The Urban Mosaic : The Urban Mosaic The Human Mosaic Chapter 11


Culture Regions: Culture Regions Urban culture regions Cultural diffusion in the city The cultural ecology of the city Cultural integration and models of the city Urban landscapes


Introduction: Introduction Like society, the city is composed of many different groups Theme of culture regions can be applied to those parts of the city where people live who share similar traits Most city dwellers are intuitively aware of urban culture regions Visual clues are important to distinguishing different urban culture regions


Social regions: Social regions Distinguishing between social culture regions and ethnic culture regions depends more on the researcher’s emphases and interests than on communities themselves Social region studies usually focus on socioeconomic traits, such as income, education, age, and family structure Ethnic region studies highlight traits such as language and migration history The two concepts overlap because there can be social regions within ethnic regions and vice versa


Social regions: Social regions One way to define social regions is to isolate one social trait and plot its distribution within the city United States census is a common source for trait information Census tracts are small enough to allow subtle texture of social regions to show


Social regions: Social regions United States census is a common source for trait information For example, the next slide shows rough distribution of income in Berkeley, California Tracts with similar average incomes have been lumped together Show areas of high, middle and low income In a rough way correspond to social stratification in city High income areas in hilly east area, where white people dominate Lower-income areas are on flatlands, closer to bay-front industrial areas, and made up of students and minorities Similar mapping could be done using age, education, or percentage of families below poverty level


Social regions: Social regions A visual check is often a simple first step in mapping social regions Another approach is to correlate various social indicators Politicians have long known districts with certain demographic characteristics tend to vote certain ways Urban analysts look at the degree of correlation among factors such as income, occupation, age, and ethnicity Results can be translated into a pattern of multiple-factor urban social regions


Neighborhoods: Neighborhoods Often used to describe small social regions where people with shared values and concerns interact daily A conventional sociological explanation for neighborhoods is that people of similar values cluster together to reduce social conflict Where social consensus exists regarding such matters as home maintenance, child rearing, everyday behavior, and public order, there is little need to worry People who deviate from the consensus face social coercion Celebrates social homogeneity of small spatial communities


Neighborhoods: Neighborhoods Increasingly, neighborhoods are found with more heterogeneity The current concept of neighborhoods is more flexible Embraces traditional components of locality, such as geographic territoriality, political outlook, and shared economic characteristics Also embraces the consensus from both insiders and outsiders perception of a certain area as a “neighborhood”


Neighborhood: Montreal, Canada: Neighborhood: Montreal, Canada


Neighborhood: Montreal, Canada: Neighborhood: Montreal, Canada This working class neighborhood is inhabited by descendents of nineteenth and early twentieth century Irish immigrants. Here, much social activity takes place on the street. The corner store, tavern, park, and Roman Catholic church are also nodes of activity.


Neighborhood: Montreal, Canada: Neighborhood: Montreal, Canada Although the larger area is French, the Irish are bilingual. On public holidays, the Irish fly the red and white, Canadian maple leaf flag, while the French post the blue and white, Quebec fleur-du-leis.


Neighborhood: Montreal, Canada: Neighborhood: Montreal, Canada White, plastic chairs are found on the balconies of both groups because sitting outside and people-watching is a traditional Quebec pastime. With shared values and concerns, these people interact daily in their neighborhood.


Neighborhoods: Neighborhoods May be ethnically and socially diverse, yet think of itself as a social community sharing similar political concerns Hold neighborhood meetings to address these problems Recognized by city hall as a legitimate group with political standing Neighborhood may only develop when a community coalesces around a specific political issue Cohesion may actually erode and wane as issue passes


Neighborhoods: Neighborhoods Concept usually implies people have access to a permanent or semi-permanent place of residence Increasingly in United States’ cities more people are homeless Divorced from ties of neighborhood Nearly impossible to determine number of homeless in United States


Neighborhoods: Neighborhoods Concept usually implies people have access to a permanent or semi-permanent place of residence Definitions of homelessness vary Depends on criteria used and cultural context of particular situation Does living in a friend’s house for more than a month constitute a homeless condition? How permanent does a shelter have to be before it is a home? To some, home connotes a suburban middle-class house To others, it refers to a room in a city-owned shelter


