Urban Patterns
Essential Questions
What is urbanization and
what are its characteristics?
Why do inner cities and
suburbs have distinctive
problems?
Land Use
People use land….
For hunting &
gathering
For agriculture
For cities
Urban
Of, relating to,
or located in a
city
Characteristics
– large size,
high density,
diversity
Way Back When…
 First cities appeared in SW Asia
more than 5,000 years ago.
 City life became possible when
there was a surplus of food and
some people did not need to
farm any longer.
 They became weavers,
merchants, traders, government
& religious officials, etc.
List It
 What factors might influence a city’s location?
Write It
 Would you rather live in a rural area or the city?
 Write down your answer and a few sentences explaining
your answer (advantages & disadvantages).
Activity Time
 Create a list of Kentucky’s largest cities.
 How many are there?
 What factors influence their location?
 Where are they located in relation to each other?
 Where are small ones located in relation to large ones?
 Pick one city on your list and analyze its location by
listing factors that influenced that city’s development.
Activity Time
 Using the Venn Diagram template, compare and contrast
the differences between urban and rural areas.
 Physical
 Social
 Economic/land use
 Population
 Problems
List it
What problems do you think
the city of _________ faces?
Urban Problems
 Transportation (roads,
gridlock)
 Social – POVERTY (lack of
good jobs & housing)
 Environmental – air, water, &
land pollution
(sanitation/sewers, fresh
drinking water)
Urban Sprawl
 The development of new housing sites in less dense
areas not connected to the existing built-up area
 What promotes urban sprawl?
 Automobile
 Mass Transit
Urbanization: Pro & Con
PRO

Fewer people in rural areas

Better for forests, soil,
wildlife

Lower family sizes

Better education

Better health
CON

Hazards of site


Loss of land


Outlying areas more
susceptible to landslides,
floods, storms, earthquakes
Farmland lost (US=1
million acres/year;
China=3x as much
Changed land cover

Natural landscape becomes
cultural (pavement,
buildings), more pollutants
Activity Time
 World City
 Choose one city you think is a world city.
 Create an information brochure about the city –
including population statistics, name and description of
large businesses or organizations headquartered there,
and other interesting info.
 Mention nearby cities that are economically or socially
tied to your city.