Introduction

Metropolitan area, also called

Metropolis, a major city together with its
suburbs and nearby cities, towns, and environs
over which the major city exercises a
commanding economic and social influence.
Literally construed, metropolis from the Greek
means “mother city,” and by implication there
are progeny or dependents scattered about
the core area.

Sometimes there may be two or more major cities, as in the Tokyo–Yokohama

Metropolitan Area (Japan) or an agglomeration of metropolitan boroughs as in
Greater London (England). An urbanized area is defined as having a population of at
least 50,000, and a population density of at least 1,000 per square mile.

Importance of Urban Systems

The spatial pattern and evolution of urban system are important
manifestations of the human social development process on a spatial level, which
reflects the change in the human social spatial structure and reveals the spatial
patterns of the overall behavior of human society. These changes and their patterns
are the foundations for the research of the sustainable development of human
society nowadays. Urban geographers want to know how cities are arranged, what
they look like, how their circulation systems function, how commuting patterns
develop and change, how and why people move from one part of the city to another.
In short, how and why a city and its residents look, act, and change as they do. To do
these studies, of course, you need to have urban places.

Key Terms in Urban Systems

1. URBAN
An urban area is the region surrounding
a city. Most inhabitants of urban areas
have non-agricultural jobs. Urban areas
are very developed, meaning there is
a density of human structures such as
houses, commercial buildings, roads,
bridges, and railways.

"Urban area" can refer to towns, cities, and suburbs. An urban area includes the
city itself, as well as the surrounding areas. Many urban areas are called
metropolitan areas, or "greater," as in Greater New York or Grea ter London.
 When two or more metropolitan areas grow until they combine, the result may be
known as a megalopolis. In the United States, the urban area of Boston,
Massachusetts, eventually spread as far south as Washington, D.C., creating the
megalopolis of BosWash, or the Northeast Corridor.

2. RURAL AREAS

Rural areas are the opposite of urban

areas. Rural areas, often called "the
country," have low population density
and large amounts of undeveloped
land. Usually, the difference between
a rural area and an urban area is clear.
But in developed countries with large
populations, such as Japan, the
difference is becoming less clear. In
the United States, settlements with 2,500 inhabitants or more are defined as
urban. In Japan, which is far more densely populated than the U.S., only
settlements with 30,000 people or more are considered urban.

Throughout the world, the dominant pattern of migration within countries

has been from rural to urban areas. This is partly because
improved technology has decreased the need for agricultural workers and
partly because cities are seen as offering greater economic opportunities.
Most of the world’s people, however, still live in rural areas.

3. CITY

Urban geographers generally define the city as a concentration of people

with a similar way of life-based on job type, cultural preferences, political
views, and lifestyle. Specialized land uses, a variety of different institutions,
and use of resources also help in distinguishing one city from another.

In addition, urban geographers also work to differentiate areas of different

sizes. Because it is hard to find sharp distinctions between areas of different
sizes, urban geographers often use the rural-urban continuum to guide their
understanding and help classify areas. It takes into account hamlets and
villages which are generally considered rural and consist of small, dispersed
populations, as well as cities and metropolitan areas considered urban with
concentrated, dense populations.

4. TOWN

One type of urban area is a town. A town is generally larger than a village, but
smaller than a city. Some geographers further define a town as having 2,500 to
20,000 residents.
 Towns usually have local self-government, and they may grow around specialized
economic activities, such as mining or railroading.

The western part of the United States, for instance, is dotted with "ghost towns."
Ghost towns no longer have any human population. They are full of abandoned
buildings and roads that have been overtaken by shrubs and natural vegetation.

Many ghost towns in the western U.S. are the remains of "boom towns," which
developed after gold and silver were discovered in the area in the 19th century.
Economic activity boomed in these towns, most of it centred on mining. When all
the gold and silver was mined, economic activity stopped and people moved away,
leaving ghost towns of empty homes and businesses.

5. CENTRAL CITY
A central city is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan
area, of which the other smaller cities and towns of the metropolitan area
are suburbs. A central city is usually the first settlement established in an
urban region before the outlying districts came into existence, later in
history. Central cities often form the regional downtowns of metro areas.
Central city may also refer to:

 A central business district, the commercial and business centre of a city

 The urban core of a prefecture-level city (as opposed to the much larger
region it governs)
 National Central City of China

Historical Roots of Urban System

Human migrations within recorded history have transformed the entire aspect
of lands and continents and the racial, ethnic, and linguistic composition of their
populations. The largest migration in history was the so-called Great Atlantic
Migration from Europe to North America, the first major wave of which began in the
1840s with mass movements from Ireland and Germany. In the 1880s a second and
larger wave developed from eastern and southern Europe; between 1880 and 1910
some 17 million Europeans entered the United States. The total number of Europeans
reaching the United States amounted to 37 million between 1820 and 1980.

