Urban Geography Notes
Site is the actual location of a city (kind of like absolute location)
Situation is another name for relative location – the location of a city with respect to
other geographic features, regions, resources, and transport routes.
Examples of Site
Harbor sites: New York City; Alexandria,
Egypt; Istanbul, Turkey
Confluence sites: (Where two rivers
come together) Khartoum, Sudan;
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Island sites: (In a river or off coast) Paris, Hilltop sites: Rome, Athens, Jerusalem
France; Hong Kong; Singapore
Fall line sites: (Site on a river where
topography changes and ships can no
longer navigate the river) Richmond,
Virginia
Sites where rivers narrows: Quebec,
Canada (St. Lawrence); London, U.K.
(Thames)
Oasis sites: Damascus, Syria; Siwa, Egypt
Examples of Situation
Baghdad: Command of land between the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Samarkand, Uzbekistan: Located on the
Silk Road
Istanbul: Command of straits and land
bridge to Europe
Xi’an, China: Located on the Silk Road
Mecca and Varanasi: City for religious
pilgrimage for Muslims in Saudi Arabia;
City for religious pilgrimage for Hindus
in India
Timbuktu, Mali: Located on the TransSahara Trade Route
Cape Town, South Africa: Resupply for
ships sailing around Africa
Singapore: Located on the Straits of
Malacca
Omaha, Nebraska: Located at the
terminus of the Trans-Continental
Railroad
Novosibirsk, Russia: Located on the
Trans-Siberian railroad in Siberia
Sacramento, California: Located at the
terminus of the Trans-Continental
Railroad
Vladivostok, Russia: Located on the
Trans-Siberian railroad in Siberia
Functions of Cities
1. Security, defense
2. Religious centers
3. Trade centers
4. Government administration
5. Manufacturing centers
6. Service centers
How Functions Change
1. Rio de Janeiro – Move of Brazil’s capital city from Rio to Brasilia.
2. Pittsburgh – Early function connected to defense then became steel
manufacturing center center, later shifted to diverse services.
3. New York City – Changes in trade patterns, trade from Great Lakes via Eerie Canal,
worldwide trade and financial center.
4. Mining Towns – ghost towns – resource depletion.
Influence of Urban Areas
1. Nation Building - Monuments
2. Transportation/Communication
Hubs
3. Magnets for Migration
4. Seed beds for new inventions
5. Universities
6. Corporate headquarters
7. Media centers
Problems
1. Transportation problems
2. Rich and poor neighborhoods exist in different areas isolated from one another
3. Providing essential services
4. Air, water, and noise pollution
5. Sprawl results in conversion of agricultural land to urban uses
6. Rapid immigration results in “shantytowns”
7. In developing countries major cities are more connected to regions outside the
country than to regions inside the country