
Concept usually implies people have access to a permanent or semi-permanent place of residence
– Definitions of homelessness vary Depends on criteria used and cultural context of particular
situation Does living in a friend’s house for more than a month
constitute a homeless condition? How permanent does a shelter have to be before it is a home?
– To some, home connotes a suburban middle-class house– To others, it refers to a room in a city-owned shelter
Neighborhoods
Homeless people are often not counted in census or other population counts– May be up to 3 million homeless persons in the
United States– Concentrated in downtown areas of large cities
Neighborhoods
Causes of homelessness are varied and complex– Many suffer from some type of disorder or handicap– Deprived of social networks provided by a permanent
neighborhood– Most cities have tried providing temporary shelters– Many homeless prefer to rely on their own social ties for
support in order to maintain some sense of personal pride and privacy
Neighborhoods
Neighborhood concept is central to cultural geography of cities
– Recognizes sentiment people have for a “place” and their attachment to it
– Recognizes how attachment becomes basis for ongoing social and political action
– Many — if not most — urbanites do not share this sense of neighborhood
– Urbanites live in perceptually undifferentiated residential areas
Culture Regions
Urban culture regions Cultural diffusion in the city The cultural ecology of the city Cultural integration and models of the city Urban landscapes
Inner and outer city
Centralizing forces—those diffusion forces that result in residences, stores, and factories locating in the inner or central city
Decentralizing forces—those that result in activities locating outside the central city
Pattern of homes, neighborhoods, offices, shops, and factories in the city results from constant interplay of these two forces
Centralization
Economic advantages– Accessibility
Department stores located in the city center for greater accessibility to customers
Especially important before the automobile Streetcars were centered in the city Bakeries and dairies located there so daily deliveries
would be efficient
Centralization: Chicago, Illinois
Centralization: Chicago, Illinois
Chicago’s origins derive from accessibility. Situated on Lake Michigan, it began as a prairie seaport for the agricultural Midwest and by 1856, was the focus of ten trunk lines. Industries and immigrant workers agglomerated in the central city. After the Great Fire of 1871, many industries relocated on the more spacious periphery and the downtown developed as a retail and financial center.
Centralization: Chicago, Illinois
The 1885 invention of the skyscraper and the construction of elevated trains intensified downtown growth and by 1920, the pattern was set: Chicago was the nation’s retail and mail-order capital. This view is from the 1454’ Sears Tower to the 1127’John Hancock Tower.
Centralization: Chicago, Illinois
The copper-roofed building on the Chicago River in the lower left is the Apparel and Merchandising Mart; the IBM building stands next to the round Marina towers; and the Chicago Temple, Daley Center and First National bank are at the lower right. Note the location of the tallest structures (and most costly land) close to the lake front, known as the Gold Coast. A transitional zone lies behind.
Centralization
Economic advantages– Agglomeration or clustering results in mutual benefits for
businesses Retail stores locate near one another to take advantage of pedestrian
traffic A large department store generates foot traffic, so nearby stores will
also benefit Historically, offices clustered together in the city center
– Need for communication before the telephone– Messengers hand-carried work of banks, insurance firms, lawyers, etc.– Still cluster together because of need for face-to-face communication– Take advantage of complicated support system that grows up in the
central city
Centralization
Social advantages– Strength of historical momentum should not be
underestimated Many activities remain in the central city because they began
there long ago Example of the financial district in San Francisco located on
Montgomery Street– Established in the gold rush of 1849– Area was the center of commercial action– Originally along the waterfront, later land-filling extended the
shoreline – Never moved it absolute location
Centralization
Social advantages– Prestige is a strong centralizing force
Important for advertising firms to have a New York Madison Avenue address
Important for a stockbroker to be on Wall Street Extends to many activities in cities of all sizes “Downtown lawyer” and “uptown banker” are examples
Centralization
Social advantages– Prestige is a strong centralizing force
High-income neighborhoods were located close to the downtown area
– This trend has weakened in North America– Downtown areas have become congested and noisy– Transportation has encouraged suburban residences– London and Paris still have very prestigious
neighborhoods directly in the downtown area
Centralization
Social advantages– Strongest social force for centralization has been
the desire to live near one’s employment Before development of the electric trolley in the 1880s,
most urban dwellers had little choice other than walking to work
Most people lived near the central city because that was where the jobs were
Even after electric streetcar lines many people continued to walk to work
Many could not afford housing in the new suburbs
Decentralization
The past 40 years witnessed massive changes in form and function of most Western cities
In the United States, suburbanization of residences and workplaces have created downtowns empty of economic vitality
Decentralization: Irvine, California
Decentralization: Irvine, California
This corporate tower is part of Irvine Spectrum, a high-tech corridor about 35 miles southwest of Los Angeles. Focusing on the edge-cities of Irvine, Newport, and Costa Mesa, this is a region of master-planned communities, office
Decentralization: Irvine, California
parks, giant malls, and lateral commuting that experienced phenomenal growth in the 1980s when decentralization became a major trend in North American urban development.