The dominant trend in internal migration during the 20th century has been the
movement from rural to urban areas. As a consequence, urban growth since World
War II has been very rapid in much of the world, particularly in developing countries.

1. Ancient Cities
 Between 7,000 & 5,000 b.p. agricultural societies became more complex
with irrigation & larger scale farming.
  Stratified societies developed with priests, merchants, administrators,
soldiers and farmers.
 Central authority or the state developed which led to the rise of ancient
civilizations such as Egypt, Greece & the Roman Empire.
2. Attributes of Cities
 Centers of political power
 Centers of industrial power
 Centers of technology
 A market place for goods
 Specialization in products and services
 Services of all types
 Medical advances
 Cultural and Artistic pursuits
 Centers of education and research
 Entertainment of all types
 Sports teams, arenas and parks
 An anchor of society
3. Five Hearth of Urbanization

A. MESOPOTAMIA- Urbanization began in

ancient Mesopotamia in the Uruk Period
(4300-3100 BCE) for reasons scholars
have not yet agreed on. It is speculated,
however, that a particularly prosperous
and efficient village attracted the
attention of other, less prosperous,
tribes who then attached themselves to the successful settlement.
B. NILE RIVER VALLEY- Some argues this to not
be a true hearth but a place of diffusion from
Mesopotamia. People did not build walls to
protect them Power was concentrated with
people who controlled irrigation systems.
Fact of not having walls contributed to the
power of its rulers and their ability to build pyramids, tombs, and the
Sphinx.
C. INDUS RIVER- First cities were Harappa and
Mohenjo Daro. Here are some of its
characteristics. Intricate planning of city points
to a clear leadership class. No palaces and
houses were equal in size - no monuments. All
buildings had access to waste water drains and
stone-lined wells. City had thick walls.
 Significant trade to as far away as the Mediterranean.
D. MESOAMERICA- Cities were religious
centres. Urban elite augmented
authority with priests, temples and
shrines. Rulers/priests were thought to
have divine authority and were god-
kings. Examples of their might were the
building of structures of Yucatan, Guatemala , and Honduras (Mayan
Indians).
4. THEOCRATIC CITIES
 God-kings or theocratic rulers
developed in some ancient cities.
Priests, temples and shrines took
center stage in Yucatan, Guatemala and
Honduras
 They also served as educational centers
with teachers and Philosophers. Today,
there aren’t many theocracies in the
world, but there are a few nations that have this type of government.
These nations are:
 Vatican City Yemen
 Saudi Arabia Sudan
 Iran Mauritania
5. ROMAN CITIES
 The Romans created the
largest urban system with an
excellent transportation
system.
 The Romans were masters of
engineering efficiency
creating aqueducts, sewers,
roads, bridges and great public buildings like arenas and baths.
 Roman cities had great contrast-great villas & spacious avenues,
aqueducts, baths and sewers, yet also –
 Wretchedly poor housing in 4-5 story over-crowded tenements, dirty,
noisy, crime-ridden streets and a population composed of ½ slaves. With
the collapse of the empire the city of 1 ½ m. shrunk to less than 50,00o
6. PRE-INDUSTRIAL CITIES
 An urban settlement characteristics of the
period before the Industrial Revolution,
namely feudal societies. Although such cities
were diverse Gideon Sjoberg proposed that
they shared similar social and morphological
 features. These include elite residences at the centre surrounded by
lower class neighbourhoods where households were grouped by
occupation, ethnicity, or extended family.
7. PRIMATE CITY
 Some scholars define a primate city as one that is larger than the
combined populations of the second and third-ranked cities in a
country. This definition does not represent true primacy, however, as
the size of the first ranked city is not disproportionate to the second.
 Primate cities are often, but not always, the capital cities of a country.
 For Example: Paris (9.6 million) is definitely the focus of France while
Marseilles has a population of 1.3 million. Mexico City, Mexico (21.2
million) is significantly larger than 2nd largest Guadalajara (1.6 million)
8. MODERN WESTERN CITIES
 Medieval city was bleak and grimy
with narrow dangerous streets.
 Unpaved streets provided poor
sanitation.
 The tallest buildings were the
church and castle
 Manufacturing city first
developed in Britain, Later
Western Europe and North America.
 Rapidly growing factory system with railroads and tenement slums
 Modernization of American cities took place in late 19th cent.
 Electric trolley and other forms of mass transportation cities transport
