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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIaxmlVrFhE
What is a metropolis?
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It is a very large city (urban area).
It provides lots of activities and services.
Home to many head offices (The main office of a company).
It has greater economic and decision-making power than
other cities.
Densely populated (lots of people living in one area).
1. Downtown core
2. Residential neighbourhoods
3. Public parks
4. Public squares
5. Industrial parks
6. Interchanges
7. Suburbs (Residential areas around a major city)
http://www.urbanphoto.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/plex07.jpg
8. Lots of tall office buildings and high-rise
apartments/condos.
Metropolises have recognizable features:
Metropolises have:
 Historical and modern landmarks
 Landmarks can be natural or man-made.
Ex. of man-made: Schwartz’s Deli).

Mount-Royal and the St. Lawrence River are
physical features.
Metropolises all around the world:

8 out of 10 metropolises with the highest
population are in developing nations (poor).
Developing Nation:
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A country with:
 a low standard of living
 severe poverty
 low income and education levels
 high birth rate
 bad economy, little to no
technology.
 poorly built Infrastructure (ex:
roads, bridges)
Developing nations: most countries in
Africa, Asia (except Japan), Latin America,
and Oceania (except Australia and New
Zealand)
Developed or Industrialized Nation:

A country with
 a high standard of living
 high income and education levels
 lower birth rate (birth control etc.)
 well-developed roads, bridges, houses
etc.
 Good economy
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Developed nations: Canada, U.S.A, France, England,
Japan, Australia, and New Zealand etc.
Northern vs. Southern Hemispheres:

Most countries in the Northern Hemisphere are
developed - wealthy!
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Most countries in the Southern Hemisphere are
developing countries – really poor!
Powerful metropolises:

Economically powerful metropolises are found in
the United States, Western Europe and Asia.
Megalopolis:
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It is a region made up of several large cities and
their surrounding areas.
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These cities form the heart of economic and
global power – they run the world!
Ex. of megalopolises in USA :
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Boston-New York- Washington D.C.
Chicago-Detroit-Pittsburgh
San Francisco-Los Angeles-San Diego
The Northeast megalopolis (also Boston-Washington Corridor or Bos-Wash Corridor)
BosWash contains a
reported population of 44
million, or 16% of the
population of the United
States, probably two or more
world cities, and four of the
world's fifty largest
metropolitan areas —
Boston, New York,
Philadelphia, and
Washington — as well as the
New York Stock Exchange,
the White House and US
Capitol, the UN
Headquarters, the
headquarters of ABC, NBC,
CBS, the New York Times
and the Washington Post, as
well as six of top ten US
universities
Comparing and Contrasting
2 Metropolises
What is it?

