Unit V CG Discussion

SOC 2010, Cultural Geography 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

2. Discuss the impact of globalization on society. 2.1 Discuss the impact of globalization on Puerto Rico.

6. Explain human geographic characteristics.

6.1 Describe how geography connects to the urban problems faced in Puerto Rico’s urban areas.

Course/Unit Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

2.1

Unit Lesson Videos in Unit Lesson and Required Unit Resources Chapter 8 Unit V Research Paper

6.1

Unit Lesson Videos in Unit Lesson and Required Unit Resources Chapter 8 Unit V Research Paper

Required Unit Resources Chapter 8: Urban Geographies In order to access the following resource, click the link below. The transcript for this video can be found by clicking the “Transcript” tab to the right of the video in the Films on Demand database. Bloomberg (Producer). (2016). Urbanization (Segment 1 of 4) [Video]. In Growing pains: Managing

megacities. Films on Demand. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPla ylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=145033&loid=477116

Unit Lesson Several different concepts learned in previous units will apply to this unit of urban geography. In this lesson, you will see how culture and globalization impact urban structure and dynamics and how population geography applies to the benefits and challenges in cities. In Unit IV, the relationship between humans and the environment was discussed. In this lesson, we will investigate how rapid urbanization is impacting the environment. What is urban geography? Greiner (2018) defines urban geography as “the study of the spatial and social aspects of cities” (p. 207). A city’s design and functions are impacted by politics, economics, and culture. Cities (especially large cities) have great economic power and are centers for cultural and technological innovation. These large, powerful cities are often called world cities. On page 216 of the textbook, Greiner (2018) presents a figure containing world cities and their networks.

UNIT V STUDY GUIDE

Urban Geography

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While each city is unique, Greiner (2018) notes that cities share the following six characteristics:

• Cities contain dense concentrations of people.

• Cities maintain functional complexity, which means they can support sizable numbers of people engaged in specialized labor that is not agricultural.

• Cities are centers of economic, governmental, and/or cultural power.

• Cities are dynamic and engage in diverse, complex land use.

• Cities are connected to other cities and rural areas in trade, transportation, and communication.

• Cities all contain the contradiction of being places of poverty and struggles while also being places of opportunity, hope, and innovation.

How many people in the world live in cities? How has that changed over time? In the early 1900s, only 13% of people lived in cities, but, today, more than 50% of the world’s population lives in an urban setting (Greiner, 2018). It is estimated that by the year 2050, 70% of the global population will be located in urban areas (Greiner, 2018). This large shift has had an impact on culture and the environment. In our Chapter 3 reading, “Population and Migration,” we first learned about population shifts and the migration to cities. Globalization has played a role in this shift. Globalization spurred industry, which, in turn led to greater movements of people from rural areas to the city for jobs in industry. Developed nations have 78% of their population living in cities, and developing nations have 47% (Greiner, 2018). The urban areas that will see the most population growth in the future will be China, India, and Africa.

Megalopolis, Primate Cities, and Megacities Each nation has its own definition of how many people and what activities constitute an area being categorized as urban; however, there are some common terms used to describe different sized cities. These include megalopolis, primate cities, world cities, and megacities. A metropolitan area is an urban area containing 50,000 people or more. A megalopolis is an area created by metropolitan areas converging together (Greiner, 2018). A primate city is a city that is huge in comparison to the next size city found in that same country. Mexico City was given as the example in the textbook. There is a special term given for a city whose population is over 10 million. A city this size is called a megacity. Globalization and commodification of culture are helping drive the growth of these megacities over the last 50 years. In 1975, there were only four megacities, and today there are 29 megacities (Greiner, 2018). On page 213 of the course textbook in figure 8.5b, there is a map showing the 29 megacities in the world today (Greiner, 2018).

Urban Dynamics Urban dynamics is the study of the causes and consequences of things like residential change, redevelopment, and slum formations. Public policy can have a big impact on the changing residential dynamics in a city. The textbook discusses how the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Veterans

What political, economic, or environmental impact could a mega-city have on a nation or the world? What are some mega-benefits and mega-problems associated with cities with a population

over 10 million? What role should sustainability play in addressing these issues?

Did you realize so much of the world’s population lived in cities? What are some challenges and

benefits that come from so many people living in urban environments? What will be the impact of uneven large population growth in these urban areas in China, India, and Africa? How might sustainable

economic and environmental development address urbanization challenges?

