3.2.3.2 Urban Form And World Cities Flashcards
One striking feature of the last 30 years is the rapid development of __________ – urban areas with > 10 million people
megacities
How many world cities were there in 1990?
10
The UN predicts that by 2025 there will be how many world cities?
37
The development of megacities is mainly in
Asia
In 2015 _____ was the world’s largest city with over 38 million people, closely followed by Delhi, Mumbai and Shanghai (such settlements with over 20 million people are referred to as metacities)
Tokyo
What is a world city?
A city with significant global influence and impact e.g. because of their financial status or global commercial power- they often house headquarters to TNCs
What is the hierarchy of world cities?
- Alpha++
- Alpha+
- Alpha-
- Alpha
- Beta
- Gamma cities
State some characteristics of world cities
- headquarters of TNCs/MNCs
- centres of media and communication
- centres of new ideas, innovation in business, economics, culture and politics
- considerable decision making power at a global level
World cities are considered to be ‘hubs’ through which huge volumes of economic activity is channeled. The ‘spokes’ radiate out to secondary cities, regions and centres of economic activity. The spokes are
Flows of e.g. airline traffic, investment capital, and people
What are the 4 types of hub?
1- hubs of business, transport and trade
2- production hubs
3- political hubs
4- migration hubs
What are hubs of business, transport and trade?
- have string connections to the rest of the world via the internet and electronic communication by air or shipping
- they dominate global trade with HQs for MNCs, law firms and stock exchanges that influence the world economy
What are production hubs?
although most manufacturing and production of goods is carried out in developing countries, many of the decisions about marketing and production are made by TNCs, most of which have HQs in world cities
What are political hubs?
World city politicians often dictate trading and economic links between countries- they influence and participate in international events and world affairs
What are migration hubs?
- world cities have influence because they attract large numbers of qualified, highly-skilled people people who are globally mobile (able to move with their jobs to locations that offer a high quality of life) = have increasingly diverse populations
Many world cities have economies larger than
Those of some countries
World cities dominate and influence well beyond their national borders. In addition to their financial influence they also dominate:
- culturally- ‘theatre capitals’ of the world
- global languages
The first attempt to identify cities of global significance was made in 1998 by academics at __________ ________. They attempted to rank cites based on their financial influence. Cities were categorised as Alpha++, Alpha+ , Alpha, Beta, Gamma cities
Loughborough University
Give some examples of Alpha ++ cities?
London and New York
Give some examples of Alpha+ cities
Paris, Tokyo, Hong-Kong
In the past, the world cities were also the biggest. This is not always the case today.
Today ________ is important
Influence
Traditionally, the urban morphology may have been affected by physical factors such as relief and drainage. What is urban morphology?
Urban morphology refers to the spatial structure or form and organisation of an urban area: how it’s laid out- its pattern of land use
Why did early industrial areas develop closer to rivers?
To harness the power of water for energy and transport- flat land was also important for transport of goods via road or rail
Explain how relief still plays an important role today in urban morphology
- flat land is easier to build on and may attract higher land value
- however flat land near rivers may have a significant flood risk
In poorer cities, informal settlements are often found on
Undeveloped steel land e.g. Brazil’s largest favela, Rocinha is built on a steep hillside
As humans have been able to overcome physical limitations, urban form and land use are now more influenced by _____ factors
Human
The main factor affecting land use in HICs is
Land value
Explain how land value affects land use in HICs?
- main factor affecting land use in HICs is land value
- this is traditionally higher in the centre of a city where accessibility is greatest
- the peak land value intersection (PLVI) is the point/site with the highest land value, and from it land prices decline with the theory of distance decay
- usually, only very profitable businesses such as large retailers can afford the high prices of the PLVI e.g. traditionally, this site is occupied by M&S
- other retailers and commercial land uses tend to occupy most of the Central Business District (CBD). But cannot pay the higher pricces to be in the most accessible locations. As a result, smaller retailers nad businesses are more likely to be found towards the edge of the CBD
What is the bid-rent model?
Land values fall significantly with increasing distance from the PLVI and, as a result, land uses change. These land uses depend less on accessibility and cannot afford they higher prices in the centre. This is known as the Bid-Rent Model
From the 1980s onwards, there was a trend of out of town shopping centres and this affected land values in some cities- how?
secondary land value peaks occurred and altered the pattern of land use. An increase in car ownership and better infrastructure meant that the CBD was not always the most accessible part of the urban area. Again, this affected the land use patterns and caused edge of town development with free car parking.
Some city centres in the UK have declined in the last 30 years- why is this?
1- in 1980s and 90s this was due to the development of out of-town retail parks and decentralisation of business and residential areas
2- push factors: high parking costs, congestion, perception of city centre as unsafe
3- recent competition from internet shopping
What were some strategies adopted to reverse the city centre decline?
- provision of more attractive shopping environments
- construction of all-weather shopping malls
- improvement in public transport links
In addition to general strategies adopted to reverse the city centre decline, the 2000s saw 2 other key strategies:
- town centre mixed development – encouraging functions other than retailing
- development of cultural and heritage quarters
What was involved in town centre mixed development?
- Wider range of leisure facilities e.g. cinemas, theatres, cafes, wine bars and meeting places attracting a wider range of people
- promotion of street entertainment e.g. Covent Garden, London
- develop flagship attractions e.g. at Bristol Science Centre
- encouraging residential areas to return to the centre redeveloping old buildings (a form of gentrification) or building new upmarket apartments: encouraging 24-7 land use
What are evaluation points of town centre mixed development?