Decentralization
Geographer Neil Smith’s views– Processes of suburbanization and decline of inner
city are fundamentally linked Capital investment in suburbs often made possible by
disinvestment from central city Post-World War fl American investor found greater
returns on their money in new suburbs
– Refers to these processes as uneven development
Decentralization
Socioeconomic factors– Changes in accessibility have been a major reason for
decentralization Department stores now find customers have moved to the
suburbs People no longer shop downtown
– Other business have moved to the suburbs Food-processing plants move to minimize transportation costs Many find trucking more effective than railways because of
freeways Offices locate near airports so executive and salespeople can
fly in and out more easily
Decentralization
Socioeconomic factors– Agglomeration’s benefits have now become
liabilities in many downtown areas Rents increased as a result of high demand for space Congestion in the support system Traffic congestion — delivery to market time-consuming In some areas traffic moves slower than it did at the turn
of the century Employees may demand higher wages as
compensation for the inconveniences of central-city living
Decentralization
Socioeconomic factors– Many firms have left New York City for the suburbs
Claim it cost less to locate there Employees are happier and more productive
– Benefits of clustering in new suburban locations Industrial parks, where costs of utilities and transportation links
are shared by all occupants Real estate developments take advantage of clustering by
sharing costs of schools, parks, road improvement, and utilities New residents prefer a new development when they know a
full range of services is available nearby
Decentralization
Socioeconomic factors– First suburbs were “bedroom communities”
People commuted to jobs in downtown area Now people work in suburban industrial parks, etc.
– Lateral commuting — travel from one suburb to another
– Freeway congestion now goes both directions– Downtown areas today are faced with decay and
lack of investors
Public policy
At the national level, has contributed greatly to decentralization and abandonment of our cities
– Federal Highway Act of 1916 and Interstate Highway Act of 1956
Directed government spending on transportation to cars and trucks
Urban expressways, in combination with emerging trucking industry, led to massive decentralization of industry and housing
Ability to deduct mortgage interest from income for tax purposes favors individual home ownership
Public policy
At the national level, has contributed greatly to decentralization and abandonment of our cities– New Deal enactment of the Federal Housing
Administration in 1934, and the GI Bill of 1944 Meant to put people back to work in the building trades Also to help house returning soldiers after World War II What they did was insure long-term mortgages for home
construction and sale
Public policy
At the national level, has contributed greatly to decentralization and abandonment of our cities
– Although FHA legislation contained no explicit antiurban bias, most houses it insured were located in new residential suburban developments
By setting particular terms for its insurance, the FHA favored development of single-family over multifamily projects
FHA-insured loans for repairs were short term and generally small
Public policy
At the national level, has contributed greatly to decentralization and abandonment of our cities
– To receive a loan, applicant and neighborhood of the property were to be rated by an “unbiased professional”
Was intended to guarantee property value of house would be greater than the debt
Encouraged bias against any neighborhood considered a potential risk in terms of property values
FHA warned against neighborhoods with a racial mix, assuming such a social climate would bring property values down
Public policy
At the national level, has contributed greatly to decentralization and abandonment of our cities
– Encouraged enactment of restrictive covenants written in property deeds prohibiting certain “undesirable” groups from buying property
– Prepared maps of metropolitan areas, depicting locations of African- American families and predicting their spread
Often served as the basis for red-lining, a practice in which banks and mortgage companies commonly demarcated areas considered to be high risk for loans
