Gentrification and Environmental Racism in District of Columbia Discussion After reading chapter 11, take some time to review and consider the ways that in

Gentrification and Environmental Racism in District of Columbia Discussion After reading chapter 11, take some time to review and consider the ways that inequality is generated and maintained through different and shifting patterns of urbanization. 1). Research examples of gentrification and environmental racism in an area that you are familiar with.2). Summarize at least one of the examples you found, explaining how it illustrates gentrification and/or environmental racism. Be sure to properly cite all of your sources, including the textbook.3). Utilize at least 2 terms from the chapter, in addition to gentrification and/or environmental racism, in your explanation. Clearly identify and define all of the terms P E O P L E
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11. URBAN GEOGRAPHY
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Most of the world’s population lives in urban areas. An understanding of where, how
and why cities evolved is critical to understanding modern societies. Cities have
different shapes and function differently around the world, and even within the United
States. The varied geography of urban form has important implications for the daily
routines of those who live in cities, and those who simply rely upon them.
Chicago
Hog butcher for the world,
Tool maker, stacker of
wheat,
Player with railroads and
the nation’s freight handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the big shoulders.
-Carl
Sandburg
You are probably a city person whether you
like it or not. Many people say they don’t like
the city, with its noise, pollution, crowds and
crime, but living outside the city has its
challenges as well. Living outside a city is
inconvenient because rural areas lack access to
the numerous amenities found in cities. The
clustering of activities near one another is
Figure 11-1: Chicago, IL. The “City of Broad Shoulders” gets
called agglomeration. It characterizes the
its peculiar nickname from a poem extolling the vast array
geographic nature of untold processes,
of industrial and agricultural pursuits made profitable by its
special location.
because it reduces the friction of distance for
thousands of activities. People find the time, effort and money are saved by living near each
other. Cities are therefore the most convenient places for people to live, work and play. The
reduction in costs associated with transportation, and the ability to share costs for
infrastructure creates what are known as economies of agglomeration, a fundamental reason
for the existence of cities. The convenience and economic benefits of city life has led nearly 8
in 10 Americans to live in urban areas. In California, America’s most urban state, almost
95% of its people live in a city. This chapter explores the evolution of cities, why cities are
where they are, and how the geography of cities affects the way urbanites live.
Defining Cities
Though it seems simple enough, distinguishing cities from rural areas is not always that
easy. Countries around the world have generated a plethora of definitions based on a variety
of urban characteristics. Part of the reason stems from the fact that defining what constitutes
urban is somewhat arbitrary. Cities are also hard to define because they look and function
quite differently in different parts of the world.
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Complicating matters are the great variety of terms we use to label a group of people living
together. Hamlets, for example, are very small, rural communities. Villages are slightly
larger, but exactly what makes a village distinct from a hamlet is arbitrary. Towns are larger
than villages. Cities are larger than towns. Then there are words like metropolis and
megalopolis to denote huge cities. Some states in the United States have legal definitions for
these terms, but most do not. The US Census Bureau creates the only consistent definition
of “city”, and it uses the terms “rural” and “urban” to distinguish cities from non-city
regions. This definition has been updated several times since the 1800s, most radically in
recent years as the power of GIS has allowed the geographers working for the US Census
Bureau to measure multiple factors of urbanity simultaneously.
For decades, the US Census recognized an area as “urban” if it had incorporated itself as a
city or a town. Incorporation indicates that a group of residents successfully filed a town
charter with their local state government, giving them the right to govern themselves within
a specific space within the state. Until recently, the US Census Bureau classified almost any
incorporated area with at least 2,500 people as “urban”.
There were problems though with those
simple definitions. Some areas, that had
really quite large populations, but were
unincorporated, failed to meet the
incorporation test for inclusion as a city.
For example, Honolulu, Hawaii and
Arlington, Virginia are not incorporated,
therefore were labeled “census designated
places”, rather than “cities” by the Census.
Conversely, some incorporated areas may
Figure 11-2: Jacksonville, FL. Jacksonville’s city limits include
have very few people. This can happen
all the area in the light tan – most of Duval County.
