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Urbanization

• Increase in the ratio or density of people living in urban areas rather than in rural areas

• Developed countries- process slowed second half of the 20th century

• Many small towns have grown together; formed large metropolitan areas

– Ex: Washington D.C.-Baltimore

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Infrastructure

• Basic facilities of a country or region

– schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, sewers, railroads

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Slow growth affects on urbanization

• Areas relatively pleasant

– roads and public transportation adequate

– green spaces provide ecosystem services

• moderation of temperature

• infiltration of rainwater runoff

• aesthetic value

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The Urban Crisis

• Rapidly growing population overwhelms the infrastructure, living conditions deteriorate

– traffic jams, substandard housing, polluted air & water

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Urban Sprawl

• Rapid spread of a city into adjoining suburbs and rural areas.

– building of suburbs on the boundary of a larger town

– often built on former farmland

– new suburbs cover 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of land/ year (United States)

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Development on Marginal Lands

• Many cities built with little room for expansion

– suburbs forced to built on marginal land

(land poorly suited for building)

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Other Impacts of Urbanization

• Cities generate and trap more heat than surrounding countryside

– Why? Roads and buildings absorb and retain heat longer then vegetation

• Heat island: area where air temperature is generally higher than the temperature of surrounding rural areas

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Heat Island affects

• Change local weather patterns- increase rainfall

• Moderated

– plant trees for shade

– install rooftops that reflect rather than retain heat

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Urban Planning

• Land-use planning: set of policies and activities related to potential uses of land, put in place before an area is developed

• Environmental impact required for many projects

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Intelligent Design

• Geographical information system (GIS): automated system for capturing, storing, retrieving, analyzing, manipulating, and displaying geographic data

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• Types of data

– locations of sewer lines, roads, and parks

• Each image a different combination of information

– allows a user to display layers of information about an area and to overlay these layers

(like overhead transparencies)

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Transportation

• Most cities in the United States are difficult to travel in without a car

– constructed after the invention of the automobile

– sprawl over large areas

• Most cities in Europe built before cars

– compact with narrow roads

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Mass Transit Systems

• Use buses and trains to move many people at one time

• Advantages

– save energy

– limit the loss of land to roadways and parking lots

– reduce highway congestion, air pollution

• Carpooling: an important alternative

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Open Space

• Land within urban areas set aside for scenic and recreational enjoyment

– include parks, public gardens, bicycle and hiking trails.

• In natural condition called greenbelts

– provide important ecological services

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Open Space Eco-services

• From Plants

– absorb carbon dioxide, produce oxygen

– filter out pollutants from air and water

– keep a city cooler in the summer

• From green areas

– reduce drainage by absorbing rainwater runoff from hardscape

– places for exercise and relaxation

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GIS Views of Seattle, Washington