Manchester Community College
Social Sciences Division
Urban Geography
Chapter One
Lecture 1. Introduction to Urban Geography
Adjunct Lecturer:
Donald J. Poland, MS, AICP
An Introduction to the Changing Field of Urban
Geography
E-mail: dpoland@mcc.commnet.edu
Web: www.donaldpoland.com
The Changing Field of Urban Geography
The Changing Field of Urban Geography
A Subfield of Human Geography
The Four Traditions (1900 – 1970)
„ The Physical Tradition: At the beginning of the 20th century, most
geographers were interested in the earth’s physical environment, especially land
forms and climates. At that time, urban geography was a little-studied subfield.
Urban geography did not emerged as a well-developed area of geography in the
1960s and 1970s that it took interest in physical environment of the city.
„ The Field of Urban Geography: Geographers study both the
world’s physical and human environments. Human geographers
focus their attention on the location of people and their activities
over geographic space.
„ The Human-Environment Tradition: The human-environmental tradition
in urban geography brought about an interest in the sites of cities, that is,
locations of cities at deep harbors for ocean-going vessels, on rivers for
navigation, at the base of mountain ranges for gateway positions and resource
extraction. The interpretation is that the site of a city determines the city’s future
economic and population growth.
„ Urban Geography is a subfield of Human Geography: focus
attention on the location of people and their activities over
geography space.
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The Changing Field of Urban Geography
The Changing Field of Urban Geography
Geographic Information Systems and Urban Geography
The Four Traditions (1900 – 1970)
„ The Regional Tradition: The third great tradition in urban geography was
the regional studies viewpoint, which was in its ascendancy from 1920 to 1960.
Regional or areas studies typically focused on a single city as a case study. The
studies were routinely descriptive rather than analytical—they simply describe
the geography of the city.
„ Geographic Information Systems (GIS): GIS is one of the newest and
fastest growing areas of geography. GIS is defined as “a system of hardware,
software, and procedures designed to support, capture, management,
manipulation, analysis, modeling, and display of spatially referenced data for
solving complex planning and management problem.”
„ The Spatial Tradition: Gradually replacing the regional tradition in urban
geography during the late 1950s was the spatial analysis, which remains an
important research thrust in the twenty-first century. Spatial analysis involves
an emphasis on developing theory, hypotheses, quantitative methods, and
mathematical model buildings. The overriding concern in spatial analysis is
locational theory, where cities are located.
„ Global Positioning Systems (GPS): Developed by U.S. Department of
Defense for military navigation, the Global Positioning System now has a large
and growing number of urban applications. GPS is simply a technology that
allows the accurate determination of precise locations on the Earth. The system
involves a constellation of 24 satellites grouped in precisely spaced orbital
planes approximately 12,500 miles above the Earth. Accuracy of 15 to 30 feet.
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The Origins and Development of Cities
What are cities?
Chapter Two
The Origins and
Development of Cities
„ What are cities?
„ Historically, cities were distinguished
from other forms of settlement by
their larger population size,
occupations in that they included
populations of people not directly
involved in agriculture, and position
as centers of political, economic, and
social power. The elite resided with
cities. Cities were also generally
marked by high densities, a crowding
of people who functioned together as
a social unit, which distinguished the
city from the area surrounding it. It
was the social functions of the city—
the fact of its centrality in various
fields of human interaction—that was
key to its existence.
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The Origins and Development of Cities
The Origins and Development of Cities
What are cities?
Theories of Urban Origins
„ It is important to note how these preconditions related to one another.
„ What are cities?
„ The primary engine of change
has been economic, as cities
have developed as central
points within various economic
systems: agrarian, merchant
capitalist, industrial.
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Favorable environments and improved agriculture technology, for
example, probably increased population, which in turn demanded even
greater food production and may have necessitated a more complex
social organization. It appears that cities emerged as a result of several
interlinked factors.
„ In his book An Introduction to Urban Historical Geography, Harold
Carter 1983 summarizes four primary factors related to the emergence
of towns and cities. These four factors are:
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The Origins and Development of Cities
The Origins and Development of Cities
Theories of Urban Origins
Theories of Urban Origins
„ Agricultural Surplus: Over time,
„ Religious Causes: One of the
early farmers became better at
producing enough food to feed
themselves and their families, with a
little extra left over. This then allowed
for the small agricultural village where
some people did not have to farm and
could do other activities. Over time
farming techniques improved and
larger surpluses were produced
allowing for larger number of people
who did not have to farm.
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common features of all early
cities was the existence of a
temple. In every case, the
temple was far more prominent
than any other element within
the city. Based on this history, it
is easy to reconstruct a process
by which a powerful priestly
class emerged from the creation
of agricultural surplus.
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The Origins and Development of Cities
The Origins and Development of Cities
Theories of Urban Origins
Theories of Urban Origins
„ Defensive Needs: Another
„ Trading Requirements: The
feature of early cities was the
presence of some type of
fortification. Most ancient cities
had walls, and all of them
displayed evidence of defensive
works, a soldier class, and
armaments production. Early
cities clearly needed some form
of defense because of their
storehouse of grain, their
position as the seat of central
authority, and their
concentration of people.
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development of more complex
cultures went hand in hand with
the growth of a more complex
economy. Trade was certainly a
significant component of many
early cities, and it can be
considered the principal factor
in the reawakening of urban life
during the Middle Ages.