system became circumferential and radial.
9. SECOND URBAN REVOLUTION
 The Second Urban Revolution occurred in the late 1800s. Large cities of
industry developed in quick succession and urbanization was prevalent.
However, the new urban landscape often times reflected harsh
conditions for those that dwelt within the confines of the cities.
 Such people and workers that dwelt withing the urban centres lived
most often in close, compact, and efficient housing units. Industrial
towns in British Midlands during this time were called “black towns” for
the soot from the pollution of the production.
 A large scale movement of people to cities to work in manufacturing.
Made possible by:
i. Second agricultural revolution that improved food production
and created a larger surplus.
ii. Industrialization, which encouraged growth cities near
10. MODERN URBANIZATION
 The modern concept of the city must inevitably adapt to current human
needs, through the acceptance of new movements in the direction of
 modern urbanization of cities and towns, and large megalopolises.
Modern urban concept contains certain basic elements on which you
can follow the development, maturation and futuristic development of
an urban spatial concept. The basic elements can be categorized: space,
modern materials, the needs of man, communication infrastructure
needs, environmental considerations, directions of modern urban
concept etc. Contemporary urban living requires changing the way
urban life, and therefore changing the spatial architectural concept of
the city. Twenty-first century offers various forms of urban concepts, as
an extension of the modern history of development of towns or
completely new concepts built city- satellites, a futuristic form of
separate spatial units that operate independently. The analyses and
views of modern urbanites are directed primarily towards meeting
human needs today and in the future. Analyses related than human
needs, the application of new materials, and relationship to the
environment and its conservation, adaptation to new futuristic
architectural visions in urban space, creating and developing new forms
and standards of housing and so on. It takes setting directions that
would move contemporary urbanism, in addition to the protection of
human existence, cost of construction, environmental protection,
within the concept of the modern city.
11. GREAT CITIES
 More than 300 cities in the
world have populations
exceeding 1 million. If you
compare this map with
text Figure 18-6, you will
find that the former map
shows the concentration
of large cities in eastern
North America , Western Europe , and Japan . Several of the great urban
complexes in these regions are the products of megalopolitan
coalescence. The fastest-growing megacities, however, are in South and
East Asia .
 Many of the world’s most populous cities are found in the poorer
countries, and it also indicates how fast individual cities in poorer
countries are growing compared to conurbations in richer countries.
Despite wretched living conditions for many of their inhabitants, cities
continue to attract new residents by the millions.
12. NEW URBANISM
 NEW URBANISM promotes the creation and restoration of diverse,
walkable, compact, vibrant, mixed-use communities composed of the
same components as conventional development, but assembled in a
 more integrated fashion, in the
form of complete communities.
These contain housing, work
places, shops, entertainment,
schools, parks, and civic facilities
essential to the daily lives of the
residents, all within easy walking
distance of each other. New
Urbanism promotes the increased use of trains and light rail, instead of
more highways and roads. Urban living is rapidly becoming the new hip
and modern way to live for people of all ages. Currently, there are over
4,000 New Urbanist projects planned or under construction in the
United States alone, half of which are in historic urban centres.
 NEW URBANISM is the most important planning movement this century,
and is about creating a better future for us all. It is an international
movement to reform the design of the built environment, and is about
raising our quality of life and standard of living by creating better places
to live. New Urbanism is the revival of our lost art of place-making, and
is essentially a re-ordering of the built environment into the form of
complete cities, towns, villages, and neighborhoods - the way
communities have been built for centuries around the world. New
Urbanism involves fixing and infilling cities, as well as the creation of
compact new towns and villages.

THE PRINCIPLES OF NEW URBANISM

The principles of New Urbanism can be applied increasingly to projects at the

full range of scales from a single building to an entire community.