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Administration (VA) loan redlining practices impacted cities. Redlining is when there is bias to not back certain home loans in urban neighborhoods deemed a risk. This had the effect of pushing more homeowners out of urban areas into suburban areas. Another form of bias that shaped U.S. cities in the past was when racial and ethnic prejudice led to groups segregating and even moving out of an area if they felt the demographics were shifting to a different race or ethnicity. The term associated with this is white flight. These types of residential changes have a long-lasting impact. The textbook uses segregation in St. Louis and Ferguson as a case study explaining the lasting impact. In the late 1940s, there was a push in the United States for urban redevelopment. Eminent domain was used by the government to take over blighted properties and redevelop them. In the 1950s and 1960s, the government also funded housing projects that had a big impact on the urban landscape. While the housing projects were built with good intentions, there were several problems that stemmed from them. They were not as functional for families and the elderly, and they ended up creating concentrations of poverty (Greiner, 2018). Most of these old housing projects no longer exist today, and more diverse forms of housing are now being developed for the poor. Two other events that had a big impact in the past 20 years on the redevelopment of cities are the foreclosure crisis during the Great Recession and gentrification. What is gentrification? Gentrification is when more affluent people and companies move into a previously lower-income area and displace the people and local establishments that are there. Gentrification of an area can be viewed as both positive and negative. A positive would be economic growth and prosperity for an area that struggled in the past. A negative aspect is that people are being forced to move because they can no longer afford the area. The movement of a group of people from an area due to gentrification also alters the cultural identity of that area. How do you feel about gentrification? Can you think of an example of gentrification? What were some of the positives and negatives? Urban Problems A major urban problem is poverty. Greiner (2018) says that urban poverty is associated with four conditions: increasing costs of necessities, a gap between wages and rent costs, unemployment, and the lack of resources being spent to address urban poverty. Urban poverty impacts inner cities in the United States but has also spread out to suburban areas over the past 10 years. Greiner (2018) says this is due to decentralization (jobs and residences) and the impact of the Great Recession, stating “there are now more poor people in U.S. suburbs than central cities” (p. 229). What do you think of that? Does that surprise you? Do we talk enough about suburban poverty? On a global scale, poverty hits developing nations the hardest. Citizens in developing nations flock to a city desperately seeking opportunity. When they arrive in the city, they often find it not as easy as they had hoped to get ahead. There are not enough jobs or services to support the influx of citizens to the cities in developing nations, and this leads to slums. “Approximately 1.2 billion people live in slums” (Greiner, 2018, p. 229). Did you know the number was that high? While Asia has the largest number of poor, Africa has the largest proportion of citizens living in poverty. Greiner (2018) noted 62% of Africa’s urban residents live in slums. It was argued in the textbook that building housing and infrastructure for the extremely poor is the best way to address slums and that bulldozing them and trying to push people out does not work. What do you think are the best ways to address urban slums? Urbanization-related problems do not just happen in a large city setting. Cities can be very spread out. Greiner (2018) defines sprawl saying, “The rate at which land is urbanized greatly exceeds the rate of population growth in a given period of time. To urbanize land means to develop it for residential, commercial, or industrial purposes” (p. 228). What is the problem with urban sprawl? It creates uneven and poorly planned development in many cases, and it does not maximize the use of the space and resources. A lot of infrastructure needs to be created to serve the residents, and it is costly to expand public transportation. With urban sprawl, more and more natural habitats become lost to development, which has a negative impact environmentally. A key way to address urban and suburban problems is with proper urban planning. When urban development of services, businesses, and housing are efficiently and safely planned, it helps alleviate urban problems. A central theme in urban planning today is sustainability. Cities are looking for long-term solutions to urban problems that benefit the city economically but also benefit the environment as well. Watch this short video on sustainable development as part of urban planning. The transcript for this video can be found by clicking the “Transcript” tab to the right of the video in the Films on Demand database.

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PBS (Producer). (2009). Urban planning (Segment 1 of 5) [Video]. In Implementing urban greening: Part 3 - Urban planning. Films on Demand. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPla ylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=151084&loid=508904

Reference Greiner, A. L. (2018). Visualizing human geography: At home in a diverse world (3rd ed.). Wiley.

Suggested Unit Resources In order to access the following resources, click the links below. The transcript for each video can be found by clicking the “Transcript” tab to the right of the video in the Films on Demand database. This video discusses some of the urban problems in Makoko, a slum in the mega-city called Lagos. Bloomberg (Producer). (2016). Managing cities (Segment 2 of 4) [Video]. In Growing pains: Managing

megacities. Films on Demand. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPla ylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=145033&loid=477117

This short video showcases how industrialization changed where people lived. PBS (Producer). (2015). Industrial and transportation revolutions (Segment 6 of 39) [Video]. In Humanity from

space. Films on Demand. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPla ylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=131234&loid=456398

The following video provides a short overview of how much of the planet is covered by urban development. It includes cool video footage from space showing the lights of urban areas. PBS (Producer). (2015). Urban explosion (Segment 5 of 39) [Video]. In Humanity from space. Films on

Demand. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPla ylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=131234&loid=456397

Learning Activities (Nongraded) Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information.

1. Answer the Concept Check questions for Chapter 8 on pages 217, 223, and 232. 2. Complete the Chapter 8 Self-Test on pages 235 and 236 of the textbook. (Answers to the Self-Test

for Chapter 8 are on page 359.)