Red lines were often drawn around these areas
Public policy
United States Housing Act of 1937 was intended to provide public housing for those who could not afford private housing
– Did encourage construction of many low-income housing units– Most were built in the inner city– Contributed to view of suburbs as refuge of white middle class– Growing pattern of racial and economic segregation arose in part
because public housing decisions were left up to local municipalities
– Legislation required that for every unit of public housing built, one inferior housing unit had to be eliminated
This insured housing would be constructed in older, downtown areas
The costs of decentralization
Many urban problems in North American cities are direct products of the rapid decentralization in the last 30 years
– Vacant storefronts, empty offices, and deserted factories– Retail sales have steadily declined in central cities– Offices are finding advantages in suburban locations
Where rapid suburbanization has been the case, sprawl has usually resulted
The costs of decentralization
A common pattern is leapfrog or checkerboard development– Housing tracts jump over parcels of farmland– Results in a mixture of open lands with built-up
areas– Results when developers buy cheaper land away
from built-up areas– Home buyers often pay premium prices for homes
in subdivisions surrounded by farmlands
The costs of decentralization
A common pattern is leapfrog or checkerboard development
– Housing tracts jump over parcels of farmland– Results in a mixture of open lands with built-up areas– Results when developers buy cheaper land away from built-
up areas– Home buyers often pay premium prices for homes in
subdivisions surrounded by farmlands– More expensive to provide city services — police, fire
protection, sewers, and electrical lines
The costs of decentralization
The most efficient development is adding new housing directly adjacent to built-up areas
Sprawl extracts high costs because of increased use of cars– Public transportation is very costly and inefficient when it must
serve a low- density checkerboard development pattern– Many cities and transit firms cannot extend line into these areas– This leave the car as the only form of transportation
More energy is consumed for fuel More air pollution is created by exhaust More time is spent in commuting and everyday activities than in a
centralized city
The costs of decentralization
Loss of valuable land to urban development– Checkerboard farm parcels have a hard time
making ends meet– Usually taxed at extremely high rates because
land has high potential for development– Taxes eat up their resources– Usually end up selling out to subdividers– Leapfrog development goes on
The costs of decentralization
Measures being taken by cities to curb sprawling growth– San Jose, California, is focusing new
development on empty parcels of the checkerboard pattern — called in filling
– Other cities are tying the number of building permits granted each year to availability of urban services
Gentrification
The movement of middle class people into deteriorated areas of city centers
– Often begins in an inner-city, rundown residential district– Lower property values make these areas more affordable
than suburban housing– Infusion of new capital in housing market results in higher
property values, resulting in displacement of residents who cannot afford to stay
– Displacement of some opens more housing for gentrification
Gentrification
Commercial gentrification usually follows residential– New patterns of consumption are introduced by
middle class people– Urban shopping malls and pedestrian shopping
corridors bring the conveniences of the suburbs into the city
– Bars and restaurants provide entertainment and nightlife
Waterfront Gentrification:San Diego, California
Waterfront Gentrification:San Diego, California
This “zone of discard” was San Diego’s infamous skid row and industrial waterfront. To encourage movement in and through this zone, a quaint shopping complex called Seaport Village, and a park and
Waterfront Gentrification:San Diego, California
marina were installed as part of the city’s larger revitalization plan. The project will incorporate residential units for all income levels, offices, hotels, retail shops, and recreational facilities. These landscape changes signify both deindustrialization and rise of the service sector.