Neighborhoods: Neighborhoods Homeless people are often not counted in census or other population counts May be up to 3 million homeless persons in the United States Concentrated in downtown areas of large cities


Neighborhoods: Neighborhoods Causes of homelessness are varied and complex Many suffer from some type of disorder or handicap Deprived of social networks provided by a permanent neighborhood Most cities have tried providing temporary shelters Many homeless prefer to rely on their own social ties for support in order to maintain some sense of personal pride and privacy


Neighborhoods: Neighborhoods Neighborhood concept is central to cultural geography of cities Recognizes sentiment people have for a “place” and their attachment to it Recognizes how attachment becomes basis for ongoing social and political action Many — if not most — urbanites do not share this sense of neighborhood Urbanites live in perceptually undifferentiated residential areas


Culture Regions: Culture Regions Urban culture regions Cultural diffusion in the city The cultural ecology of the city Cultural integration and models of the city Urban landscapes


Inner and outer city: Inner and outer city Centralizing forces—those diffusion forces that result in residences, stores, and factories locating in the inner or central city Decentralizing forces—those that result in activities locating outside the central city Pattern of homes, neighborhoods, offices, shops, and factories in the city results from constant interplay of these two forces


Centralization: Centralization Economic advantages Accessibility Department stores located in the city center for greater accessibility to customers Especially important before the automobile Streetcars were centered in the city Bakeries and dairies located there so daily deliveries would be efficient


Centralization: Chicago, Illinois: Centralization: Chicago, Illinois


Centralization: Chicago, Illinois: Centralization: Chicago, Illinois Chicago’s origins derive from accessibility. Situated on Lake Michigan, it began as a prairie seaport for the agricultural Midwest and by 1856, was the focus of ten trunk lines. Industries and immigrant workers agglomerated in the central city. After the Great Fire of 1871, many industries relocated on the more spacious periphery and the downtown developed as a retail and financial center.


Centralization: Chicago, Illinois: Centralization: Chicago, Illinois The 1885 invention of the skyscraper and the construction of elevated trains intensified downtown growth and by 1920, the pattern was set: Chicago was the nation’s retail and mail-order capital. This view is from the 1454’ Sears Tower to the 1127’John Hancock Tower.


Centralization: Chicago, Illinois: Centralization: Chicago, Illinois The copper-roofed building on the Chicago River in the lower left is the Apparel and Merchandising Mart; the IBM building stands next to the round Marina towers; and the Chicago Temple, Daley Center and First National bank are at the lower right. Note the location of the tallest structures (and most costly land) close to the lake front, known as the Gold Coast. A transitional zone lies behind.


Centralization: Centralization Economic advantages Agglomeration or clustering results in mutual benefits for businesses Retail stores locate near one another to take advantage of pedestrian traffic A large department store generates foot traffic, so nearby stores will also benefit Historically, offices clustered together in the city center Need for communication before the telephone Messengers hand-carried work of banks, insurance firms, lawyers, etc. Still cluster together because of need for face-to-face communication Take advantage of complicated support system that grows up in the central city


Centralization: Centralization Social advantages Strength of historical momentum should not be underestimated Many activities remain in the central city because they began there long ago Example of the financial district in San Francisco located on Montgomery Street Established in the gold rush of 1849 Area was the center of commercial action Originally along the waterfront, later land-filling extended the shoreline Never moved it absolute location


Centralization: Centralization Social advantages Prestige is a strong centralizing force Important for advertising firms to have a New York Madison Avenue address Important for a stockbroker to be on Wall Street Extends to many activities in cities of all sizes “Downtown lawyer” and “uptown banker” are examples


Centralization: Centralization Social advantages Prestige is a strong centralizing force High-income neighborhoods were located close to the downtown area This trend has weakened in North America Downtown areas have become congested and noisy Transportation has encouraged suburban residences London and Paris still have very prestigious neighborhoods directly in the downtown area


Centralization: Centralization Social advantages Strongest social force for centralization has been the desire to live near one’s employment Before development of the electric trolley in the 1880s, most urban dwellers had little choice other than walking to work Most people lived near the central city because that was where the jobs were Even after electric streetcar lines many people continued to walk to work Many could not afford housing in the new suburbs