1. Walkability

 Most things within a 10-minute walk of home and work

 Pedestrian friendly street design (buildings close to street; porches,
windows & doors; tree-lined streets; on street parking; hidden parking
lots; garages in rear lane; narrow, slow speed streets)
 Pedestrian streets free of cars in special cases

2. Connectivity

 Interconnected street grid network disperses traffic & eases walking

 A hierarchy of narrow streets, boulevards, and alleys
 High quality pedestrian network and public realm makes walking
pleasurable
3. Mixed-Use & Diversity

 A mix of shops, offices, apartments, and homes on site. Mixed-use

within neighborhoods, within blocks, and within buildings
 Diversity of people - of ages, income levels, cultures, and races

4. Mixed Housing

 A range of types, sizes and prices in closer proximity

5. Quality Architecture & Urban Design

 Emphasis on beauty, aesthetics, human comfort, and creating a sense of

place;
 Special placement of civic uses and sites within community. Human
scale architecture & beautiful surroundings nourish the human spirit

6. Traditional Neighborhood Structure

 Discernable center and edge

 Public space at center
 Importance of quality public realm; public open space designed as civic
art
 Contains a range of uses and densities within 10-minute walk
 Transect planning: Highest densities at town center; progressively less
dense towards the edge. The transect is an analytical system that
conceptualizes mutually reinforcing elements, creating a series of specific
natural habitats and/or urban lifestyle settings. The Transect integrates
environmental methodology for habitat assessment with zoning
methodology for community design. The professional boundary
between the natural and man-made disappears, enabling
environmentalists to assess the design of the human habitat and the
urbanists to support the viability of nature. This urban-to-rural transect
hierarchy has appropriate building and street types for each area along
the continuum.

7. Increased Density

 More buildings, residences, shops, and services closer together for

ease of walking, to enable a more efficient use of services and
resources, and to create a more convenient, enjoyable place to live.
 New Urbanism design principles are applied at the full range of
densities from small towns, to large cities

8. Smart Transportation

 A network of high-quality trains connecting cities, towns, and

neighbourhoods together
  Pedestrian-friendly design that encourages a greater use of bicycles,
rollerblades, scooters, and walking as daily transportation

9. Sustainability

 Minimal environmental impact of development and its operations

 Eco-friendly technologies, respect for ecology and value of natural
systems
 Energy efficiency
 Less use of finite fuels
 More local production
 More walking, less driving

10. Quality of Life

 Taken together these add up to a high quality of life well worth

living, and create places that enrich, uplift, and inspire the human
spirit.

Globalization and the Urban System

Urbanization brings with it several consequences – both adverse and
beneficial. They impact on social and environmental areas.

1. ADVANTAGES
 Efficiency – Cities are often more efficient than rural areas. Less
effort is needed to supply basic amenities such as fresh water and
electricity. Research and recycling programs are possible only in
cities. In most cities flats are prevalent. In flats many people can be
accommodated within a small land area.
 Convenience – Access to education, health, social services and
cultural activities is more readily available to people in cities than in
villages. Life in cities is much mored comfortable, compared to life in
villages. Cities have more advanced communication and transport
networks.
 Concentration of resources – Since most major human settlements
were established near natural resources from ancient times, lot of
resources are available in and around cities. Facilities to exploit these
resources optimally also exist only in cities.
 Concentration of Educational facilities – More schools, colleges and
universities are established in cities to train and develop human
resources. Varieties of educational choices are available offering
students a wide choice for their future careers. In this age of
knowledge society it has become more and more important.
  Better Social integration – People of many caste, groups and
religions live and work together in cities, which creates better
understanding and harmony and helps breakdown social and cultural
barriers.
 New Markets-Internet has opened up a new market worldwide.
Anyone can sell in this market by posting free classifieds web from
the comfort of the home.
 Economic Improvement – High-tech industries earn valuable foreign
exchange and lot of money for the country.
2. DISADVANTAGES

There is increasing competition for facilities in urban areas, which results in

several negative effects. Many people mainly farmers who move to cities in
search of a better life and better occupational opportunities end up as casual
labourers. This leads to menacing problems of urbanization – the growth of slums.

SLUMS are urban areas that are heavily populated with substandard housing and
very poor living conditions. These result in several problems.

