Culture Regions Urban culture regions Cultural diffusion in the city The cultural ecology of the...

Culture Regions

Urban culture regions Cultural diffusion in the city The cultural ecology of the city Cultural integration and models of the city Urban landscapes

Six processes at work in the city

Concentration — differential distribution of population and economic activities in a city, and the manner in which they have focused on the center of the city

Decentralization — the location of activity away from the central city

Segregation — the sorting out of population groups according to conscious preferences for associating with one group or another through bias and prejudice

Six processes at work in the city

Specialization — similar to segregation only refers to the economic sector

Invasion — traditionally, a process through which a new activity or social group enters an area

Succession — a new use or social group gradually replaces the former occupants

The following models were constructed to examine single cities and do not necessarily apply to metropolitan coalescences so common in today’s world

Concentric zone model

Developed in 1925 by Ernest W. Burgess A model with five zones.


A model with five zones.– Zone 1

The central business district (CBD) Distinct pattern of income levels out to the commuters’

zone Extension of trolley lines had a lot to do with this pattern)



Characterized by mixed pattern of industrial and residential land use

Rooming houses, small apartments, and tenements attract the lowest income segment

Often includes slums and skid rows, many ethnic ghettos began here

Usually called the transition zone



The “workingmen’s quarters” Solid blue-collar, located close to factories of zones 1

and 2 More stable than the transition zone around the CBD Often characterized by ethnic neighborhoods — blocks

of immigrants who broke free from the ghettos Spreading outward because of pressure from transition

zone and because blue-collar workers demanded better housing



Middle class area of “better housing” Established city dwellers, many of whom moved

outward with the first streetcar network Commute to work in the CBD



Consists of higher-income families clustered together in older suburbs

Located either on the farthest extension of the trolley or commuter railroad lines

Spacious lots and large houses From here the rich pressed outward to avoid congestion

and social heterogeneity caused by expansion of zone 4


Theory represented the American city in a new stage of development– Before the 1870s, cities such as New York had

mixed neighborhoods where merchants’ stores and sweatshop factories were intermingled with mansions and hovels

– Rich and poor, immigrant and native-born, rubbed shoulders in the same neighborhoods


In Chicago, Burgess’s home town, the great fire of 1871 leveled the core– The result of rebuilding was a more explicit social

patterning– Chicago became a segregated city with a

concentric pattern– This was the city Burgess used for his model– The actual map of the residential area does not

exactly match his simplified concentric zones


Critics of the model– Pointed out even though portions of each zone

did exist, rarely were they linked to totally surround the city

– Burgess countered there were distinct barriers, such as old industrial centers, preventing the completion of the arc

– Others felt Burgess, as a sociologist, overemphasized residential patterns and did not give proper credit to other land uses

Sector model

Homer Hoyt, an economist, presented his sector model in 1939

Maintained high-rent districts were instrumental in shaping land-use structure of the city

Because these areas were reinforced by transportation routes, the pattern of their development was one of sectors or wedges

Sector model

Hoyt suggested high-rent sector would expand according to four factors

– Moves from its point of origin near the CBD, along established routes of travel, toward another nucleus of high-rent buildings

– Will progress toward high ground or along waterfronts, when these areas are not used for industry

– Will move along the route of fastest transportation– Will move toward open space

Sector model

As high-rent sectors develop, areas between them are filled in

– Middle-rent areas move directly next to them, drawing on their prestige

– Low-rent areas fill remaining areas– Moving away from major routes of travel, rents go from high

to low There are distinct patterns in today’s cities that echo

Hoyt’s model He had the advantage of writing later than Burgess

— in the age of the automobile

Sector model

Today, major transportation arteries are generally freeways– Surrounding areas are often low-rent districts– Contrary to Hoyt’s theory– Freeways were imposed on existing urban pattern– Often built through low-rent areas where land was

cheaper and political opposition was less

Multiple nuclei model

Suggested by Chauncey Harris and Edward Ullman in 1945

Maintained a city developed with equal intensity around various points

The CBD was not the sole generator of change


Equal weight must be given to:– An old community on city outskirts around which

new suburbs clustered– An industrial district that grew from an original

waterfront location– Low-income area that began because of some

social stigma attached to site


Rooted their model in four geographic principles– Certain activities require highly specialized facilities

Accessible transportation for a factory Large areas of open land for a housing tract

– Certain activities cluster because they profit from mutual association

– Certain activities repel each other and will not be found in the same area

– Certain activities could not make a profit if they paid the high rent of the most desirable locations


More than any other model takes into account the varied factors of decentralization in the structure of the North American city

Many criticize the concentric zone and sector theories as being rather deterministic because they emphasize one single factor

Multiple nuclei theory encompasses a larger spectrum of economic and social possibilities

Most urban scholars feel Harris and Ullman succeeded in trying to integrate the disparate element of culture into workable model

Feminist critiques

Most criticisms of above models focus or their inability to account for all the complexities of urban forms

All three models assume urban patterns are shaped by economic trade-offs between:– Desire to live in suburban neighborhood

appropriate to one’s economic status– Need to live close to the city center for

employment opportunities

Feminist critiques

Models assume only one person is a wage worker — the male head

Ignore dual-income families and households headed by single women

Women contend with a larger array of factors in making locational decisions

– Distances to child care and school facilities– Other important services important for different members of

a family Traditional models that assume a spatial separation

of workplace and home are no longer appropriate

Feminist critiques

Results of a study of activity patterns of working parents– Women living in a city have access to wider array of employment

opportunities– Better able to combine domestic and wage labor than women in

suburbs– Many middle class women choose a gentrified inner-city location to

live Hope this area will offer amenities of suburbs—good schools and

safety Accommodate their activity patterns

– Other research has shown some businesses locate offices in suburbs because they rely on labor of highly educated, middle class women spatially constrained by domestic work

Feminist critiques

Most women seek employment closer to home than men even those without small children

Criticism of models by women– Most families require two real wage earners– Models tend to reflect an urban structure that isolates

women who do not participate in the urban labor market– Raises problems of timing and organization for those who

combine waged and domestic labor– Created by men who shared certain assumptions about

how cities operate, and represent a partial view of urban life

Feminist critiques

Other theories incorporated alternative perspective of female scholars

– Studies using mostly female students, focused on “race,” ethnicity, class, and housing in Chicago

– Emphasized role of landlords in shaping discrimination in the housing market

Study by urban historian Raymond Mohl– Follows the making of black ghettos in Miami between 1940

and 1960– Reveals role of public policy decisions, landlordism, and

discrimination

Apartheid and post-apartheid city

Apartheid —state-sanctioned policies of segregating “races”

Intended effects of these policies on urban form are delineated in next slide


Important components of the apartheid state– Policies of economic and political discrimination were

formalized under National Party rule after 1948– Government passed two major pieces of legislation in 1950

First was the Population Registration Act — mandated classification of population into discrete racial groups: white, black, and colored

Second called the Group Areas Act — goal was to divide cities into sections that could be inhabited only by members of one population group


Important components of the apartheid state– Government passed two major pieces of

legislation in 1950 Effects of the two acts

– Downtowns were restricted to whites– Areas for non-whites were peripheral, restricted, and often

without urban services—transportation or shopping– Large numbers of non-whites were displaced with little or

no compensation– Buffer zones were created between residential to curtail

contact


Model apartheid city most closely resembles the sector model

Cities were artificially divided into discrete areas Non-white populations suffered the consequences Notorious example — Sophiatown in Johannesburg Remains to be seen what form the post-apartheid

will take

The Soviet and post-Soviet city

Cities were shaped by the Bolshevik revolution of 1917– Socialist principles called for the nationalization of

all resources– Economics would no longer dictate land-use—

allocation planners would

New ideals had profound effect on urban form of Soviet cities


Soviet policies attempted to create a more equitable arrangement of land uses

– Relative absence of residential segregation according to socioeconomic status

– Equitable housing facilities for most citizens– Relatively equal accessibility to sites for distribution of

consumer items– Cultural amenities located and priced to be accessible to as

many people as possible– Adequate and accessible public transportation


The situation outlined above was less than ideal– By the 1970s and 1980s many Soviets realized their

standards of living were well below those in the west– Centralized planning system was not successful

In the late 1980s economic restructuring introduced perestroyka

The post-Soviet city– Market forces are again the dominant force in shaping

urban land uses– Pace and scale of urban change are unprecedented


The privatization of the housing market —example of Moscow

– Private housing grew from 9.3 percent in 1990 to 49.6 percent in 1994

– Does not mean better housing for all people– Many people cannot afford the high prices– Apartments are particularly expensive in the center of

Moscow– Most people have no choice but to live in communal

apartments from the old Soviet system


Cities are taking on the look of Western cities– Downtowns now have most expensive land– Increasingly dominated by retailing outlets of familiar

Western companies– Tall office buildings housing financial activities are replacing

industrial buildings– Processes akin to gentrification are taking place in city

centers displacing residents to peripheral portions of the cities

The outcome of the new changes is not certain and will be continued to be studied

Latin American model

More complex because of influence of local cultures on urban development

Difficult to group cities of the developing world into one or two comprehensive models

Latin American model is shown in next slide


Generalized scheme both sensitive to local cultures and articulates pervasive influence of international forces, both Western and non-Western