Decentralization: Decentralization The past 40 years witnessed massive changes in form and function of most Western cities In the United States, suburbanization of residences and workplaces have created downtowns empty of economic vitality


Decentralization: Irvine, California: Decentralization: Irvine, California


Decentralization: Irvine, California: Decentralization: Irvine, California This corporate tower is part of Irvine Spectrum, a high-tech corridor about 35 miles southwest of Los Angeles. Focusing on the edge-cities of Irvine, Newport, and Costa Mesa, this is a region of master-planned communities, office


Decentralization: Irvine, California: Decentralization: Irvine, California parks, giant malls, and lateral commuting that experienced phenomenal growth in the 1980s when decentralization became a major trend in North American urban development.


Decentralization: Decentralization Geographer Neil Smith’s views Processes of suburbanization and decline of inner city are fundamentally linked Capital investment in suburbs often made possible by disinvestment from central city Post-World War fl American investor found greater returns on their money in new suburbs Refers to these processes as uneven development


Decentralization: Decentralization Socioeconomic factors Changes in accessibility have been a major reason for decentralization Department stores now find customers have moved to the suburbs People no longer shop downtown Other business have moved to the suburbs Food-processing plants move to minimize transportation costs Many find trucking more effective than railways because of freeways Offices locate near airports so executive and salespeople can fly in and out more easily


Decentralization: Decentralization Socioeconomic factors Agglomeration’s benefits have now become liabilities in many downtown areas Rents increased as a result of high demand for space Congestion in the support system Traffic congestion — delivery to market time-consuming In some areas traffic moves slower than it did at the turn of the century Employees may demand higher wages as compensation for the inconveniences of central-city living


Decentralization: Decentralization Socioeconomic factors Many firms have left New York City for the suburbs Claim it cost less to locate there Employees are happier and more productive Benefits of clustering in new suburban locations Industrial parks, where costs of utilities and transportation links are shared by all occupants Real estate developments take advantage of clustering by sharing costs of schools, parks, road improvement, and utilities New residents prefer a new development when they know a full range of services is available nearby


Decentralization: Decentralization Socioeconomic factors First suburbs were “bedroom communities” People commuted to jobs in downtown area Now people work in suburban industrial parks, etc. Lateral commuting — travel from one suburb to another Freeway congestion now goes both directions Downtown areas today are faced with decay and lack of investors


Public policy: Public policy At the national level, has contributed greatly to decentralization and abandonment of our cities Federal Highway Act of 1916 and Interstate Highway Act of 1956 Directed government spending on transportation to cars and trucks Urban expressways, in combination with emerging trucking industry, led to massive decentralization of industry and housing Ability to deduct mortgage interest from income for tax purposes favors individual home ownership


Public policy: Public policy At the national level, has contributed greatly to decentralization and abandonment of our cities New Deal enactment of the Federal Housing Administration in 1934, and the GI Bill of 1944 Meant to put people back to work in the building trades Also to help house returning soldiers after World War II What they did was insure long-term mortgages for home construction and sale


Public policy: Public policy At the national level, has contributed greatly to decentralization and abandonment of our cities Although FHA legislation contained no explicit antiurban bias, most houses it insured were located in new residential suburban developments By setting particular terms for its insurance, the FHA favored development of single-family over multifamily projects FHA-insured loans for repairs were short term and generally small


Public policy: Public policy At the national level, has contributed greatly to decentralization and abandonment of our cities To receive a loan, applicant and neighborhood of the property were to be rated by an “unbiased professional” Was intended to guarantee property value of house would be greater than the debt Encouraged bias against any neighborhood considered a potential risk in terms of property values FHA warned against neighborhoods with a racial mix, assuming such a social climate would bring property values down


Public policy: Public policy At the national level, has contributed greatly to decentralization and abandonment of our cities Encouraged enactment of restrictive covenants written in property deeds prohibiting certain “undesirable” groups from buying property Prepared maps of metropolitan areas, depicting locations of African- American families and predicting their spread Often served as the basis for red-lining, a practice in which banks and mortgage companies commonly demarcated areas considered to be high risk for loans Red lines were often drawn around these areas


