SUBJECT OVERVIEW
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Defining Urbanism
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SETTLEMENTS
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ORIGINS OF SETTLEMENTS
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TYPES OF SETTLEMENTS
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DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN SETTLEMENTS
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CITY HISTORY
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URBAN PATTERNS

What is Urbanism?
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Depends on time and culture:
 The size of the stationary population is part of the picture… but it varies according to the historical context and location
 The size of a city varies geographically;
Portugal=10,000, Ethiopia=2,000, Norway=200
 Therefore, urbanism usually is qualified by a population considered large for its time and place

What makes a City a City?
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Population alone does not make a city; a stadium may hold many people, but is it a city?
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There must also be government of some kind.
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There must also be definable boundaries ; even if they change over time.
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) used to calculate a city’s boundaries: a city center and its immediately interacting counties

What makes a City a City…
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The economy is another layer in classifying it as rural or urban… economic diversity
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A cultural layer also plays a role in defining a place’s degree of urbanity or “cityness”… cultural diversity
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So, a clear definition of urban or city more of a process of comparison than a sentence or two… it depends!

Hearths of Urbanization
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Where did cities and urbanism, or urban life begin?
 The earliest cities were born around 3500 BCE spawned from agricultural villages:
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Mesopotamia
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Indus River region
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Nile Valley
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Huang He River valle
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Mexico
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Peru

Settlement
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Settlement - a permanent collection of buildings and inhabitants

GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE OF
SETTLEMENTS
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Geographers are interested in the patterns of settlements and the interrelationship of settlements
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How do the patterns of settlements explain human culture?

ORIGINS OF SETTLEMENTS
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Religious - graves, churches, temples
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Cultural - schools, libraries
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Political/Military - leader’s house, walls
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Economic - stores, food

TYPES OF SETTLEMENTS
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Rural Settlements - agriculture as the predominant occupation.
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Urban settlements - principal industries are secondary and tertiary.

RURAL SETTLEMENTS
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Clustered rural settlements -grouped settlements in rural areas to minimize travel

RURAL SETTLEMENTS
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Dispersed rural Settlements - isolated farms with enclosed continuous fields

RURAL SETTLEMENTS IN THE
EASTERN U.S.
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New England - clustered villages of the colonists
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Mid Atlantic - dispersed isolated farms of the Dutch, Swedes, Irish and
Germans
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South - plantations (mansions surrounded by plantation services)

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DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN
SETTLEMENTS
Prior to modern times most settlements were rural
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First Urban Settlement
 UR (modern day of Iraq)
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Other Early Cities
 Mycenae,Troy, & Isle of Crete in Greece
 Settlements along the world’s great rivers

DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN
SETTLEMENTS
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Athens - first city over 100,000
 by the 5th century BC over 300,000
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Rome - center of an empire 200 BC-400 AD
 “all roads lead to Rome”
 Paris, London, Vienna - all old Roman sites
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Mid-Evil Europe - after the fall of Rome
 urbanization decreased
 patterns of castles, walls & narrow streets
 compact space surrounded by walls

DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN
SETTLEMENTS
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Renaissance-Baroque Cities
 Renaissance 15-16th centuries
 Baroque 16-18th centuries
 development of wide avenues & monuments
 Paris & London rebuilt, Washington D.C.
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Industrial City
 19th century to present
 city designed around industry and transportation
 most modern cities

DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN
SETTLEMENTS
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Megalopolis -
 conurbation of a number of cities blended together without separation
 “The Blob” Lewis Mumford
 SMSA- Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area
 40% of the world’s population lives in urban areas

URBAN SMSA’s
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First city with 1 million - London in 1810
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Over 1 million - 180+ cities
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Over 10 million - LA, Buenos Aires, London,
Bombay, Jakarta, Mexico City, New York City,
Osaka, Paris, Rio De Janeiro, Sao Paulo,
Seoul
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Over 30 million - Tokyo

DEFINITION OF THE CITY
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Physical Definition of the City - Nonrural settlement that is, built up , economically functional, has a local government, and a legal boundary .
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Environmental Definition of the City
 urban dust domes
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(defined by pollution)
 heat island
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(defined by increased temperatures)

GROWTH OF THE CITY
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Skyscrapers - using vertical space
 intensive use of land
► shops at street level
 professional offices at higher levels
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Outward Expansion
 advent of the automobile & transportation routes
 decline of public transport

OUTWARD EXPANSION (con’t)
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Squatter Settlements - illegally erected shacks, cardboard structures and tents, due to rapid growth in cities of developing countries
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De-urbanization of the City
 suburbanism cities legally independent
 cluster cities
 rural areas- preferable to urban lifestyle
 telecommuting - economic activity from a distance

Sao Paulo squatter settlement

DISTRIBUTION OF CITIES
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Physical Restraints
 Manufacturing - North & East
 Retail Cities serving farmers - Mid West
 Resorts & Retirement - Southwest
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Economic Functions
 site & situation factors
 International Trade - Port Cities
 Entertainment Centers - Las Vegas

DISTRIBUTION OF CITIES
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International Distribution
 Developed countries have a higher population living in urban areas
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Two thirds live in urban areas
 Developing countries have the greatest increases in the number of large urban settlements
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One quarter live in urban areas
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Most of the largest cities are in the developing regions

URBAN PATTERNS

URBAN PATTERNS
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City Center
 best known area, most visually distinctive
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San Francisco, London
 original site of settlement
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Central Business District
 retail & office space
 assessable
 often a focal point with skyscrapers
 specialized stores for the office workers

URBAN PATTERNS
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Zones in Transition
 mixed use with light industry
 transition from business to residential
 older neighborhoods (slums)
► home to ethnic groups not culturally integrated
► ghettos vs. ethnic neighborhood
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Suburbs
 residential
 nodes of retail services

CENTRAL PLACE THEORY
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Threshold - number of people to support
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Range - distance people will travel for service

SUBJECT REVIEW
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SETTLEMENTS
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ORIGINS OF SETTLEMENTS
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TYPES OF SETTLEMENTS
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DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN SETTLEMENTS
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CITY HISTORY
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URBAN PATTERNS