World Urbanization

World City Hypothesis

1980s to present. Links urbanization to global economic processes, division of labor based on world systems theory. Cities are nodes for nations states in global economy.

Post Modernism

1980s to present. Urban spaces are fragmented, especially when perceived by individuals (mental maps). Dislocation of economic processes due to economic restructuring and globalization. Focus on multiculturalism.

Linear Development Perspective

60s-80s. Claimed that industrialization leads to urbanization. Developed nations have responsibility to help lesser developed nations. Based on Rostow's 5 stages.

World Cities

A city in which a disproportionate part of the world's most important business is conducted. Dominant city in terms of its role in the global political economy. Not the world's biggest city in terms of population or industrial output, but rather centers of strategic control of the world economy.

Industrial City

A city that has a lot of industry and factories

Post industrial City

A city where manufacturing has declined and the focus of the city is service industries.

Megacity

A city with 10 million or more residents.

Megalopolis

A continuous urban complex over a region.

Primate City

A country's leading city, with a population that is disproportionately greater than other urban areas within the same country.

Saskia Sassen

A global city, also called world city or sometimes alpha city or world center, is a city generally considered to be an important node in the global economic system. The concept comes from geography and urban studies and rests on the idea that globalization can be understood as largely created, facilitated, and enacted in strategic geographic locales according to a hierarchy of importance to the operation of the global system of finance and trade.

Keno Capitalism

A model of post modern urban structure. No single center, all spread out.

Sector Model

A model of the internal structure of cities in which social groups are arranged around a series of sectors, or wedges, radiating out from the central business district (CBD). Ushered in with street cars.

Central Place Theory

A theory that explains the distribution of services, based on the fact that settlements serve as centers of market areas for services; larger settlements are fewer and farther apart than smaller settlements and provide services for a larger number of people who are willing to travel farther.

Urbanization

An increase in the percentage and in the number of people living in urban settlements. Also refers to the accompanying effects such as increased population density and changing economic functions.

Marx on Uneven Development

Capitalism spreads and help less fortunate. National boundaries become less important.

How do we define a city?

Centrality, population density, infrastructure, and heterogeneity.

Human Ecology

Chicago School between 20s and 60s. Seeks to understand social relationships in cities. Adopted ideas from ecology to say that the city is like a body (niches, interconnected parts).

Political Economy

Cities are situated in global hierarchical system based on capitalism. Cities are the center of capitalism, links the purpose of cities and the structure. Center of conflict over resources. Cities are influenced by mode of production

Post-Socialist City

Cities breaking away from communist past. Growth trends include new development around city, more automobile usage, and linear growth on transport routes.

Colonial City

Cities established by colonizing empires as administrative centers. Often they were established on already existing native cities, lead to blending of native/colonial growth.

Socialist City

Cities that evolved from communist regimes. The urban landscape reflects a visual impression from its central planning and command economy.

Green Cities

Cities trying to be as environmentally sustainable as possible.

Preindustrial City

City that developed before industrial revolution, held traditional elements

Uneven Development Perspective

Divide between rich and poor is due to capitalism.

Lenin on Uneven Development

Divide between rich and poor will only increase over time leading to exploitation and colonialism.

Early Urbanization

Due to surplus agriculture, focused on exchanging goods. Situated primarily in Mesopotamia.

Challenges facing modern cities

Environmental problems, social problems, transport, economic problems, growth management.

Middle Period

European cities declined after fall of Rome. Came back b/c mercantilism. Became more autonomous. Around the world, cities were stable in empires. Colonialism lead to rise of the dual city.

Locational Analysis

Focuses on the spatial arrangement of phenomena.

Manuel Castells

IT is new source of wealth. New hierarchy of labor.

Rank Size Rule

In a model urban hierarchy, the idea that the population of a city or town will be inversely proportional to its rank in the hierarchy, such that the nth largest settlement is 1/n the population of the largest settlement.

Economy of Scale

Large production of goods that reduces the production cost of each item.

Concentric Zone Model

Model that describes urban environments as a series of rings of distinct lands using radiating out from a central core, or central business district.

Max Weber

Modernization process leads to new institutions and therefore new social relations. Class division and social division leads to forms of social inequality.

Global Cities

Most developed cities: New York City, London, and Tokyo; well-developed banking, large corps., etc.

Dual City

One part Western and one part more traditional, indigenous part.

New Town

Planned town trying to create ideal living situation, idea created in the 20th century.

Situation

Relative location of a place in comparison to other things.

Engels

Social/economic relationships of workplace form foundations for all aspects of life.

Economies of Agglomeration

The benefits, including economies of scale and networking effects, companies create by locating close to other companies.

Urban Area

The central city and the surrounding built-up suburbs

Urban landscape

The manifestation of thoughts, deeds, and actions of human beings on urban area.

Site

The physical character of a place.

Multiple Nuclei Model

Type of urban form wherein cities have numerous centers of business and cultural activity instead of one central place. Cars are more common as is air transit.

World Systems Theory

Wallerstein's model: 1. There is one world market and a global division of labor 2. Although there are multiple states in the world almost everything takes place within the world economy 3. The world economy has a three-tier structure (core, periphery, semi-periphery)

Urban place

When a place is no longer tied strictly to agriculture or other primary activities.

Conurbanation

a large urban area, formed when a city expands and merges with surrounding towns

Rostow's Five Stages

model that postulates that economic modernization of countries occurs in five basic stages between agricultural and service-based economies: Traditional society, Preconditions for take-off , Take-off, Drive to maturity, Age of High mass consumption.

Subaltern

people socially, politically, and geographically outside the power structure

Urbanism

way of life, attitudes, values, and patterns of behavior fostered by urban settings