Public policy: Public policy United States Housing Act of 1937 was intended to provide public housing for those who could not afford private housing Did encourage construction of many low-income housing units Most were built in the inner city Contributed to view of suburbs as refuge of white middle class Growing pattern of racial and economic segregation arose in part because public housing decisions were left up to local municipalities Legislation required that for every unit of public housing built, one inferior housing unit had to be eliminated This insured housing would be constructed in older, downtown areas


The costs of decentralization: The costs of decentralization Many urban problems in North American cities are direct products of the rapid decentralization in the last 30 years Vacant storefronts, empty offices, and deserted factories Retail sales have steadily declined in central cities Offices are finding advantages in suburban locations Where rapid suburbanization has been the case, sprawl has usually resulted


The costs of decentralization: The costs of decentralization A common pattern is leapfrog or checkerboard development Housing tracts jump over parcels of farmland Results in a mixture of open lands with built-up areas Results when developers buy cheaper land away from built-up areas Home buyers often pay premium prices for homes in subdivisions surrounded by farmlands


The costs of decentralization: The costs of decentralization A common pattern is leapfrog or checkerboard development Housing tracts jump over parcels of farmland Results in a mixture of open lands with built-up areas Results when developers buy cheaper land away from built-up areas Home buyers often pay premium prices for homes in subdivisions surrounded by farmlands More expensive to provide city services — police, fire protection, sewers, and electrical lines


The costs of decentralization: The costs of decentralization The most efficient development is adding new housing directly adjacent to built-up areas Sprawl extracts high costs because of increased use of cars Public transportation is very costly and inefficient when it must serve a low- density checkerboard development pattern Many cities and transit firms cannot extend line into these areas This leave the car as the only form of transportation More energy is consumed for fuel More air pollution is created by exhaust More time is spent in commuting and everyday activities than in a centralized city


The costs of decentralization: The costs of decentralization Loss of valuable land to urban development Checkerboard farm parcels have a hard time making ends meet Usually taxed at extremely high rates because land has high potential for development Taxes eat up their resources Usually end up selling out to subdividers Leapfrog development goes on


The costs of decentralization: The costs of decentralization Measures being taken by cities to curb sprawling growth San Jose, California, is focusing new development on empty parcels of the checkerboard pattern — called in filling Other cities are tying the number of building permits granted each year to availability of urban services


Gentrification : Gentrification The movement of middle class people into deteriorated areas of city centers Often begins in an inner-city, rundown residential district Lower property values make these areas more affordable than suburban housing Infusion of new capital in housing market results in higher property values, resulting in displacement of residents who cannot afford to stay Displacement of some opens more housing for gentrification


Gentrification : Gentrification Commercial gentrification usually follows residential New patterns of consumption are introduced by middle class people Urban shopping malls and pedestrian shopping corridors bring the conveniences of the suburbs into the city Bars and restaurants provide entertainment and nightlife


Waterfront Gentrification:San Diego, California: Waterfront Gentrification: San Diego, California


Waterfront Gentrification:San Diego, California: Waterfront Gentrification: San Diego, California This “zone of discard” was San Diego’s infamous skid row and industrial waterfront. To encourage movement in and through this zone, a quaint shopping complex called Seaport Village, and a park and


Waterfront Gentrification:San Diego, California: Waterfront Gentrification: San Diego, California marina were installed as part of the city’s larger revitalization plan. The project will incorporate residential units for all income levels, offices, hotels, retail shops, and recreational facilities. These landscape changes signify both deindustrialization and rise of the service sector.


