URBAN AND URBANIZATION: THEORY AND CONCEPT

Prepared by: Dr. Zaharah Mohd Yusoff

Introduction

What is urban? How do we know it when we see it?

Urban is a place-based characteristic that incorporateselements of population density, social and economicorganization and the transformation of the naturalenvironment into a built environment (J.R Weeks,2008).

Urban is a fairly complex concept. It is function of (1) sheer population size, (2) space (land area), (3) ratio of population to space (density or concentration) and (4) economic and social organization.

According to Michael Paccione (2001) Urban Area can be explain as:

Quantitative: numeric definition

ex. The US Bureau of the Census defines urban areas as those in which the human population reaches or exceeds densities of 186 people/km2

Qualitative : based on flows and influences

Urban ecosystems comprise suburban and hinterland areas linked by corridors (transportation, utilities) or affected by the urban core

Urban Morphology

The Concentric Zone model is a model of theinternal structure of cities in which socialgroups are spatially arranged in a series ofrings. The Concentric Zone model was the firstto explain the distribution of different socialgroups within urban areas. It was originallybased off Chicago (although the model doesnot apply well to Chicago today). The modelwas created in 1923 by E.W. Burgess, RobertPark, and Roderick McKenzie. The idea behindthis model is that the city grows outward froma central area in a series of rings.

This model suggests that the social structure extends outwards from the centralbusiness district, meaning that the lower classes live closer to the city center, while theupper classes live farther from the city center because they can afford the commute. Therent tends to increase as you get further away from the CBD and residents are morelikely to rent near the center. However, this model has its weaknesses. It does not takeinto account any physical barriers and it does not take into account gentrification- whichmay occur in these cities.

The Hoyt model has land useconcentrated in wedges or sectorsradiating out from the city centre.For example, factories may beconcentrated along a river, canal orroad to form a zone of industry. Thiswould attract low-class housing, butrepel high-class residential land use.

The urban area expanded outwards from the original site which is where the citycentre is found today. Rents and rates in the CBD became too expensive forpeople. In the suburbs there was more land and it was cheaper. Only businessescould afford to stay in the CBD, but even they needed to make the most ofexpensive land by building upwards.

One part of the urban area may have all the advantages for industrial location sothat a lot of factories want to locate there; but few people want to live next doorto a factory, so the residential areas are located elsewhere. Planners also preferthis segregation of land uses into definite zones.

Multiple Nuclei Model 1945, by Harris and Ullmanthat many cities did not fit the traditionalconcentric zone or sector model. Cities of greatersize were developing substantial suburban areasand some suburbs, having reached significant size,were functioning like smaller business districts.These smaller business districts acted as satellitenodes, or nuclei, of activity around which land usepatterns formed. While Harris and Ullman still sawthe CBD as the major center of commerce, theysuggested that specialized cells of activity woulddevelop according to specific requirements ofcertain activities, different rent-paying abilities,

and the tendency for some kinds of economic activity to cluster together. Atthe center of their model is the CBD, with light manufacturing and wholesalinglocated along transport routes. Heavy industry was thought to locate near theouter edge of city, perhaps surrounded by lower-income households, andsuburbs of commuters and smaller service centers would occupy the urbanperiphery

In the broadest sense, urban ecosystems comprisesuburban areas, exurbs, sparsely settled villagesconnected by commuting corridors or by utilities, andhinterlands directly managed or affected by the energyand material from the urban core and suburban lands.

In approaching the concept of urban, it is useful to drawa distinction between the question of what is an urbanplace and what is urban. Michael Pacione (2001)described:

1. Urban as a physical entity2. Urban as a quality

Urban as a physical entity

Four principal methods are employed to identify urban places:

Population SizeSince urban places are generally larger than rural places, at some point along the population size scale it should be possible to decide when a village becomes a town. In practise, this urban population threshold varies over time and space.

In the USA the population minimum for urban status is 2,500; in Switzerland it is 10,000, Japan 30,000. While in Sweden, any settlement with more than 200 inhabitants is classed as urban in the national census.

Economic base

In some countries population size is combined with otherdiagnostic criteria to define an urban place. In India, for example,a settlement must have more than 75% of the adult malepopulation engaged in non-agricultural work to be classified asurban.

Administrative criteria

The majority of towns and cities in the world are definedaccording to legal or administrative criteria. The definition ofurban places by national governments leads to great diversitywhich creates difficulties for

comparative research that can be overcome only by urban

analysts constructing their own definitions and applying them

uniformly across the globe.

