Urban Geography

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Urban Geography
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Where are cities located and why?
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Although The U.S. and Europe have a higher
percentage of urban dwellers, India and China
both have higher numbers of urban dwellers.
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Settlement Factors Topography

• Orientation and shelter

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Settlement Factors Topography

• A river crossing

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Settlement FactorsTopography
The floor of a river valley.
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Settlement FactorsTopography

• Machu Pichusymbolic significance

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Site Factors for Settlements Key resources

• Mining towns

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Site Factors for SettlementsKey resources
Water and energy supply
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Site Factors for SettlementsKey resources
The Fall LineImportant resource sites
Trenton NJ
Philadelphia PA
Baltimore MD
Washington D.C.
Richmond VA
Raleigh NC
Columbia SC
Atlanta GA
Montgomery, AL
Jackson, MS
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Site Factors for SettlementsKey resources

• Outside of a rivers meander

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Site Factors for SettlementsKey resources
At a desert oasis
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Site Factors for SettlementsTrade Routes

• At a crossroads

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Site Factors for SettlementsTrade Routes
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Site Factors for SettlementsDefense
A hilltop city
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Site Factors for SettlementsDefense
New OrleansThe Crescent City
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Walter Christaller Location Theory

• The nested hexagons show urban areas with their
  surrounding market area (hinterland).

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Walter Christaller Location Theory

• A hamlet provides some basic services to the
  people living there and those nearby.

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Walter Christaller Location Theory

• A village is likely to offer several dozen
  services. There will be some specialization.

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Walter Christaller Location Theory

• A town is larger than a village and has a higher
  level of specialization.

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Walter Christaller Location Theory

• A city has more specialization and a larger
  hinterland than a town..

A ciy has suburbs while a town has outskirts
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Walter Christaller Location Theory

• An urban hierarchy is a ranking of settlements
  according to their size and functions.

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Walter Christaller Location Theory

• The rank-size rule states that there is an
  inverse relationship between the size of a city
  and its rank in the urban hierarchy.

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Walter Christaller Location Theory

• Under the rank-size rule
• If the city has 1 million people
• -the town will have 500,000 (1/2 the size),
• -the village will have 333,333 (1/3 the size),
• -and the hamlet will have 250,000 people.

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Location Theory

• Conclusions
• 1. Urban places form an orderly rank or
• hierarchy.

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Location Theory

• Conclusions
• 1. Urban places form an orderly rank or
• hierarchy.
• 2. Places of the same size and number of
• functions are rather evenly spaced.

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Location Theory

• Conclusions
• 1. Urban places form an orderly rank or
• hierarchy.
• 2. Places of the same size and number of
• functions are rather evenly spaced.
• 3. Larger urban areas are spaced farther
• apart than smaller towns or villages.

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Walter Christaller Location Theory

• Christallers central place theory tends not hold
  in countries that have unitary systems of
  government or those that have gone through
  extended periods as colonies.
• They have primate cities.

Population Cartogram of France
Bangkok, Thailand
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How are cities organized?

• Traditional models of urban structure

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How are cities organized?

• The Concentric Zone Model reflects the
  walking-horsecar era--early 20th century.

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How are cities organized?

• The Sector Model reflects the influence of
  transportation corridors.

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How are cities organized?

• The Multiple Nuclei Model reflects the influence
  of the automobile on suburbanization.

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Present-day United States metropolitan area.
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The Galactic City
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Social Geography of American and Canadian Cities