URBN 1000: Introduction to Cities↗ Ch1: Intro to Cities↗ Why study the City?↗ Deciding what is “Urban”↗ The Urban Transformation↗ Region Redefined”, The New Orleans AdvocateWhy Study the City?↗ Fascination with urban places?↗ In North America, 4 out of 5 of us live in urban places, or center our lives around cities↗ To study the city is to study ourselves, social phenomena, and social problems↗ World’s urban population:↗ 1900: 9%↗ 1950: 30%↗ 2009: > 50%The City: Both “Good” and “Bad”↗ Cities do not exist by themselves: people create cities↗ Do cities have to be the way they are? Can we fundamentally change our cities?↗ The city as a setting for social life↗ Social, physical (buildings), economic, political, spiritual, psychological, artistic, etc↗ Problems: poverty, segregation, crime, mass incarcerationDeciding what is “Urban”↗ What is “urban”? How do you define it?↗ Do we know “urban” when we see it?↗ Urban: derived from Latin word urbanus , meaning “characteristic of, or pertaining to, the city”↗ Possible criteria (functions) for defining urban:↗ Administrative function (state capital)↗ Economic function (Fortune 500s in NYC)↗ Functional nature (Milan and fashion hub)↗ Population size or population density (NOLA, most populous in state)New Orleans metro area: Cities↗ What are the cities in the New Orleans metro area?How does the U.S. define “urban”?↗ U.S. definition: based upon population↗ Defined by the United States Census, which does a population count every ten years (1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, so forth)↗ U.S. Census definition for “urban”: places of > 2,500 persons↗ urban vs city: ↗ Just because an area is urban, does not necessarily mean it is a city. In the US, to be a city, is to have a mayor, city budget, police force, etc.↗ A city is a large urban area that is dense, heterogeneous in diversity, and has a large populationUrban Clusters in the USWorldwide Urban PopulationWorldwide Percent Urban: 1960Worldwide Percent Urban: 1980Worldwide Percent Urban: 2011Worldwide Percent Urban: 2025The Urban Transformation↗ 1800: Beijing, China the only city with a population of 1,000,000 residents↗ Today: 392 cities ↗ Urbanization is a process: the changes resulting from people moving into cities and other densely populated areas↗ Can be deliberate and planned or spontaneous and unplanned (“naturally” occurring)↗ Alternates the social and physical structure and organization of that areaLevels of Urbanization↗ Metropolitan area: a large population center and its adjacent communities; high degree of economic and social integration ↗ Micropolitan area: geographic entity where 10,000>population<50,000↗ Megaregion: overlapping of 2 or more metropolitan areas such as the N.E. (NYC, Boston, D.C., Philly, etc)↗ Megacity: a metropolitan area that constitutes its own megaregion because the population>10,000,000↗ 3 in 1975 to 23 in 2011; 1 in 11 people live in a megacity today↗ Global city: aka “world city”; a city that exercises considerable economic power worldwide and attracts global investments↗ London, New York, Paris, and TokyoWhere does New Orleans fit into this?↗ New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner metropolitan statistical area: ↗ 46th largest in the United States↗ 2015 estimate: 1,262,888↗ Orleans, Jefferson, St.Bernard, Plaquemines, St.Tammany, St.Charles, St.James, and St.John the Baptist↗ City of New Orleans 2015 estimate: 389,617↗ 49th largest city↗ 2000: 484,674↗ 2010: 343,829World Megacities“A Region Redefined”↗ Pre and Post-Katrina New Orleans↗ “Urbanism as a Way of Life↗ Urbanism: the culture or way of life for city dwellers↗ Values, attitudes, norms, customs, lifestyles, behavior↗ Example: Bywater vs. Uptown vs. Metairie vs. Chalmette↗ Lifestyles reflect both individual choice and dimensions of social difference/social inequality↗ Louis Wirth: “Urbanism as a Way of Life”. A city is a city if…↗ Size↗ Density↗ heterogeneityNew Orleans NeighborhoodsCities have … energized crowdingCities have … diversitySource: http://catholicbridge.com/david_music/scenic_photos_canada_usa.phpCities have…anonymityCities have…opportunityhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLov_SmOc5sU.S. Urban Life↗ Today, 4 out of 5 Americans live in metropolitan areas↗ US cities are extremely young when compared globally↗ US urbanism built upon a stereotyped dichotomy:↗ Fast-paced, alienating, crowded city vs bucolic and white suburbia↗ Fact or fiction?↗ Have we linearly developed from “simple rural” to “complex urban”?Urban Trends since 2000↗ Rebirth of inner city centers, both of population and of buildings↗ Millennials and Gen X choosing to live in cities over suburbs↗ Increasing suburban poverty as well as increasing diversification↗ Latino growth (2010: Latinos=16% of population; Blacks=13%)↗ Decline of homelessness↗ Smart growth, new urbanism, and “greening” of cities↗ Globally: growth of cities in India and Asia↗ Rise of slum populations↗ Abu Dhabi: essentially building a city from scratchUrban Asia: India↗ 2/3 of the world’s population lives in Asia (4 billion of 7 billion) ↗ India’s population (1.2 billion) will soon surpass China’s population (1.5 billion) and become the world’s largest country↗ Mumbai, India: 13 million; Bollywood; financial hub↗ The cost of prime commercial property is 4x that of NYC↗ Daily, 7 million people commute by rail from the suburbs↗ Half of the population makes less than $2/dayUrban Asia: China↗ China is the world’s 2nd largest economy↗ Most populous nation in the world ↗ more than US, Canada, all 21 countries of Western Europe, and all 36 countries of Latin America combined↗ Government is drastically trying to avoid urban overcrowding↗ Radical human and physical engineering calls for literally moving 250 million rural peasants into newly created cities by 2025↗ Shanghai: 24 million people; GDP: 383.55 billion (11th largest)Shanghai, ChinaHong KongUrban Asia: Japan↗ Japan is 86% urban: ↗ 45% of Japan’s total population occupies only 1% of the land area↗ Japan’s levels of urbanization and industrialization are much more similar to western Europe and the US than the rest of Asia↗ 1990s, spent $2 trillion of public works improvements↗ First-rate transportation system↗ Fiber-optic broadband is the envy of the