Gentrification : Gentrification Economic factors As investments were made in the suburbs after World War II, inner city land was devaluated Inner city land became a better investment spurring on gentrification process


Gentrification : Gentrification Economic factors Most Western countries have been experiencing a process known as deindustriallzation A shift to the service sector leading to abandonment of older industrial districts in the inner city Including the waterfront, many of these areas are prime targets for gentrification Waterfront areas have been changed from noisy commercial port areas into aesthetic assets The economic shift to the service sector also means new productive areas will be dedicated to white-collar activities The city will be viewed as a more “liveable” environment


Gentrification : Gentrification Social factors Maturing of the baby-boom generation has led to modifications of our “traditional” family structure and lifestyle Majority of women in the paid labor force Many couples choose not to have children or delay the decision Gentrified location in the inner city is close to their managerial or professional jobs downtown Easier to maintain and more interesting that bland suburbs Also a way of displaying social status Inner cities frequently exploit their historical association as a status symbol


Gentrification : Gentrification Sexuality and gentrification Gentrification of post-war period has provided gays and lesbians with opportunity to actively and openly reshape entire neighborhoods Gays have seized an opportunity to combat oppression by creating neighborhoods over which they have maximum control and which meet long-neglected needs Limited numbers and types of lesbian spaces in cities also serve as community-building centers for lesbian social networks Gentrified neighborhood of Park Slope in Brooklyn is home to the “heaviest concentration of lesbians in the U.S.


Gentrification : Gentrification The costs of gentrification Success of a gentrification project usually measured by its appeal to upper-class clientele Suggests they are completely homogeneous in their use of land Residential areas are consciously planned to be separate from commercial districts Sorted by cost and tenure type Often draws on suburban notion of residential homogeneity and eliminates the diversity and heterogeneity of urban life


Gentrification and Adaptive Re-Use:Montreal, Quebec: Gentrification and Adaptive Re-Use: Montreal, Quebec


Gentrification and Adaptive Re-Use:Montreal, Quebec: Gentrification and Adaptive Re-Use: Montreal, Quebec Gentrification often requires condemnation and destruction of old structures. An alternative to this is “adaptive re-use” whereby a building is redesigned for alternate reuse.


Gentrification and Adaptive Re-Use:Montreal, Quebec: Gentrification and Adaptive Re-Use: Montreal, Quebec This Monkland (a monastery is nearby) was an upscale theater in a pre-World War II suburb. A neighborhood in transition, decline is being arrested with revitalization. The theater has been transformed into a health club, with retail shops replacing the theater lobby.


Culture Regions: Culture Regions Urban culture regions Cultural diffusion in the city The cultural ecology of the city Cultural integration and models of the city Urban landscapes


The urban ecosystem: The urban ecosystem There are four important concepts related to the ecosystem approach Input A city needs water to survive, so it imports a given amount each day Water may come either from local sources, or from long distances via canals and aqueducts


The urban ecosystem: The urban ecosystem There are four important concepts related to the ecosystem approach Outputs Some water is consumed by people Other water becomes part of different manufactured products, and may leave the city as exported goods Other water is used for industrial cooling and evaporates Most water — about 95 percent — is used to convey wastes from one point to another From home to sewer plant, from factory to river, from sidewalk to gutter — most troublesome aspect of urban system


The urban ecosystem: The urban ecosystem There are four important concepts related to the ecosystem approach A small amount of city water is not used, but stored for future use Feedback Crucial part of any system Repercussions on a system when an element is returned in modified form by other components Example—city’s use of water from a lake both for its water supply and as a dumping area for sewage Complicated though not conclusively proven example City-produced air pollution may alter weather patterns, straining water supply system May cause drought or flooding


The urban geologic environment: The urban geologic environment Topography can influence urban development in three ways Direction of city growth Patterning of social regions Routing of transportation


The urban geologic environment: The urban geologic environment Potential effect depends on a number of cultural variables Society’s technological level Capital available for modification of geologic environment Stage in city’s development Geologic environment may have a great effect on those cities in early stages of growth Spatial alternatives to expending energy and money on modifying terrain Where technology is lacking for bulldozing, landfill, or high-stress building construction In a rich, highly industrialized culture, far more examples of humans modifying the geologic environment are available


The urban geologic environment: The urban geologic environment Ways topography might influence early stages of city growth Cities usually expand first on areas where building costs are lowest Flat, well-drained land close to transportation and adjacent to existing urban activities will be built on first Hills, marshes, and floodplains may be built on only in later stages of city growth


The urban geologic environment: The urban geologic environment Results of increased site preparation —grading hills or draining swamps, etc. May be passed on to consumer Area will be occupied by higher-income groups Lower-income groups may occupy the area Lots may be smaller Houses may be undersized Shortcuts taken in construction methods producing a finished product of lower quality


