What is urban geography? Study of how cities function, their internal systems and structure, and the external influences on them.. Variation among cities:

What is urban geography?

• Study of how cities function, their internal systems and structure, and the external influences on them..

• Variation among cities: internal and external relationships.

• Key concepts & trends:

– Agglomeration: clustering for mutual advantage

– Specialization: mfg. Product associated with cities (Sheffield, Milwaukee)

– W. Europe:1800, 20% 2000, 75%

– World: 1800, 3% 2000, 55%

Urban Geography: Urbanization and Location


Von Thunen’s Agricultural Land Use Model:

1. Isolated state

2. Single market at center

3. Market price, p, same for all producers of a given crop

4. Featureless plain

5. Yield per unit acre same everywhere

6. Transportation costs are proportional to distance and invariant to direction

7. Farmers maximize profits

Rural Geography (Ch.14 pp. 199-201)

Symbolic model: LR = Y (p-c) - Ytd

Wheat (p) Wheat (p') Wheat (p")Yield 100 100 100Price 10 12 20Cost 5 5 5Transport 0.20 0.20 0.20

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54 60 66 72

Distance to Market

Ren

t Wheat (p)

Wheat (p')

Wheat (p")



Wheat Barley OatsYield 100 100 100Price 10 8 6Cost 5 4 3Transport 0.20 0.08 0.02

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100105110115120125130135140145150

Distance to Market

Ren

t

Wheat

Barley

Oats

Urbanization in the 1990s

• Urban population as a percent of total population (Fig. 18.6)

– low-levels in Sub-Saharan Africa

– Variation in urbanization in Southwest Asia/North Africa

– Low urbanization in South Asia

– Singapore 100 percent urban

– Pacific Rim: only Japan, S. Korea, and Taiwan are highly urbanized.




• Distribution of Great World Cities (Fig. 18.7)

– Western Europe, N. America, E. Asia

– Regional megalopolis in S. Florida

– Urban complex in Germany’s Ruhr-Rhine zone

– Randstad in Netherlands

– megalopolitan development in Japan.




• Megacities

– Many of largest cities in poorer countries

– By 2025, 15 cities with more than 20 million.

– Stand alone cities in developing countries

– Conurbations in developed countries

– By 2025 New York will no longer be among the world’s 10 largest cities.

– Fast growing cities in Asia, Africa, and South America


Intraurban Spatial Organization

• Technology and urban form

• John Borchart’s Evolutionary Epochs

– Sail-Wagon (1790-1830)

– Iron Horse (1830-1870)

– Steel-Rail (1870-1920)

– Auto-Air-Amenity (1920-1970)

– High-tech (1970-?)

Urban Geography: Urban Pattern and Structure


Clarke Urban Growth Model

• output of model run on Santa Barbara

• Green = Current Urban

• Light Blue = Predicted Urban

• Royal Blue = Excluded

• Yellow = Roads

• Red = Other

Central Place Theory

– Centrality

– Threshold: min. population for normal profits

– Range: distance consumer is willing to travel to purchase product.

Del

i ve r

ed P

rice

Distance

Dem

and

Distance

Dem

and

Price


• Central Place Theory (cont.)

– Excess Profits Spatial Competition, Equilibrium

– Central place hierarchy, ordering, nesting

Threshold

Range



– Assumptions:

> Uniform spatial distribution of population/income

> Isotropic transport surface

> Consumers patronize nearest store

> No excess profits (range=threshold)

– Hexagonal trade areas of central place theory



Spatial Competition:




– Relax Assumptions:

> Population/income variation

> Transport surface

> Consumer behavior

> Profits



> Application to retail and settlement patterns.

> Do cities of similar size have approximately equal spacing?

> Encarta...


• Functional structure

• CBD, central city, suburb

• Urban Ecology: Classic Models

> Concentric Zone: Burgess (1920s)

> Sector Model: Hoyt (1930s)

> Multiple Nuclei: Harris and Ulman (1940s)



Economic Base and the Base Multiplier

• Basic and non-basic sector

• Defining the base multiplier

• Example: Raytheon


Documents

What is urban geography? Study of how cities function, their internal systems and structure, and the external influences on them.. Variation among cities: