Urbanization: People and Cities

Directions Directions: Read through the information in each section, complete the activities that are linked and the tasks below as you work.You can use your notes. Rural vs. Urban Click on each dot. Then, label each dot as either "rural" or "urban" depending on what the picture the dot is on shows. Use all lowercase letters! rural urban rural urban urban Urbanization Urbanization occurs when people move out of rural areas and toward areas with more or better jobs. An urban area is mostly developed land covered mainly with buildings and roads that has a human population of 2,500 or more. Portland, ME is an urban area with a population of 66,417 (2018). New York City urban area had a population of 19.04 million people in 2007.Cities are not a new idea, but the enormous size of today's cities isnew. Over half of the worlds population lives in cities. The table below shows the 5 largest cities in the world, by population.Most urban dwellers live in smaller cities though, areas like North Conway, NH are growing all around the country. Suburbs are also growing outside of cities like Orlando, Florida and Austin, Texas. About 50% of the U.S. population lives in a suburb. The world's population in 2015 was estimated to be at 7.2 billion (which is 7,200 million). How many people were living in the largest cities in the world? 183.83 million 201.43 million 138.83 million I am not given enough info to answer this question. The world's population in 2015 was estimated to be at 7.2 billion (which is 7,200 million). How many people were living outside of the largest cities in the world? 7,061.17 million 5081.43 million 7038.83 million 7,338.83 million Urbanization: The Future of Cities Today, more than half of all people in the world live in an urban area. By mid-century, this will increase to 70%. But as recently as 100 years ago, only two out of ten people lived in a city, and before that, it was even less. How have we reached such a high degree of urbanization, and what does it mean for our future?In the earliest days of human history, humans were hunter-gatherers, often moving from place to place in search of food. But about 10,000 years ago, our ancestors began to learn the secrets of selective breeding and early agricultural techniques. For the first time, people could raise food rather than search for it, and this led to the development of semi-permanent villages for the first time in history."Why only semi-permanent?" you might ask. Well, at first, the villages still had to relocate every few years as the soil became depleted. It was only with the advent of techniques like irrigation and soil tilling about 5,000 years ago that people could rely on a steady and long-term supply of food, making permanent settlements possible. And with the food surpluses that these techniques produced, it was no longer necessary for everyone to farm.This allowed the development of other specialized trades, and, by extension, cities. With cities now producing surplus food, as well as tools, crafts, and other goods, there was now the possibility of commerce and interaction over longer distances. And as trade flourished, so did technologies that facilitated it, like carts, ships, roads, and ports. Of course, these things required even more labor to build and maintain, so more people were drawn from the countryside to the cities as more jobs and opportunities became available.If you think modern cities are overcrowded, you may be surprised to learn that some cities in 2000 B.C. had population densities nearly twice as high as that of Shanghai or Calcutta. One reason for this was that transportation was not widely available, so everything had to be within walking distance, including the few sources of clean water that existed then. And the land area of the city was further restricted by the need for walls to defend against attacks.The Roman Empire was able to develop infrastructure to overcome these limitations, but other than that, modern cities as we know them, didn't really get their start until the Industrial Revolution, when new technology deployed on a mass scale allowed cities to expand and integrate further, establishing police, fire, and sanitation departments, as well as road networks, and later electricity distribution.So, what is the future of cities? Global population is currently more than 7 billion and is predicted to top out around 10 billion. Most of this growth will occur in the urban areas of the world's poorest countries. So, how will cities need to change to accommodate this growth?First, the world will need to seek ways to provide adequate food, sanitation, and education for all people. Second, growth will need to happen in a way that does not damage the land that provides us with the goods and services that support the human population. Food production might move to vertical farms and skyscrapers, rooftop gardens, or vacant lots in city centers, while power will increasingly come from multiple sources of renewable energy.Instead of single-family homes, more residences will be built vertically. We may see buildings that contain everything that people need for their daily life, as well as a smaller, self-sufficient cities focused on local and sustainable production. The future of cities is diverse, malleable, and creative, no longer built around a single industry, but reflecting an increasingly connected and global world. About what percentage of the population will live in an urban area by 2050? 50% 60% 70% 80% When did "modern" cities get their start (begin to really grow in population size)? 100 years ago The Industrial Revolution The Iron Age What were some of the factors that allowed humans to move from hunter-gatherers to city dwellers? (SELECT 3) Started planting crops Moved around to find food Stable food supply The invention of irrigation and soil tilling Why would it be better for more residences to be built vertically (like an apartment building) instead of a single family home? Vertical homes are not built on farmland unlike traditional homes. Vertical homes like apartment buildings take up less land then traditional homes. Vertical homes like apartment buildings take up more land then traditional homes. Vertical homes like apartment buildings allow for playgrounds to be built. Urban Sprawl Background:As more people moved into cities, cities grew in population size and area. Eventually, people grew tired of living in the densely populated city centers and wanted to leave without losing all of the benefits of living near the city. This is where the idea of suburbs comes from.The suburbs around Boston expand outward and are larger than the city itself. Many factors contributed to the growth of suburbs. Government programs made land and housing outside of cities cheaper, automobiles became more affordable, roads and infrastructure were built to support growing suburb populations. Many people moved out of cities and into suburbs, which left less people to invest in cities. Inner cities became poorer, and unemployment and crime began to rise.Sprawl:Urban sprawl it what happens when people move out of cities. A basic definition of sprawl is, "the spread of low-density urban or suburban development outward from a dense urban core". Sometimes, the sprawl from one city can be so large that it runs into the sprawl stemming from another city, as seen in the photo below.Notice that the lights from New York City seem to run into the lights from Philadelphia. The same happens with Baltimore and Washington D.C..Contributors to Urban Sprawl:There are two main factors that contribute to sprawl: population growth and increased per capita land (people take up more space - think a house vs. an apartment). Neither factor is more important overall, sprawl from any city can be contributed to either of them.Patterns of Sprawl:There are 4 types of urban sprawl: Commercial (Strip) Development, Low-Density Development, Scattered Development, Sparse Street Network. All of these approaches rely on automobile use.Commercial Development: businesses are arranged in a long strip along a roadway.Low-Density Development: normally residential, homes are located on large lots in residential areas far from businesses.Scattered Development: residential, built far from city center, not integrated with one another.Sparse Street Network: roads are far enough apart that some areas remain undeveloped (natural). What is one factor that contributes to urban sprawl? population growth where the water source is the number of cars in a city Having too much farmland Match the type of sprawl with the correct definition. Commercial Development one long strip with businesses on either side Low-Density Development houses have large yards and are located far from businesses Scattered Development far away from city center, neighborhoods are not integrated Sparse Street Network houses that also have natural, undeveloped areas around them Fill in the blanks using the words in the word bank. Urbanization occurs when people move from rural areas to cities. Fill in the blanks using the words in the word bank. Sprawl happens when people move away from the dense urban core of a city.