According to the US Census, only the area in the dark tan in
when a city loses population, or when the
the center is actually “urban”.
boundaries of a city extend far beyond the
populated core of the city. You may have witnessed this as you are driving on a highway,
and you see a sign indicating “City Limits”, but houses, shops, factories and other indicators
of urban life are absent yet for many miles. Jacksonville, Florida is the classic example of this
problem. Jacksonville annexed so much territory that its city limits extend far into the
adjacent countryside making it the largest city in land area in the United States (874.3
square miles!). California City, California is similar. It’s the third largest city in California in
terms of acreage, but has only about 15,000 people. Look at it on Google Maps!
Therefore, the Census Bureau created a complex set of criteria capable of evaluating a variety
of conditions that define any location as urban or rural. A key criteria now used by the
Census is a minimum population density of 1,000 people per square mile, regardless of the
incorporation status of the location. Additionally, territory that includes but non-residential
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urban land uses is included. Therefore, areas with factories, businesses or a large airport, that
contain few residences is still counted as part of a city. The Census uses a measure of surface
imperviousness to help make such a decision. This means that even a parking lot may be a
factor in classifying a place as urban. Finally, the census classifies locations that are
reasonably close to an urban region if it has a population density of at least 500 persons per
square mile. That way, small breaks in the continuity of built-up areas do not result in the
creation of multiple urban areas, but instead form a single, contiguous urban region.
Therefore, people in suburbs within five miles of the border of a larger city, are counted by
the Census as residents of the nearby urban region.
Census Designations
Because the terms, village, town and city are problematic, the US Census Bureau devised
another set of more precise terms to help us distinguish urban areas based on population
and the manner in which people commute to work.
At the top of the urban hierarchy are Combined Statistical Areas (CSA); massive urban
conglomerations that function as a single huge city. The most populous CSA in the United
States is anchored by New York City (23.5 million people), and includes smaller cities and
towns in northern New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania and southern Connecticut. In
California, Los Angeles anchors a CSA of 18.35 million people that includes everyone living
in Ventura, Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. The City of Los
Angeles itself contains only 3.8 million, of which 1.5 million are in the San Fernando Valley.
A step down from the CSA is what the Census Bureau calls Metropolitan Statistical Areas
(MSA), which like the CSA includes multiple cities or counties, but with even closer
economic ties as measured by the commuting pattern of workers. Again New York City
anchors the most populous of these, followed by Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas-Fort
Worth. Los Angeles’ CSA is officially known as “Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana,
California” and it includes only Los Angeles and Orange County. To the north is the
“Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura” MSA, which includes just the cities in Ventura County.
The Census Bureau classifies smaller cities with between 10,000 and 50,000 people as “urban
clusters”. When such a city is the focal point of commuting among residents living in the
surrounding region, the census designates the “city” as a Micropolitan Statistical Area (µSA
– the µ is the Greek letter “mu”). Though the “anchor” city must be less than 50,000, large
semi-rural or suburban populations may live within easy commuting distance. Torrington,
Connecticut for example anchors a µSA that has close to 200,000 people, though less than
35,000 live in Torrington itself.
People who live in on a farm, in the woods, or in towns with fewer than 10,000 people may
still be part of a larger µSA, MSA or CSA, and so be technically part of some urban system in
the United States. There are many thousands living in these small towns or in areas beyond
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easy commuting distance of a city. The Census Bureau considers these sorts of places rural.
In California, only a handful of regions are not “urban” in some fashion. Two such towns in
California are Lee Vining and Bridgeport, two touristy villages in Mono County well-known
to many who have driven through while vacationing on the Eastern Sierra Nevada.
Birth of Cities
Cities began to form many thousands of years
ago, but there is little agreement among
historic geographers about why cities form.
Chances are that many different factors are
responsible for the rise of cities. Some cities
surely owe their existence to multiple factors
while others arose because for a single factor.
