Transcript Economic Base of Cities

Introduction to Urban Geography
Economic Base of Cities
• Early Cities
 Cities always dependant upon markets/trade
 Rural areas still very important
• Basic Sector
 Part of the population is involved in the production of
goods or performance of services for trade outside city
 Efforts result in money flowing into city
• Non-basic (service) sector
 Producing goods/services to support city residents
 Crucial to functioning of stores, professions, public
services
Economic Base of Cities (c)
• Total Economic Structure = basic + non-basic
activities
 As cities grow, ratio between the two changes; more
non-basic to support population.  multiplier effect.
 As cities decline, the principle holds, but the process is
much slower: People reluctant or unable to leave.
10,000,000
Basic
1,000,000
Non-Basic
100,000
10,000
1,000
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90 100
Economic Base Model
Functions of Cities
• Urban-based economies
 50%+ of economic activities in most countries
 80%+ of economic activities in more urbanized countries
 Multiple functions: manufacturing, government,
cultural/educ. ctrs., trade, transportation.
 MOST cities are specialized; few are multifunctional.
 Ex: Detroit, MI = auto industry. Sacramento, CA =
state government. NY, NY = multifunctional.
 Classified into three types: special-function, transportation
centers, and central places.
Functions of Cities
• Three types:
 Special-function: clustered pattern; close to raw
materials, labor concentrations; related to
manufacturing/mining.
 Transportation centers: aligned pattern; along railways,
seaboards, etc.
 Central places:
 All types are centralized; they provide services/goods
to tributary surrounding area. In SF and TC cities,
these services are a small part of the economy.
 In CENTRAL PLACES, the dominant function is trade
and rural service, as well as services to the tributary
areas.
Central Place Theory
Nested hexagonal
market areas
predicted by
Central Place
Theory
Spatial model of settlements (central places) for a
nested hierarchy of market areas
Important Terms
• Threshold
 Minimum market (consumers) needed to support the
supply of a product (i.e. are there enough people to buy
this?)
 Luxury items = high threshold due to cost (low
demand)
 Everyday items (milk?) = low threshold
• Range
 Maximum distance people are willing to go to purchase a
specific good; the point at which travel becomes too far
to get something (i.e. why go to downtown L.A. to buy
milk when you can get it down the street?)
 Complementary regions
 Non-competitive market areas; town/merchants have
a monopoly because they are the closest.
Central Place Theory
•
Geographic assumptions (Christaller, 1930s)
- featureless landscape on infinite plane
- uniform population distribution
• Behavioral (economic) assumptions
- consumers shop at closest place possible
- consumers do not go beyond the range of
the good
- market areas equal or exceed threshold of
good
• Hexagonal market areas are most efficient
- non-overlapping circles leave areas `
unserved
- higher-order central places also provide
lower-order functions
Central Place Theory
in action on a flat,
featureless plain
(e.g., Northern
Germany)
… and in a
landscape with
“locational biases”
introduced by
physical features
Connectivity
of Urban
Systems
Spain’s national urban system
National metropolises have greater connectivity than
regional metropolises or small cities
Rank-Size Rule
• Rank-Size Rule
- Nth largest city of a national system = 1/n the size of
the largest city.
- Example: 2nd largest city will be ½ the size of the
largest city.
• Application
- Best applied in large countries like the United States and
Russia.
- Not as applicable in LDCs or in countries with primate
cities, where there is no obvious “second city.”
Primate City
•One dominant city in a country or region
•There’s usually no second city
• Example:
• Paris: 8.7 million people
• Marseille: 1.2 million people
URBAN MORPHOLOGY
Spatial Models of Urban Land Use
Concentric Ring Model
1920s (Burgess) – land-use
pattern follows concentric rings
around city center (CBD)
Newest settlers in city use
older housing near city
center (migrants to
industrial jobs)
Previous groups move
outward to higher-income
areas as they assimilate
Sector Model
1939 (Hoyt) - Land uses in pieshaped wedges radiating from
CBD
High-income areas along
fashionable boulevards,
waterfronts, or high ground
Industry along river or rails
Low-income near industry
Middle-income between low
and high sectors
Multiple-Nuclei Model
Post WW2 - Early days of
suburbanization
Downtown CBD not only
core of busiiness land use
Other nuclei develop special retail districts,
office parks, light
manufacturing in city
Metro areas develop
“suburban downtowns”
(called “edge cities”)
Transportation and urban growth
“Edge cities” - suburban nodes: high-rise offices, shopping,
entertainment, hotels - designed for auto travel Located along freeways or beltways
Philadelphia's
Edge Cities
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Urban Realms Model
Modern Metropolis
•Each suburban
“realm” is
economically, socially,
politically independent
•All together they form
a larger metropolitan
area
•Example: Los Angeles
Metro Area
Applicability of classic land use models
Rings, sectors, and multiple nuclei are still seen, but
overall pattern is complex
Family status tends to be distributed concentrically
Socioeconomic status tends to be radial
Ethnic status tends to be clustered
Urban sprawl – contemporary problem
Low-density “leapfrog” developments beyond urban edge
Lack of coordinated planning between jurisdictions
Consequence of car-dependent urban growth
Source: October 2006:
http://centerwest.org/futures/frtrng/
Source: October 2006:
http://centerwest.org/futures/frtrng/
Source: October 2006:
http://centerwest.org/futures/frtrng/
Contemporary urban trends
Infill development (opposite of sprawl)
Contemporary urban trends
“New Urbanism”
Prospect Town, Longmont
Contemporary urban trends
Gentrification and
Downtown Revitalization
City models in the Periphery and Semi-Periphery
•Colonial cities = bear imprint of Western colonizers
•Indigenous cities = maintain traditional pre-colonial
structure
•Difficult to classify because they have been affected by
globalization
•Migration and globalization is constantly transforming
the character of these cities
•Some have become megacities: Mexico City, São Paulo
Latin American City
Divided into a traditional
market sector and a
modern high-rise sector
High rent area; proximity
to it is highly desirable
Shopping, residences
for middle and upper
classes
Squatter settlements
(barrios and favelas)
located around the
periphery
Subsaharan African City
Three CBDs:
•Colonial
•Market (used for daily activity)
•Traditional (modern CBD)
Lack of elite/middle class
neighborhoods
Squatter settlements – residents
are recent arrivals from rural
areas.
Southeast Asian City (McGee)
CBD activities
distributed throughout
city – NO CBD
Middle-class
neighborhoods are
larger than in Latin
American cities
Port zone reflects
importance of export
activities