✅ the above strategies and stricter planning controls on out-of-town developments has meant that many large cities have successfully attracted shoppers and visitors back to the city centre
❌However, decision-makers are still worried about the decline of the CBD in smaller cities and urban areas
What was involved in development of cultural and heritage quarters?
- Culturally-led urban developments appeared in the 1980s e.g. Manchester Northern Quarter.
For this to be successful, it requires a previous cultural production or consumption e.g. making goods or people going to shows, museums - Heritage quarters focus more on the history of the area, based around small-scale industries e.g. actually making something e.g. Birmingham Jewellery quarter
What are the evaluation points for development of cultural and heritage quarters?
❌Some critics argued that not all towns need cultural quarters and that, in some areas, they have simply crated higher property values.. Some are more successful than other
✅ however, they can be viewed in a positive light where they improve the perceptions of place and preserving history and culture
What is gentrification?
Buying and renovating of properties often in run-down areas by wealthier individuals- it has helped to regenerate large parts of British inner cities in the last few decades
How does gentrification differ from regeneration schemes?
Gentrification involves the rehabilitation of old houses and streets on a piecemeal basis and is carried out by individuals or groups of individuals rather than large organisations
What are some causes of gentrification?
1- the rent gap: situation when the price of property has fallen below its real value, usually due to lack of investment, so there is a gap between actual and potential price. Such properties are attractive to individuals who can renovate them
2- commenting costs reduced/removed
3- the pioneer image: the trend of creative individuals e.g. artists/designers moving into more ‘edgy’ vibrant arts neighbourhoods e.g. Soho, London
4- changing composition of households: many cities have single or 2 person households without children- these are more likely to see the benefits of inner city living
What are some disadvantages of gentrification?
❌ people on low income cannot afford the higher property prices/ rentals
❌ increased car ownership could increase congestion
❌ loss of business for low order businesses
❌ incomers may be seen as a threat to the original community
What are some advantages of gentrification?
✅increased local tax income
✅physical environment will be improved
✅rise in general prosperity and growth of certain services and businesses
✅ employment opportunities e.g. interior design, refurbishment and night order services
Critics of gentrification say it has contributed to a lack of affordable housing and has displaced the original local inhabitant so ___________ _______ are becoming more common
Gentrification protests
Fortress landscape refers to landscapes designed around security, protection, surveillance and exclusion
In the UK simple strategies have been adopted to reduce crime in urban hotspots e.g. city centre and inner city estates:
- greater use of CCTV
- railings and fencing around private spaces “gated” communities
- ‘mosquito’ alarms which emit a high-pitched sound only heard by young people to discourage loitering around buildings
- speed bumps to prevent joyriding
Regarding fortress landscapes, more recent strategies have focused on the concept of “designing out crime” through better urban architecture. e.g.
- redevelopment of housing e.g. more windows for increased natural surveillance and use of fences/hedges to mark clear boundary between public space and private property
- ## features avoided are recessive doorways for people to hide in
Evidence in some UK cities of the exclusionary tactics adopted by N American cities to segregate people from “others” perceived as threatening or undesirable e.g.
Anti-homeless spikes in shop doorways or outside upmarket apartments has been heavily criticised (link to notion of insider and outsider!)
What’s a good example of fortress landscape?
- Fortress Los Angeles:
- surveillance and exclusion measures seen to be the most extreme in the USA
- city has a reputation of a city built on a climate of fear
- paranoia and fear of gangs has led to:
- gated communities, armed-response security units in residential areas
- shopping malls surrounded by staked fencing and LAPD surveillance tower
What are edge cities?
They are self-contained settlements which have emerged behind the original city boundary and developed as cities within their own right- mist common in North America
Edge cities are largely the result of
Urban sprawl as a result of higher car ownership, greater willingness to travel long distances for work, shopping and entertainment and limited planning restrictions in the suburbs
Explain how Los Angeles is a classic example of a crawling settlement
- core city population of under 4 million
- however this is surrounded by a metropolitan area of nearly 18 million people, more than 100km at its widest- within this area is more than 20 edge cities
Edge cities may lack a clear structure but they do have a wide range of amenities e.g. schools, malls, entertainment. Residents may rarely go back to
the original core city
Explain how critics have linked edge cities to extreme social segregation
critics link edge cities to extreme social segregation where the wealthy have moved to the new suburban settlements leaving the poorer and disadvantaged sector of society in the original city boundary
The term postmodernism is used to describe
The changes that took place in Western society and culture in the late 20th century- it mainly concerned art and architecture and marked a departure from the conformity of modernism
Postmodernism is characterised by
The mixing of different artistic styles and architecture- both fortress landscapes and edge cities have been viewed as features of postmodern western city
What are other key features of postmodern western cities?
- eclectic and varied architecture as seen in the London cityscape
- spectacular flagship development e.g. Guggenheim museum
- greater ethnic diversity but heightened economic, social and cultural inequalities
While elements of postmodernism can be seen in cities all over the world, it is important to acknowledge that the notion of the postmodern western city as being based on the experiences of
a small number of (mainly American) cities. LA is often referred to as the archetypal postmodern city but the experiences of cities like LA are clearly not representative of cities elsewhere in the world