Geographers like to place the causal forces
Figure 11-3: Prague, Czech Republic. Massive walls form
that contribute to the rise of cities into two
part of an impressive defensive perimeter around
categories. Site location factors are those
Vyšehrad Castle, likely the location from which Prague
grew. The other side of the grounds is a steep cliff down to
elements that favor the growth of a city that
the Vlata River.
are found at that location. Site factors include
things like the availability of water, food, good soils, a quality harbor, and/or characteristics
that make a location easy to defend from attack. Situation factors are external elements that
favor the growth of a city, such as distance to other cities, or a central location. For example,
the exceptional distance invading armies have had to travel to reach Moscow, Russia have
helped the city survive many wars. Most large cities have good site and situation factors.
Defensible Sites
Certainly, many early cities
offered residents a measure
of protection against
violence from outside
groups. For thousands of
years, farmers and
ranchers living in an
isolated area were
vulnerable to attack. Small
villages could offer limited
protection, but larger
cities, especially those with
moats, high walls,
professional soldiers and
advanced weaponry were
safer.
Figure 11-4: Salorno, Italy. This commanding view of the Adige Valley from the ruins
of Haderburg Castle indicates the importance of a defensible location. This site is
below the Reschen Pass, a historic pathway for armies across the Alps since at least
Roman times.
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The safest places were cities with quality defensible site locations. Many of Europe’s oldest
cities were founded on defensible sites. The European feudal system in fact was built upon
an arrangement whereby the local lord/duke/king supplied protection to local rural peasants
in exchange for food and taxes. For example, Paris and Montreal were founded on
defensible island sites. Athens was built upon a defensible hillside, called an acropolis. So
famous is the Athenian acropolis that it is called simply The Acropolis. On the other hand,
Moscow, Russia takes advantage of its remote situation. Both Napoleon and Hitler found
out the hard way the challenges associated with attacking Moscow.
Figure 11-5: Paris, France. Notre Dame Cathedral built upon the Île de la Cité, a defensible island in the Seine River is the
heart of French nationhood. The importance of religion and military defense are both symbolized in these images.
In the United States, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans have largely functioned as America’s
defensive barriers, therefore few cities were built on defensive sites. In fact, Washington,
D.C. has no natural defense-related site or situation advantages. On the only occasion the
US was invaded, the city was overrun by the British in the War of 1812. As a result, both the
White House and the Capitol were burned to the ground. The poor defensibility of the
American capital led to numerous calls for its relocation to a more defensible site during the
1800s. Because many states tried to entice the Federal government to move west, many
capitol buildings in the Midwest resemble the US capitol building in Washington D.C.
San Francisco is the best example of a large
American city located in with an eye toward
defensibility. Located on a peninsula between
the Pacific Ocean and a large bay, San
Francisco site location offered a number of
military advantages to the Spanish who built
the fort, El Presidio Real de San Francisco,
there in 1776. The US Army took control of
the fort in 1846, and it remained a military
base until 1994. Colonial San Francisco
featured two kinds of defensible site
advantages. It is both peninsula site and a
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Figure 11-6: San Francisco, CA. The Golden Gate presents a
unique defensive site on America’s West Coast. Various
militaries have held this ground since 1776. Urban activities
frequently evolve around military installations in response
to the money and protection. Photo: Wikimedia
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sheltered harbor site. Cannons positioned on either side of the Golden Gate could fire upon
any enemy ships trying to pass into the San Francisco Bay. Armies marching northward up
the peninsula would be forced into a handful of narrow passes where the Spanish Army
could focus their defenses.
Religious Sites
People who possess a specific skill set become a site factor that can greatly affect the location
and growth of a city. One specialized skill sets was confined to the priestly class, and
proximity to religious leaders is another probable reason for the formation of cities. Priests
and shamans would have likely gathered the faithful near to them, so that, like the armies of
the lordly class, they could offer protection and guidance in return for food, shelter and
compensation (like tithes). The priestly class were also the primary vessels of knowledge –
and the tools of knowledge like writing and science (astronomy, planting calendars,
medicine, e.g.), so a cadre of assistants in those affairs would have been necessary. Mecca is
probably the best example of a religious city, but others dot the landscape of the world.