In contrast to today’s cities in the U.S., the CBDs of Latin American cities are vibrant, dynamic, and increasingly specialized

– A reliance on public transit that serves the central city– Existence of a large and relatively affluent population

closest to CBD


Outside the CBD, the dominant component is a commercial spine surrounded by

the elite residential sector– These two zones are interrelated and called the

spine/sector– Essentially an extension of the CBD down a major

boulevard– Here are the city’s important amenities — parks, theaters,

restaurants, and even golf courses– Strict zoning and land controls ensure continuation of these

activities, protecting elite from incursions by low-income squatters


Inner-city zone of maturity– Less prestigious collection of traditional colonial

homes and upgraded self-built homes– Homes occupied by people unable to participate

in the spine/sector– Area of upward mobility


Zone of accretion– Diverse collection of housing types, sizes, and

quality– Transition between zone of maturity and next

zone– Area of ongoing construction and change– Some neighborhoods have city-provided utilities– Other blocks must rely on water and butane

delivery trucks for essential services


Zone of peripheral squatter settlements– Where most recent migrants are found– Fringe contrasts with affluent and comfortable

suburbs that ring North American cities– Houses often built from scavenged materials– Gives the appearance of a refugee camp


Zone of peripheral squatter settlements– Surrounded by landscape bare of vegetation that

was cut for fuel and building materials– Streets unpaved, open trenches carry wastes,

residents carry water from long distances, electricity is often “pirated”

– Residents who work have a long commute– Many are transformed through time into

permanent neighborhoods

Culture Regions

Urban culture regions Cultural diffusion in the city The cultural ecology of the city Cultural integration and models of the city Urban landscapes

Themes in cityscape study

Landscape dynamics– Because North Americans are a restless people,

settlements are cauldrons of change Downtown activities creeping into residential areas Deteriorated farmland on city outskirts Older buildings demolished for new

– When visual clues are mapped and analyzed, they offer evidence for current of change


Equally interesting is to note where change in not occurring– An unchanging landscape conveys an important

message Part of the city is stagnant because it is removed those

forces effecting change in other parts Conscious attempt by local residents to inhibit change Preserve open space by resisting suburban

development. Preserving a historical landmark

Landscape Dynamics:Alexandria, Virginia


Cities grow through intensification of already urbanized areas and by extensification into rural areas.

This new development is on agricultural land near Washington, DC.

Many farmers on urban peripheries, lured by rising land prices, ultimately sell to developers


As a mixture of open land and urban structures, this is a good example of leapfrog, or checkerboard development.

Moreover, the houses are being sold as “Gentlemen Farms,” a landscape of the elite.


The city as palimpsest– Because city landscapes change, they offer a field for

uncovering remnants of the past– Palimpsest

An old parchment used over and over for written messages Before a new message could be written, the old was erased,

but rarely were all previous characters and words completely obliterated

The mosaic of old and new is called a palimpsest — used by geographers to describe visual mixture of old and new in cultural landscapes

City as Palimpsest: Singapore


Like many cities, Singapore’s landscape is one of historic artifacts amidst the contemporary fabric. This is the core of old Singapore, as developed by the British after 1819. Strategically situated on the Straits of Melaka, the city functioned as an important entreport in Southeast Asia attracting a population of Chinese, Indians, Malays, and Europeans.


Trade offices, shophouses, and godowns (warehouses) lined the Singapore river and commercial activity choked the area. After Singapore became independent in 1963-1965, the combination of rapid population growth and aging infrastructure called for a renewal plan. Old housing stock and godowns were razed to be replaced by modern public housing, malls and office buildings.


In the 1980s, people realized that they were destroying the character of the city and efforts were made to preserve and restore some of old Singapore. Waterfront shophouses have been “boutiqued” into clubs and restaurants. Here, remnants of the past stand in the shadow of the symbols fo the future: The Bank of the People’s Republic of China (left) and the Telecom building.


Symbolic cityscapes– Landscapes contain more than literal messages about

economic functions Loaded with figurative or metaphorical meaning Subjectivized emotion, memories, and content essential to the

social fabric

– To some, skyscrapers are more than high-rise buildings– Historic landscapes help people define themselves in time

Establish social continuity with the past Codify a forgotten, yet sometimes idealized, past


D.W. Minig maintains there are three highly symbolized townscapes in the

United States– The New England village– Main Street of Middle America– California Suburbia– Each is based upon an actual landscape of a particular

region– Each has influenced the shaping of the American scene

over broader areas


Cultural landscape is important vehicle for constructing and maintaining social and ethnic distinctions