 Land insecurity – Slums are usually located on land, not owned by

the slum dwellers. They can be evicted at any time by the
landowners.
 Poor living conditions – Crowding and lack of sanitation. This often
contributes to outbreak of diseases. Utilities such as water,
electricity and sewage disposal are also lacking in these areas.
 Unemployment – Since the number of people aspiring for jobs is
more than jobs available, unemployment is a natural outcome of
situation.
 Crime – Slum conditions make maintenance of law and order
difficult. Patrolling of slums is often not on priority list of law
enforcing officers. Unemployment and poverty force people to
engage in anti-social activities. Slums therefore, often become a
breeding ground for criminal activities.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

 Temperature Increase- Due to factors such as paving over formerly

vegetated land, increasing number of residences and high-rise
apartments and industries, temperature increase due to increased
absorption of Sun’s energy and production of more and more heat
due to very intense human activity.
 Air pollution-Factories and automobiles are most visible symbols of
urbanization. Due to emissions of harmful gases and smoke from
factories and vehicles, air pollution results. High amount of
suspended particulate matter in air, particularly in cities, which
 contributes to allergies and respiratory problems becoming a huge
health hazard.
 Changes in Natural Water Cycle – When urbanization takes place,
water cycle changes as cities have more precipitation than
surrounding areas. Due to dumping of sewage from factories in
water bodies, water pollution occur which often resulting in
outbreaks of epidemics.
 Destruction of Natural Habitats of Flora and Fauna – In making of an
urban area, a lot of forested areas are destroyed which otherwise
would have been natural habitats to many birds and animals.
 We have extended the urbanisation to the sea also. This tendency is
damaging the ocean ecosystem also.

FREIGHT DISTRIBUTION

 Globalization and the materialization of the economy have resulted

in growing quantities of freight moving within cities.
 As freight traffic commonly shares infrastructures with the
circulation of passengers, the mobility of freight in urban areas has
become increasingly problematic.
 City logistics strategies can be established to mitigate the variety of
challenges faced by urban freight distribution.
REFERENCES

1. A. Briney (2019) Urban Geography- An Overview of Urban Geography.

Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/overview-of-urban-
geography-1435803
2. Central City (2019) Central City. Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_City
3. J. Mark (2014) Urbanization. Retrieved from
https://www.ancient.eu/urbanization/
4. M. Rossenberg (2019). The Law of the Primate City- Primate Cities and the
Rank-Size Rule. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/law-of-
primate-cities-1435793
5. Namicev et. Al. (2014). Modern Urbanization and its impact on the modern
concept of the city. Retrieved from http://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/9957/
6. R. Faradi (2012) Pros and Cons of Urbanization. Retrieved from
https://rashidfaridi.com/2012/03/08/pros-and-cons-of-urbanization/
7. Roman Cities. Retrieved from:
https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/escolaribatallada/roman-cities
8. The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica (2019) Metropolitan area
DEMOGRAPHY. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/human-migration
9. Urbanization and development: Historical Perspective.Retrieved from:
https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/RajendraPSharma/urbanization-and-
deve lopment-historical-perspective
10. V. Alexandria (2018) New Urbanism- Creating Livable SustainableCommunities.
Retrieved from http://www.newurbanism.org/
11. Watson Jermaine (2015). The Five Hearths Of Urbanization.Retrieved from:
https://prezi.com/nwkfxcra97v8/the-five-hearths-of-urbanization/

PICTURE REFERENCES

1. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-
content/uploads/2018/07/20180711_metro_10metroareas.jpg
2. https://offgridsurvival.com/wp-
content/themes/church_10/images/2016/08/urbancity.jpg
3. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-
yvXCdqKiPEI/UVX7Bsu3qGI/AAAAAAAABtk/VzhpuCI5hLs/s400/Rural+area.png
4. https://www.ancient-origins.net/sites/default/files/field/image/Lost-city-Iraq.jpg
5. https://media.nationalgeographic.org/assets/photos/170/742/8073e634-9972-
4d80-8675-ebd483b7e238.jpg
6. https://www.ancient-origins.net/sites/default/files/field/image/Unique-
Mesoamerican-City.jpg
7. http://howtodoright.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/vatican-city-pic11.jpg
8. https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/wp-
content/uploads/2019/07/Constantinople.jpg
9. https://premodeconhist.wordpress.com/2009/02/04/thompson-jkj-1983-proto-
industry-in-languedoc/
10. https://www.chicagomag.com/images/cache/cache_1/cache_b/cache_8/070314
-jaypee-fb1f48b1.jpeg?ver=1482334141&aspectratio=1.4761904761905
11. https://www.traveller.com.au/content/dam/images/2/n/p/a/l/image.related.arti
cleLeadwide.620x349.2nmwu.png/1370406925130.jpg