The urban geologic environment: The urban geologic environment Topography can affect urban transportation systems Close link between development and transportation Horse-drawn streetcars can only be used on flat terrain Starting in the 1890s, electric trolley systems profoundly altered the pattern of urban development The automobile led to widespread building on steep urban slopes


Urban weather and climate : Urban weather and climate Cities alter just about all aspects of local weather and climate Temperatures are higher Rainfall increases Incidence of fog and cloudiness is greater Atmosphere pollution is much higher


Urban weather and climate : Urban weather and climate How cities alter the climate Large areas of pavement and buildings —about 50 percent is hard surface Rainfall quickly carried into gutters and sewers Little moisture left for the process of evaporative cooling


Urban weather and climate : Urban weather and climate Cities generate enormous amounts of heat Comes from heating systems in buildings, autos, industry, and human bodies On a winter day in Manhattan, amount of heat produced is two-and-one-half times that reaching the ground from the sun This generation of heat sitting over the city is called an urban heat island


Urban weather and climate : Urban weather and climate Rain and snowfall are also affected by urbanization Because of higher temperatures, snowfall will be about 5 percent less Rainfall can be 5 to 10 percent higher Function of two factors Large number of dust particles in urban air are necessary precondition for condensation Rainfall increases near 10 percent have been documented immediately downwind from cities Some have observed a pattern of reduced rainfall on weekends because dust particle generation from autos and industry is reduced Fog and clouds (dust domes) are usually more frequent around cities


Urban weather and climate : Urban weather and climate City-generated air pollution is one of the most serious problems of our times Can cause serious illness, even death Damages agriculture near cities Unless halted, it may actually be the main limiting factor on urban growth


Acid Damage: Vienna, Austria: Acid Damage: Vienna, Austria


Acid Damage: Vienna, Austria: Acid Damage: Vienna, Austria Corrosive acid deposition occurs when sulfur and nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere from such sources as motor vehicles and smokestack industries.


Acid Damage: Vienna, Austria: Acid Damage: Vienna, Austria This originally white, French Gothic Votivkirche (church) was built from 1856-1879. The costly cleaning process has started with the 325’ steeples.


Urban hydrology : Urban hydrology The city is a great consumer of water Residential areas usually consume the most Each residential person uses about 60 gallons per day Consumption is greater in drier climates, where lots are larger, and in middle and higher-income neighborhoods Higher-income groups usually have a larger number of water-using appliances


Urban hydrology : Urban hydrology When water price increases people use less, as was illustrated by periods of drought in the West Urbanization seems to increase both the frequency and magnitude of flooding Creates large impervious areas where water cannot soak into the earth Precipitation is converted into immediate runoff —forced into gutters, sewers, and straightened stream channels bared of vegetation Time between rainfall and peak runoff is reduced in cities In the countryside water runs across soil and vegetation into stream channels and on into rivers


Urban vegetation : Urban vegetation Studies show two-thirds of a typical North American city is comprised of trees and herbaceous plants It affects city’s geology, hydrology, and meteorology Affects quantity and quality of surface water and groundwater Reduces wind velocity, turbulence, and temperature extremes Affects pattern of snow accumulation and melting


Urban vegetation : Urban vegetation It affects city’s geology, hydrology, and meteorology Absorbs thousand of tons of airborne particulates and atmospheric gases Gives habitat for mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects Masks out much of the city’s noise Affects distribution of natural and artificial light Extremely important in development of soil profiles, which control hillside stability


Urban Vegetation: Oklahoma City: Urban Vegetation: Oklahoma City


Urban Vegetation: Oklahoma City: Urban Vegetation: Oklahoma City Inspired by Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens, Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei created a master redevelopment plan for OKC’s downtown in 1964. It includes landscaped hills, lakes, fountains, and a tropical, botanical garden within a glass-tubed bridge.


Urban Vegetation: Oklahoma City: Urban Vegetation: Oklahoma City Urban vegetation affects the quantity and quality of ground water, reduces temperature extremes, dampens noise, and provides recreational space for people and habitat for wildlife. What ongoing costs are incurred by this project?