A cultural hearth is a source area from which new ideas
radiate.
Neolithic / Agricultural revolution – about 10,000 years ago
people stopped hunting and gathering and began to grow
food. Advances in agriculture lead to increased crop
production.
Not everyone in a given population needs grow their own
crops - one farmer can produce enough crops to support
more than one family.
This then allows people to engage in other activities besides
crop raising, animal husbandry, hunting or gathering.
As a result of these other activities (specialization), new
ideas develop and lead to advancements in science,
astronomy, mathematics, religion, art, and political systems.
These ideas then are spread to surrounding areas.
The white dashed line shows the extent of glacial activity.
culture hearths
later culture hearths
The original humans spread from Africa into the Middle East. From there, into
Central Asia and then north into Europe and south into India. Humans then
traveled south into the islands and Australia and north into China and eastern
Russia. Humans then crossed the land bridge into North America and traveled
east to the New England area and South into Middle and South America.
• Near a river
• in a temperate climate
• on arable land
• abundance of food
Mesopotamia is a region, not a country.
The land between 2 rivers – the Tigris & Euphrates. The
following groups lived in Mesopotamia: the Sumerians,
Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, and to
some degree the Hittites, Phoenicians and Persians
Achievements:
• Code of Laws – Hammurabi’s Code
• Writing – Cuneiform
• System for calculating time and
angles based on 60 – sexagesimal
system
Two major civilizations – the Harappa & Mohenjo Daro
The Indus River Valley spread and merged with the Ganges
River Valley in India.
Achievements:
• Town planning – grid system for roads
• sanitation system – covered drains
• water from wells
• grainaries, docks, and warehouses
• uniform weights and measurements
• copper, bronze, lead, and tin
Achievements:
• mathematic advances
•reliable farming with irrigation
• engineering, mining, and plumbing
• pyramids
• medical - cures for diarrhea, burns,
indigestion, cataracts, surgery, and
mummification
• papyrus paper and hieroglyphics
Achievements:
• wheel barrow, horse harness, row cultivation,
and plow
• water chain pump (water goes up)
• metal casting
• Su Song’s mechanical clock –
water-driven astronomical clock
• crossbow, rudder, gas lamp, block printing,
abacus, paper, porcelain, silk, kites, playing
cards
Other things that have spread
between cultures:
• Disease
• Language
• Food
• Religion
• Ideas
• Inventions
• culture
Urban Areas
Urban Areas
•Urban – having something to do with cities.
People make a living in ways other than
farming.
•Urban areas grouped by:
- population or
- economic activities
Kinds of
Urban Areas
•Cities are defined differently in different
areas of the world.
•Suburbs – areas around a city – large
central city
Urban Functions
(Eco. Activities)
•Metropolitan Area – land of a central city
and all of its suburbs.
•Manufacturing
•Government – national, state, provincial
capitals.
•Transportation
•Trade/office – generally will be located in a
central area.
•Other functions:
- recreation ctrs
- educational ctrs
- religious ctrs
History of
Cities
•Started about 6,000 years ago.
•First cities:
- Mesopotamia (SW Asia)
along the Tigris/Euphrates Rivers
- 4,000 BCE
•Specialization started to develop:
Sketch a map
- artisans
- merchants
- farmers
- ruling elite (military or
religious leaders)
the cities – (usually the ruling elite)
- wrote the laws
- levied taxes
- supervised public building
•Running
•Rome – ctr of Roman Empire
Earliest
Great City
- built all over Europe
- roads still used today
- developed the grid system to lay out
their cities (later spread all over Europe)
- brought water from the mountains by
aqueducts
•Fall of the Roman Empire
- invasion of Germanic tribes
Middle Ages
•Villages and cities started to increase again
after the Dark Ages
•Trade between the villages would develop into
large cities. Two of the largest cities would be
Paris and London.
Industrial
Revolution
Immigration
& 2nd
Agricultural
Revolution
Urban
Environment
•Next large growth of cites – started in Europe
and would spread to N. America in the late
1700s. Machines begin to do work of humans.
•Helped spread urbanization in the 20th c.
•Dramatically increased the size of cities in
North America.
•Shaped by human activities
- cities have to deal with problems and
increasing population
Urban
Landscape
•Site and situation
-influence whether people will settle in
certain area
- 2 factors influence this:
Exact
location
Relative
location
Site
-actual physical features (landforms,
waterways, climate, etc.)
Situation
-position of a place in relation to all places
around it.
What factors
do we need
for a city?
•Water (fresh)
•Abundant food source
These are
characteristics
of Site.
•Fertile land
•Good climate
•Natural protection
Confluence
•Near a trade center
•River – for transportation
•Located near natural
resources.
These are
characteristics
of Situation
•A city’s good situation guarantees its influence over
the area
•A central business district (CBD) has areas around it
that supply it with raw materials and farm products –
called the HINTERLAND.