A second problem with the administrative definitions is that

these may have little correspondence with the actual physical

extent of the urban area. A frequent problem is under-bounding,

where the built-up area of the city extends beyond the urban

administrative boundary.

Functional definitions

To address problems such as under-bounding, urban

researchers devised functional urban regions which reflect the

real extent of urban influence. The concept of the extended

urban area was first introduced by the US Bureau of Census in

1910.

Urban as a quality

The concept of the urban as a quality is related more to the

meaning of urban places and the effect of the urban milieu

on peoples lifestyle (vice versa)

Understanding these subjective interpretations ofthe urban is important because meanings inform usnot only about the places to which they refer butalso about the people who articulate them and thesocial context in which they live.

Urban geographers and others have sought toidentify urban meaning through two mainapproaches:

Cognitive mapping

Urbanism is a way of life.

Cognitive mapping:Geographers, planners and environmentalpsychologists have employed mental maps orcognitive mapping techniques to explore thesubjective world of urban places, with a view toboth obtaining a better understanding of humanbehaviour in urban environment and improving thequality of life.

Urbanism is a way of lifeIdentification of urban places in terms of distinctivelifestyle were based on Wirths concept of urban-rural continuum. The process leading to the erosionof the moral order of society due to the con-comitant decline of community.

The increasing levels of urbanisation and urbangrowth identified are the result of a combination ofnatural increase of the urban population and net in-migration to urban areas.

The key role that cities play in dynamic andcompetitive economies and the relationship betweenthe scale of a national economy and the level ofurbanisation is illustrated by the fact that most of theworlds largest cities are in the worlds largesteconomies.

The Causes of Urban Growth

Gradients show a range of urban effect and existence of thresholdsSlightly less than half of the worlds population now resides in cities,but this is projected to rise to nearly 60% in the next 30 years(United Nations 1993)

The developed nations have more urbanized populations;for example, close to 80% of the US population is urban.

The resulting new forms of urban development, including housinginterspersed in forest, shrub land, and desert habits,bring people expressing urban habits, and drawing upon urbanexperiences, into daily contact with habitats formerly controlled byagriculturalists, foresters, and conservationist (Bradley,1995).

The push and pull factors of migration activities

The migration activities do give impact to theexpansion of urban boundary to become a largescale city:

Demographic changes are among the most directinfluences on urbanisation and urban change.

By 2007 or 2008, half of the worlds population will live in urban areas

Urbanization is increasing rapidly Especially in developing countries Worlds 10 largest cities are in developing countries

Urban Zoning

By drawing a transect of a city, you can quite easily identify the different zones, in muchthe same way as Burgess and the other theorists did. Transects help you to identify andclassify zones, enabling you to compare the characteristics of each area. You can identifythe CBD, the older terraced housing, and as you move further from the city centre thenewer housing of the suburbs. The main zones to concentrate on are:

The CBD: The focal point of the city, with the highest land prices. The CBD is whereshops will locate as they know it is the most accessible point for the people of the city.The high land prices mean that buildings tend to grow upwards, and this is why CBD'soften have tall skyscrapers, particularly in American cities. The main functions of theCBD will include retail, entertainment, financial services and other professional services.

The Inner City: This is Burgess's zone of transition.

The inner city in the 19th Century would have been the centre of industryfor most cities. Low paid workers would have lived in the many rows ofterraced houses that were built beside the factories. Nowadays, althoughthe factories have gone, many of the terraced houses remain. The Inner cityof many urban areas has undergone great changes.

However once the industry moved out, the inner cities became areas inneed of redevelopment. The first plan was to build tall blocks of flats toreplace the terraces. This occurred in the 1960's and 1970's. During the1990's Inner City redevelopment has taken the form of gentrificationschemes aimed at rejuvenating the area, producing more of a communityspirit, whilst trying to keep some of the old architecture.

The Suburbs: Many suburban houses were built in the period between thetwo World Wars, during the first half of the 20th century. Estates full ofdetached and semi-detached houses grew rapidly as public and privatetransport improvements allowed people to live further away from theirplace of work. During the 1960's and 1970's these areas also continued togrow.

The Rural-Urban Fringe: The rural-urban fringe is where most of the postwar housing has been built. Usually in estates of mainly detached and semi-detached houses, the emphasis has often been on making the houses asspacious as possible. Again these housing developments were only possiblethanks to the fact that most families now own at least one car.

In-class discussion

Cities would not have appeared if the collective effectof land use decisions were not beneficial. The effects ofland use decisions can either be positive or negative inthat they impose benefits or disbenefits on other landuses.

Prepare a list of positive and negative externalityeffects to urban development and relate these to eventin a city of your choice.