Rome existed before the Catholic faith, but it assuredly grew and prospered as a result of
becoming the headquarters of Christianity for hundreds of years.
DID BEER GIVE RISE TO CIVILIZATION?
Hayden, Brian, et. al.
What Was Brewing in
the Natufian? An
Archaeological
Assessment of
Brewing Technology
in the Epipaleolithic
Journal of
Archaeological
Method and Theory
March 2013, Volume
20, Issue 1, pp 102150
A related theory posits that beer might have been a
motivation in the establishment of cities during the Stone
Age. According to some researchers, brewing beer may
have stimulated the domestication of grain, and in turn, the
abandonment of nomadism. It is also reasonable that
storing both grain and liquid alcohol would require the
construction warehouses and the employment of armies to
protect both. Alcohol may have played a role in developing
political alliances, and/or religious activities as well. The
health benefits of beer may have also contributed to
population growth among those who had regular access
because it provides a healthy alternative to unsanitary
water, still a leading cause of death and malnutrition
worldwide.
Figure 11-7: Early Sumerian writing tablet
recording information about beer. Source:
Wikimedia
Industry and Trade Situations
If the production of beer was not truly a motivating force behind the development of cities,
then the production of other goods and services surely was. Many cities evolved as from
small trading posts or market towns where agricultural and craft goods were exchanged by
local farmers and/or wandering nomads. Surplus wealth generated through trade required
protection and fortifications, so cities with walls may have been built to protect marketplaces
and vendors.
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Some trace the birth of London to an ancestral trading spot called Kingston upon Thames, a
market town founded by the Saxons southwest of London’s present core. The place names of
many exceptionally old towns in England reveal their original function – Market Drayton,
Market Harborough, Market Deeping, Market Weighton, Chipping Norton, Chipping
Ongar and Chipping Sodbury. (Chipping is a derivation of a Saxon expression for “to buy”).
Cities, big and small, have served market functions for those who live in adjacent
hinterlands. Some market cities grow much larger than others because they have more
advantage situation factors – they are more centrally located. Central location relative to
other competing marketplaces is another example of an ideal situation factor. Every major
US city, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Houston are located ideally
for commerce and industry.
Trade Site Locations
Some cities grow large because of specific site location advantages that favor trade or
industry. All cities compete against one another to attract industry, but only those with
quality site factors, like good port facilities and varied transportation options grow large.
Other cities, ideally located between major markets for exports and imports have excellent
situation factor advantages and they will use those to compete against rival locations. Very
large cities have both site and situation advantages.
All large cities in the US are located where two or more modes of transportation intersect,
forming what geographers call a break of bulk point. Breaking bulk occurs when cargo is
unloaded from a ship, truck, barge or train. Until the 1970s, unloading (and reloading)
freight required a vast number of laborers, and therefore any city that had a busy dock or
port or station attracted workers. Generally, numerous warehouses and warehouse jobs also
emerge at break of bulk points. Some manufacturing also tends to be attracted to these
locations. New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans and Houston all grew very
large because each was well served by multiple transportation modes.
River Barriers
Rivers are important for the growth of cities. Obviously, rivers provide freshwater for
drinking (and irrigation), but the effect navigable rivers have had on urban growth is hard to
overstate. Before the age of trains and highways, rivers were the by far the most efficient way
to transport heavy cargo, especially over long distances. The mouths of rivers are almost
always break of bulk points, so cities often form where rivers meet the sea. Also, places
where river navigation is interrupted or ceases to be possible were also responsible for
creating conditions that attract settlement and favored the growth of cities.
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Waterfalls were for many years a complete
nuisance to river traffic, but they also are
responsible for a number of cities. For
generations, waterfalls provided a key source
of power for industry (see fall line cities
below), but they also create special kind of
break of bulk point called a head of navigation.
Waterfalls force people had to stop, get out of
their boats and carry the boat, or just their
Figure 11-8: Louisville, KY. The McAlpine Locks and Dam
cargo. Louisville, Kentucky is an e…
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