Gentrification
Economic factors– As investments were made in the suburbs after
World War II, inner city land was devaluated– Inner city land became a better investment
spurring on gentrification process
Gentrification
Economic factors– Most Western countries have been experiencing a process
known as deindustriallzation A shift to the service sector leading to abandonment of older
industrial districts in the inner city Including the waterfront, many of these areas are prime targets
for gentrification Waterfront areas have been changed from noisy commercial
port areas into aesthetic assets The economic shift to the service sector also means new
productive areas will be dedicated to white-collar activities The city will be viewed as a more “liveable” environment
Gentrification
Social factors– Maturing of the baby-boom generation has led to
modifications of our “traditional” family structure and lifestyle Majority of women in the paid labor force Many couples choose not to have children or delay the
decision Gentrified location in the inner city is close to their managerial
or professional jobs downtown Easier to maintain and more interesting that bland suburbs
– Also a way of displaying social status– Inner cities frequently exploit their historical association as a
status symbol
Gentrification
Sexuality and gentrification– Gentrification of post-war period has provided gays and
lesbians with opportunity to actively and openly reshape entire neighborhoods
– Gays have seized an opportunity to combat oppression by creating neighborhoods over which they have maximum control and which meet long-neglected needs
– Limited numbers and types of lesbian spaces in cities also serve as community-building centers for lesbian social networks
– Gentrified neighborhood of Park Slope in Brooklyn is home to the “heaviest concentration of lesbians in the U.S.
Gentrification
The costs of gentrification– Success of a gentrification project usually
measured by its appeal to upper-class clientele Suggests they are completely homogeneous in their use
of land Residential areas are consciously planned to be
separate from commercial districts Sorted by cost and tenure type Often draws on suburban notion of residential
homogeneity and eliminates the diversity and heterogeneity of urban life
Gentrification and Adaptive Re-Use:Montreal, Quebec
Gentrification and Adaptive Re-Use:Montreal, Quebec
Gentrification often requires condemnation and destruction of old structures. An alternative to this is “adaptive re-use” whereby a building is redesigned for alternate reuse.
Gentrification and Adaptive Re-Use:Montreal, Quebec
This Monkland (a monastery is nearby) was an upscale theater in a pre-World War II suburb. A neighborhood in transition, decline is being arrested with revitalization. The theater has been transformed into a health club, with retail shops replacing the theater lobby.
Culture Regions
Urban culture regions Cultural diffusion in the city The cultural ecology of the city Cultural integration and models of the city Urban landscapes
The urban ecosystem
There are four important concepts related to the ecosystem approach– Input
A city needs water to survive, so it imports a given amount each day
Water may come either from local sources, or from long distances via canals and aqueducts
The urban ecosystem
There are four important concepts related to the ecosystem approach
– Outputs Some water is consumed by people Other water becomes part of different manufactured products,
and may leave the city as exported goods Other water is used for industrial cooling and evaporates Most water — about 95 percent — is used to convey wastes
from one point to another From home to sewer plant, from factory to river, from sidewalk
to gutter — most troublesome aspect of urban system
The urban ecosystem
There are four important concepts related to the ecosystem approach
– A small amount of city water is not used, but stored for future use– Feedback
Crucial part of any system Repercussions on a system when an element is returned in modified
form by other components Example—city’s use of water from a lake both for its water supply and
as a dumping area for sewage Complicated though not conclusively proven example
– City-produced air pollution may alter weather patterns, straining water supply system
– May cause drought or flooding
The urban geologic environment
Topography can influence urban development in three ways– Direction of city growth– Patterning of social regions– Routing of transportation
The urban geologic environment
Potential effect depends on a number of cultural variables– Society’s technological level– Capital available for modification of geologic environment– Stage in city’s development
Geologic environment may have a great effect on those cities in early stages of growth
– Spatial alternatives to expending energy and money on modifying terrain
– Where technology is lacking for bulldozing, landfill, or high-stress building construction
– In a rich, highly industrialized culture, far more examples of humans modifying the geologic environment are available
The urban geologic environment
Ways topography might influence early stages of city growth– Cities usually expand first on areas where