Hinterland
•The hinterland gets its manufactured products and
services from the city.
CBD
Burgess Model
Impact of
Urban
Development
•People change the natural landscape to build the
city.- animal/plant habitats are destroyed
- arable land being used for development
institutions
• Cultures create institutions – organizations
developed by society to make social roles clear
and to take care of social needs. These
institutions are centered in cities.
• Schools – teach values of society and
prepare for adulthood
• Government – protect from outsiders,
promote social cooperation, and regulate
behavior
• Religious centers – teach values of society
and guide proper behavior
Urban
Climate
•urban areas are warmer than rural areas.
•Cities are “URBAN HEAT ISLANDS”
(can be up to 3º warmer)
•Buildings
change wind patterns.
Social
structure
• Upper Class – earns or inherits wealth and owns
a large share of the property in the society. They
lead a luxurious lifestyle and often serve in
leadership roles in the society.
•Middle Class – This is the intermediate group of
educated and mostly successful people –
managers, professionals, shop keepers, and small
business owners.
•Working Class – composed of manual workers
who work in factories, mining, and transportation,
or who work as independent craftsmen
•Peasants – these are the farm workers or owners
of small farms mainly engaged in subsistence
agriculture. Little education and limited
experience of the world outside the village.
•Lower Class – often uneducated and unskilled.
They take the least desirable and worst-paying
jobs.
Urban Life
•Common urban problems
- unemployment
- providing services
- racial/religious conflict
- environmental pollution
- decline of the CBD
World
Patterns of
Urban
Development
•48% of the world’s people live in urban areas.
•Developed countries – 75%
•Developing countries – 35% live in cities
•Last 20 years in developing countries - rapid
population growth.
• By 2025 – 60% of the world’s population will
live in cities. All but one of the largest cities in
the world will be in developing countries.
Energy
• Non-Renewable – fossil fuels
– Coal, natural gas, petroleum
– Fossil fuels also used for petrochemical
products
– Supplies of fossil fuels is a key factor for a
country’s economic success.
– Unfortunately as fossil fuels are burned they
release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
which may be a contributing factor to global
climate change.
• Renewable Energy
– Water power – hydroelectric – power derived from
running water (dams) over 10% of US energy
– Wind power – wind turbines (modern windmill)
create electricity. However takes many and large
spaces to produce sufficient amounts.
– Geothermal power – heat from Earth’s interior.
Plants are built where volcanoes and hot springs
are plentiful.
– Solar power – energy from the sun. Special solar
panels can absorb solar energy and convert it to
electricity. However, panels are still expensive so
the use of solar power is usually limited to upper
class.
World’s 10 largest urban areas:
1. Tokyo, Japan - 32,450,000
2. Seóul, South Korea - 20,550,000
3. Mexico City, Mexico - 20,450,000
4. New York City, USA - 19,750,000
5. Mumbai, India - 19,200,000
6. Jakarta, Indonesia - 18,900,000
7. Sáo Paulo, Brazil - 18,850,000
8. Delhi, India - 18,680,000
9. Õsaka/Kobe, Japan - 17,350,000
10. Shanghai, China - 16,650,000
Tokyo – Yokohama: population 32,450,000 largest urban area in
the world. Tokyo is home to Mitsubishi, Fuji, Nissan, and Tokyo
Electron Limited.
Seoul - 20,550,000 people –very high population density. Home
to LG Group, Samsung, Kia, and Hyudai
20,450,000 million largest
in Latin America. Pemex
(petroleum) and tourism
are major industries
New York City – USA’s
largest city – 19,750,000
people. Major publishing,
textile, insurance, real
estate, retail, media,
chemical, securities, and
financial centers make
home here
Mumbai – 19,200,00 people –
India’s largest city Mahim Bay is a
tourist destination but others live in
poverty. Home to major tech
support centers, financial services,
banking, textile, and Hindi language
film industries.
Jakarta, Indonesia – people. The
poor live on floating houses and
houses on stilts. Home to
insurance, government, textiles, and
oil and gas industries.
10.6 million – largest in Soouth
America – favela (slums)
population – 612,000. Home to
petrochemical, tourism,
telecommunications, food &
beverage, and auto making
companies
Delhi, India – India’s second largest
city – population is18,680,000 India
has 1/6th of the world’s people. Major
information, petrochemical, textile, and
pharmaceutical industries.
Õsaka/Kobe, Japan was once the capital.
Now it is an industrial giant population is
17,350,000. Japan is very densely
populated. Home to financial services,
Hitachi, publishing, and many other
electronic companies.
Shanghai, China is China’s largest city located
on the Yangtze River – population 16,650,000.
Major manufacturing area specializing in
electronics and information products, ship
building, chemicals, automobile manufacturing,
petrochemicals, and publishing.