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The Origins and Development of Cities
The Origins and Development of Cities
Cities as Engines of Economic Growth
Structure and Form of Trading Cities
„ The New Trading Cities: The conditions of Western Europe in A.D. 1000
made recovery seem laughable. Even more unbelievable was the prospect that
this region would be the first to generate a new economy, one that would come
to dominate the world and engender a new type of city far different in kind from
the cities that had preceded it.
„ Political and Economic Structure: The social order in the city was headed
by the merchant class. This group did not possess much real estate; rather they
owned movable goods: merchandise, cargo ships, cash. There was also an
increased emphasis on production. Many wealthy merchants established their
own workshops.
„ Spatial Form: Changes in the social structure were reflected in changing form
of towns. The wall continued to define the city until the late eighteenth century,
still important to defend the city, but also restricted the growth of cities. For
growing cities, suburban development occurred outside the wall. The new city
was centered around the marketplace or trading plaza. Activities were also very
much tied to ports and waterways. A more complex social geography evolved at
this time, leading to greater separation of different groups—was based on
occupation or guild associations or ethnic groups. Streets were designed for
commercial activity and not for access.
„ Industrial Cities: Cities still were not very large. London had approximately
100,000 people in the city (200,000 metro) in 1600. For cities to get larger would
require the economic basis for cities to shift away from the exchange of goods tp
one based on the production and exchange of products that could sustain a
large workforce. The creation of this new economy was bound up with the
Industrial Revolution. This was the beginning of mass production. Agricultural
production was still increasing and allowed for this industrial city.
„ A Capitalist Economy: The impetus for renewed urbanization was the
revival and primacy of a capitalist economy. Capitalism, as it was initially
practiced by merchants, entailed the buying and selling of goods for profits
(commercial capitalism). Unlike traditional cities, the new commercial cities
could not rely on an agricultural hinterland from which to extract surplus. Rather
they had to sustain themselves through buying and selling. Unlike traditional
hinterlands, commercial hinterlands were not under anyone’s singular control,
although some powerful trading cities did later attempt to impose more exclusive
relationships.
„ The Revival of Urbanization: From 1000 A.D. to 1350 A.D. Europe’s
population is estimated to increase from 52 to 86 million. It is estimated that
during this time around 6,000 new towns were established.
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The Origins and Development of Cities
The Origins and Development of Cities
The Industrial Revolution and the Industrial City
The Industrial Revolution and the Industrial City
„
„
„
„
„
„ Changing Logic of City Location:
„ The factory system required a
concentration of labor in one place. This
favored concentrated settlement in a few
places as mass production in factories
and replaced small-scale production in
workshops scattered in several locations.
„ Steam engines required large amounts of
coal. Many of the new industrial cities
sprang up around the coalfields, and
increased their populations tremendously.
„ Some cities, notably London, benefited by
being at the center of industrial trade.
Many smaller industries spun off by the
Industrial Revolution also concentrated
there.
The processes of the industrial revolution
accelerated urbanization.
Industrialization meant that large numbers
of people could work in factories, produce
goods that would be consumed by city
and country dwellers alike.
Further advances in transportation based
on coal power, such as the railroad and
steamship, further extended the reach of
industrial cities.
While the population in Europe doubled in
the 1800s, the urban population grew six
times over.
Industrialization meant that many cities
grew rapidly. Manchester and Liverpool
England quadrupled in size.
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The Origins and Development of Cities
The Origins and Development of Cities
The Industrial Revolution and the Industrial City
The Industrial Revolution and the Industrial City
„ Elements of the Industrial City: The major new elements of the
„ Beyond the economic aspects, industrialization also changed the
industrial city were factories, railroads, and slums:
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Factories always took the best sites. In many cases, the founding of the
factories led to the growth of the cities, so they were central to urban form.
Of course, there were no pollution controls—the air was dirty, and the rivers
were used for drainage and sewage.
The railroads were the factories’ connection to the main ports; in England
these were London and Liverpool. Railroads were like factories on wheels
and spread the pollution into all parts of the city and into the countryside.
The slums were the last element. Mass production associated with the
factory system required mass housing for factory workers who worked
there. Workers no longer lived in the same places they worked, as they had
over old workshops, but they needed to be close by. Housing also has to be
constructed in a hurry, often by the factory owner, and was built on the
cheap. Long rows of tenements were rapidly put up, often back to back, so
as to minimize space (and ventilation).
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character of cities and their spatial arrangements. The popular image of
nineteenth-century industrial cities in not a pretty one. We think of black
soot casting a pall over the city, of vast gaps between the rich and
poor, of mansions on the hills overlooking the city and the teeming
slums near the factory gates. However, for rich and poor alike, these
cities were not healthy. Until 1880, mortality rates were 50 percent
higher in English cities than in the countryside.
„ The industrial city thrived on production, and it was able to employ
large numbers of people in factories. Here, the spatial separation
between social classes accelerated. The wealthy increasingly has the
means to leave many of the urban problems behind. The workers found
employment, but at an enormous cost to themselves and their families.
They lived in the worst sections of the city. In this manner, the social
segregation of the modern-day city began to take shape. Changes in
transportation technology and an expansion in the area of the city
would further separate social classes.
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The Origins and Development of Cities
The Origins and Development of Cities
The Industrial Revolution – Hartford 1887
LA – Blade Runner – What is the Future of Cities
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The Origins and Development of Cities
The Guggenheim Museum – Bilbao Spain
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