building costs are lowest– Flat, well-drained land close to transportation and
adjacent to existing urban activities will be built on first
– Hills, marshes, and floodplains may be built on only in later stages of city growth
The urban geologic environment
Results of increased site preparation —grading hills or draining swamps, etc.– May be passed on to consumer– Area will be occupied by higher-income groups– Lower-income groups may occupy the area
Lots may be smaller Houses may be undersized Shortcuts taken in construction methods producing a
finished product of lower quality
The urban geologic environment
Topography can affect urban transportation systems– Close link between development and transportation– Horse-drawn streetcars can only be used on flat terrain– Starting in the 1890s, electric trolley systems profoundly
altered the pattern of urban development– The automobile led to widespread building on steep urban
slopes
Urban weather and climate
Cities alter just about all aspects of local weather and climate– Temperatures are higher– Rainfall increases– Incidence of fog and cloudiness is greater– Atmosphere pollution is much higher
Urban weather and climate
How cities alter the climate– Large areas of pavement and buildings —about
50 percent is hard surface– Rainfall quickly carried into gutters and sewers– Little moisture left for the process of evaporative
cooling
Urban weather and climate
Cities generate enormous amounts of heat– Comes from heating systems in buildings, autos,
industry, and human bodies– On a winter day in Manhattan, amount of heat
produced is two-and-one-half times that reaching the ground from the sun
– This generation of heat sitting over the city is called an urban heat island
Urban weather and climate
Rain and snowfall are also affected by urbanization– Because of higher temperatures, snowfall will be about 5 percent
less– Rainfall can be 5 to 10 percent higher– Function of two factors– Large number of dust particles in urban air are necessary
precondition for condensation Rainfall increases near 10 percent have been documented
immediately downwind from cities Some have observed a pattern of reduced rainfall on weekends
because dust particle generation from autos and industry is reduced– Fog and clouds (dust domes) are usually more frequent around
cities
Urban weather and climate
City-generated air pollution is one of the most serious problems of our times– Can cause serious illness, even death– Damages agriculture near cities– Unless halted, it may actually be the main limiting
factor on urban growth
Acid Damage: Vienna, Austria
Acid Damage: Vienna, Austria
Corrosive acid deposition occurs when sulfur and nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere from such sources as motor vehicles and smokestack industries.
Acid Damage: Vienna, Austria
This originally white, French Gothic Votivkirche (church) was built from 1856-1879.
The costly cleaning process has started with the 325’ steeples.
Urban hydrology
The city is a great consumer of water– Residential areas usually consume the most– Each residential person uses about 60 gallons per
day– Consumption is greater in drier climates, where
lots are larger, and in middle and higher-income neighborhoods
– Higher-income groups usually have a larger number of water-using appliances
Urban hydrology
When water price increases people use less, as was illustrated by periods of drought in the West
Urbanization seems to increase both the frequency and magnitude of flooding
– Creates large impervious areas where water cannot soak into the earth
– Precipitation is converted into immediate runoff —forced into gutters, sewers, and straightened stream channels bared of vegetation
– Time between rainfall and peak runoff is reduced in cities– In the countryside water runs across soil and vegetation into
stream channels and on into rivers
Urban vegetation
Studies show two-thirds of a typical North American city is comprised of trees and herbaceous plants
It affects city’s geology, hydrology, and meteorology – Affects quantity and quality of surface water and
groundwater– Reduces wind velocity, turbulence, and temperature
extremes– Affects pattern of snow accumulation and melting
Urban vegetation
It affects city’s geology, hydrology, and meteorology – Absorbs thousand of tons of airborne particulates and
atmospheric gases– Gives habitat for mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects– Masks out much of the city’s noise– Affects distribution of natural and artificial light– Extremely important in development of soil profiles, which
control hillside stability
Urban Vegetation: Oklahoma City
Urban Vegetation: Oklahoma City
Inspired by Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens, Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei created a master redevelopment plan for OKC’s downtown in 1964. It includes landscaped hills, lakes, fountains, and a tropical, botanical garden within a glass-tubed bridge.
Urban Vegetation: Oklahoma City
Urban vegetation affects the quantity and quality of ground water, reduces temperature extremes, dampens noise, and provides recreational space for people and habitat for wildlife. What ongoing costs are incurred by this project?