Suburb

A functionally specialized segment of a large urban complex located outside the boundaries of the central city; usually, a relatively homogeneous residential community, separately incorporated and administered.

Urbanized Area

A continuously builty-up urban landscape defined by building and population densities with no reference to the political boundaries of the city; it may contain a central city and many contiguous towns, suburbs, and unincorporated areas.

Urbanizatiom

The Four Stages of U.S. Cities

1) Stage 1: The sail-wagon period - extended from around 1790-1830. The only means of international trade was sailing ships. Once goods were on land, they were hauled by wagons to their final destinations.

2) Stage 2: The iron-horse period - railroad transported goods and people in this period, which lasted from 1830-1870.

3) Stage 3: The steel-rail period - 1870-1920, steel was the primary building material in the US. Mining its raw materials and manufacturing and transporting it provided many jobs

4) Stage 4: The auto-air-amenity period - 1920-1960, the engine transformed the American landscape via the automobile. People could commute farther to work and live farther outside the central urban area. The airplane meant that goods could be exported and imported much more quickly. 

City Types

Emerging cities - experiencing population growth as well as increasing economic and political clout throughout their region. 

Ex) Shanghai, China is quickly becoming one of the world's emerging cities; trying to compete for financial dominance in not only Asia but also around the world.

Other cities include Hanoi, Vietnam; Bangkok, Thailand; and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates 

Gateway cities - connect two areas and serve as a gateway between them. (Can connect two cultures and serve as a cultural point of entry). 

Ex) Boston & New York City were the two primary entry points for European immigrants to the United States. Ellis Island, in New York Harbor, is a national park today, symbolizing its role as an entry port.

Festival Landscape

Space within an urban environment that can accommodate a large number of people. 

Decorated and used for celebrations. 

Ex) Central Park in NYC - today holds concerts for tens of thousands of people on summer evenings. Hyde Park has a small lake where people can rent boats and ride trails on horseback. Shanghai has the People's Park, which can hold thousands of people. 

Central Business District (CBD)

- Area of a city where retail and office activities are clustered together.

- Known for its accessibility (center is easiest to reach from the rest of the region and is the focal point of transportation network)

Different Zoning Laws

1) Residential Zoning - Housing

2) Commercial Zoning - Business or retail types of structures

3) Industrial  Zoning- Manufacturing plants

European CBDs

- Many European cities have central areas that are developed as history sites and thus have no changed.

- Some limit car traffic and high rise buildings to keep original structure

- Many centers include parks, churches, royal palaces (historical values)

Latin America CBDs vs USA CBDs

- Latin America - The wealthier citizens live in the center of the city with the poorer residents living on the outskirts

- Opposite of early American history where immigrants lived in the city center to be close to jobs and through history developed into tenements and other poorer housing.

- Face lifts to poorer, old downtown areas are bringing higher end buildings/living

Gentrification

Process of wealthy people moving into inner-city neighborhoods

Planned Community

Area where developers can plot out each house in development and build community from scratch.

Trends of Urbanization

1850 - 6%

1900 - 14%

1950 - 30%

2000 - 47%

2012: Population Reference Bureau set the world's urban population at 51%

In MDCs about 3/4 of the people liv in the urban area versus 2/5 in LDCs

Squatter Settlements

Area within the city in a less developed state in which people illegally establish residences on the land they do not own or rent and make homemade structures

What is MSA?

- U.S. Census Bureau has created a method of measurement for the functional area of city known as the MSA

MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) includes:

1) An urbanized area with a population of at least 50,000

2) The country within which the city is located

3) Adjacent countries with a high population density and a large percent of residents working in the central city's county

Problems: Some MSAs include extensive land area that is not urban (Ex. Great Smokey Mts. National Park is partially located in Knoxville, Tenn.)