The previous image is the City of the Dead, located in
Cairo, Egypt.
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The City of the Dead is a massive cemetery, which
extends about 6km.
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Due to overcrowding in Cairo people have had to
move into the cemetery.
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In Cairo, it is considered an honour to live among
one’s deceased relatives.
Montreal at a Glance
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Official language is French
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Population is approximately 3.8 million in the
Montreal Metropolitan Area (2011)
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Located along the St.
Lawrence River.
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Lies in the center of a
large, fertile plain left by
the Champlain sea
(13,000-10,000 yrs ago).
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Surrounded by a river
system (St. Lawrence Seaway).
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Cultural features: Mount
Royal, Olympic Stadium,
etc.
Montreal: Growth
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Population of Mtl continues to increase mostly
due to immigration.
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Today, immigrants make up more than 30% of the
population, making Mtl a multiethnic city.
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MMA (Mtl Metropolitan Area) continues to
expand as more and more people move off-island.
Why? Running out of space.
Montreal Metropolitan Area
URBAN SPRAWL in the Montreal
Metropolitan Area
http://spacingmontreal.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/AMT-od-study-territory-2010.jpg
Cairo at a Glance
 Official
language is Arabic
 Population is +/- 15 million
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The city of Cairo is located on
both sides of the Nile River.
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Land on both sides of Nile R. is
fertile.
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Little precipitation (Desert
climate).
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Cultural features: Pyramids of
Giza & the great Sphinx.
Cairo: Growth
Its population is
increasing due to
migration from
farming areas to the
city.
 It has very little
immigration (not
multi-ethnic).
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Cairo’s city limits
continue to grow due to
rapid growth.
Getting Around in Mtl
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It has always been a
center for water
transportation and
travel, due to it’s
unique location.
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Government has also
built many canals and
locks to ease the
passage of larger ships
into the St. Lawrence
seaway.
 Montreal has an international called airport
(Pierre Elliott Trudeau).
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Trudeau_Airport_1.jpg
Due to the size of our Metropolitan Area, people use
public transportation and cars to get around.
 Mtl has an well-developed metro, bus and commuter
train system.
 However, most of us still use cars to get around.
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http://www.fixcas.com/news/2005/McInnis.jpg
What do Montreal and Cairo have in
common?
Both cities have:
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busy shipping port
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Airports (travellers and cargo)
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Subway and bus system. Cairo̕s is NOT as welldeveloped.
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The majority of people in both cities use their
cars to get around.
Major challenges for metropolises:
1. Housing (affordability)
2. Waste Management (trash)
3. Transportation (traffic)
1. Housing:
 Finding a decent apartment is difficult for people with
little money.
 Why? Too expensive, in disrepair or poorly situated.
 Government-subsidized housing* is available to lowincome families.
*Apartments paid for in part by the government
1. Finding housing in Metropolises:
What are the factors that determine the cost of rent:
a. Income
b. Number of children
c. How close it is to a bus stop or metro station
d. Neighborhood
e.
Environment (Living near a park is more expensive;
living next to a highway/overpass would bring the
value down)
2. Waste Management:
Ever wonder what happens to all the waste from
businesses and residents?
 Garbage trucks collect the trash. It is either
deposited in landfills, incinerated, recycled or
converted into compost.
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Where does garbage go?
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HOUSEHOLD
GARBAGE is brought by
truck to 1 of 5 landfills.
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Mtl Metropolitan area
uses the Lachenaie
landfill.
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RECYCLABLE
MATERIALS is brought
to a recycling plant.
3. Transportation
The vast majority of commuters living in Montreal and
Cairo use their own cars.
What issues does this cause?
Pollution
b) Loss of green space
c) Deterioration of infrastructure
d) Traffic
a)
a. Pollution
 Acid Rain (contaminates water & harms fish).
 Leads to health problems (breathing).
 Air pollution (a.k.a. smog).
b. Loss of Green Space
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Cities are growing in size and they are encroaching
(intruding) on farms.
c. Infrastructure is falling apart
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100,000’s of commuters use our roads, bridges and
public transit everyday.
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As a result, our roads, highways & bridges get
damaged over time and must be repaired!
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Our municipal taxes help pay for these repairs.
Beltway:
 It is a highway that encircles a city so that traffic
does not have to pass through the center of it.
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Heavy trucks damage concrete and asphalt, slowdown traffic, and cause serious accidents.
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Montreal Metropolitan Area does not have beltway* for
large-sized trucks.
c. Traffic
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Potholes and huge cracks damage cars and slow
down traffic.
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Traffic jams become more problematic as the
population in the Metropolitan Area increases.
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More vehicles on our roads and ongoing road
construction, due to aging infrastructure, cause traffic
too.
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Although it's cheaper and faster to take public
transit, most people living in MMA still use cars.
Why?
Means of Transportation
Population going to
work
CAR
PUBLIC TRANSIT
WALKED
BICYCLE
TAXI
MOTORCYCLE
OTHER
70.4%
21.4%
5.7%
1.6%
0.2%
0.1%
0.5%
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Lane closures due to road repairs and accidents
cause traffic too.
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Some of the major highways, expressways and
service roads in the M.M.A. need more lanes.