Urban Environments

Neanderthals and early homo Sapiens were hunter gatherers who moved from place to place following wild animals and seasonal flora.

Neolithic Revolution 10000bp – Switch from hunter gathering to sedentary agriculture and settlement. Catal Huyuk Anatolian Plateau, Jericho Jordan

Fertile Crescent had the right animals and plants for domestication and crops. (wheat, barley, cows, goats sheep and pigs)

Also the Indus valley of Pakistan/India and the Yangtze in China

These areas were the first “civilisations”

The word civilisation comes from the latin civis meaning citizen of a city.

Complex societies with, division of labour and social hierarchy tend to establish permanent settlements.

Urbanisation and the Industrial Revolution

Starting in Britain in the late eighteenth century led to increased urbanisation in Britain and then continental Europe and North America.

Cities became centres of production, as manufacturing increased rapidly and employment in agriculture decreased.

Manchester “Cottonopolis” – The first industrial city

Urbanisation and the Population Explosion

Now we can see global levels of urbanisation. NICs and LEDCs are urbanising at a very fast rate.

Rural to Urban migration

Natural increase

Settlements are places where people live.

They are created by us.

They reflect our culture, our beliefs, our values.

They range in size from small farmsteads to a metropolis with millions of inhabitants

We could create perfect urban environments

But urban environments develop through a combination of many factors, planned / unplanned, sometimes conflicting, always changing.

The tyranny of small decisions.

What would be your ideal settlement?

Piero della Francesca - Ideal City, Galleria Nazionale at Urbino

The island of Utopia as described by Thomas Moore

Palmanova - Italy

The City of the Sun as described by T. Campanella

For the first time in human history the majority of the world’s population now live in cities.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/world/2006/urbanisation/default.stm

We are modifying huge areas of land, not just for cities, but also for the agricultural land, quarrying for building materials, energy resources which supply these cities. The ecological footprint of cities is far bigger than their land area.

We are truly in the Anthropocene Age.

What is the environmental impact of increased urbanisation?

Can cities be sustainable? (live in a way which satisfies our needs but does not compromise future generations ability to meet their needs)

Do cities satisfy peoples needs and wants? Are people happier living in cities or the countryside?

Is there an optimum size for a city?

What is the impact of primate mega cities?

Can urban processes be controlled or managed?

What is the future for the urban poor?

Urban system with a linear metabolism

Urban system with a Circular Metabolism

Urban densities and private transport

Urbanisation

Growth in the percentage of the population living in urban areas

Urban Growth

Growth in the size of cities

World Urbanisation

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/world/2006/urbanisation/default.stm

Landmark 188/189

Hart 212/213

Nagle 268 289

Pop, Res, Dev 62 (Zelinsky)

Atlas data

Use the information to describe and explain the trends in world urbanisation.

Remember Zelinsky’s Model of Mobility Transition?

World Urbanisation

• Key trends

• Evidence

• Explanations

• Implications

• Research possibilities