– Conspicuous consumption is a major means for conveying social identity

– Elite landscapes are created through large-lot zoning, imitation country estates, and detailed ornamental iconography

Cultural geographers are interested in how townscapes and landmarks take on symbolic significance

– Question whether idealizations are based on some sort of reality or fabricated from diverse predilections

– Interested in how to assess the impact of symbolic landscapes– Messages inherent in loaded landscapes determine how we treat

our environment-bow it is managed, changed, or protected

Pigeon Problems: Rome, Italy


Pigeons, starlings, and sparrows thrive in urban environments. Feral pigeons, descended from rock doves, favoring cliff-face roosts, like to nest in similar building niches. Accumulated droppings raise serious problems. They corrode stonework, particularly limestone, and many historic buildings and statues have been irreparably damaged.


Fouled pavements are slippery and hazardous to pedestrians. Pigeon excreta, feathers and detritus can block gutters and drains providing a potential health hazard. In many cities today, people are discouraged from feeding pigeons and renovated buildings are fitted with spiked rails to discourage roosting.


Perception of the city– Social scientists assume if we know what people

see and react to in the city we can design and create a more humane urban environment

– Kevin Lynch, an urban designer, assumed all residents have a mental map of the city

Figured out ways people could convey their mental map to others

What do people react favorably or negatively to? What do they block out?


Perception of the city– On the basis of interviews, Lynch suggested five

important elements in mental maps of cities Pathways — threads that hold our maps together Edges — tend to define the extremes of our urban vision Nodes — any place where important pathways come

together Districts — small areas with a common identity Landmarks — reference points that stand out because

of shape, height, color, or historic importance


Lynch saw some parts of the cities were more legible than others

– Legibility comes when urban landscape offers clear pathways, nodes, district, edges, and landmarks

– Less legible parts of the city do not offer such precise landscape

Lynch found some cities more legible than others– Jersey City is a city of low legibility

Wedged between New York City and Newark Fragmented by railroads and highways

– Residents’ mental maps of Jersey City have large blank areas


Distinct ethnic, gender, and age variables to mental maps of cities– Often influence everyday behavior– Women feel more vulnerable to crime, especially

rape– Women will tend to avoid certain areas of a city at

night

The new urban landscape

Shopping malls– Most are not designed to be seen from the outside– Retail districts of the 18O0s~and early 1900s cities had

grand architectural displays along the major boulevards– Malls are often located near an off ramp of a major freeway– Close to middle and upper-class residential neighborhoods


Shopping malls– Characteristic form of malls of the 1960s

Simple, linear form, with department stores at each end functioning as anchors

Usually had 20 to 30 smaller shops connecting the two ends

– In the 1970s and 1980s, larger malls had a more complex form

– Example: Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota– Malls today are often several stories tall and may have 5 or

6 anchor stores, and up to 400 smaller shops


Office parks– Office buildings no longer need to be located in

the center city Development of communication technologies Major interstates connect metropolitan areas Cheaper rent in suburban locations Convenience of easy-access parking and privacy of a

separate location

– Being constructed throughout suburban America


Office parks– Next slide shows location of office parks in

metropolitan Atlanta– Many are occupied by regional and national

headquarters of large corporations or local sales and professional offices

– Many offices will locate together and rent or buy space from a land development company to take advantage of economies of scale


Office parks– The use of the term park points to conscious anti-

urban imagery Tend to be horizontal in shape — three to six stories tall Many are surrounded by a well-landscaped outdoor

space Human-made lakes and waterfalls, jogging paths,

fitness trails, and picnic tables


Office parks– Do remove workers from social diversity of an

urban location– Many office parks are located along what have

been called high-tech corridors — areas along limited-access highways

– This new type of commercial landscape is gradually replacing downtowns as the workplace for most Americans


Master-planned communities– Many newer residential developments on

suburban fringes are planned and built as complete neighborhoods by private development companies

Include architecturally compatible housing Have a variety of recreational facilities Exploit various land-use restrictions and zoning

regulations to maintain control over land values


Master-planned communities– Example of Weston in south Florida

Covers approximately ten thousand acres Land use is completely regulated within gated area and

also along the road system connecting Weston to the interstate

Shrubbery is planted to shield residents from roadway view

Signs are uniform in style


Festival settings– Often gentrification efforts focus on a multiuse

redevelopment scheme built around a particular setting, often one with historical association

– Waterfronts are commonly chosen as focal points– Complexes integrate retailing, office, and entertainment

activities– Knox suggests these developments are “distinctive as new

landscape elements merely because of their scale and their consequent ability to stage — or merely to be — the spectacular”

Festival Marketplace: Hong Kong


Festival settings, both outdoors and indoors, are used to attract customers. There is typically one or more themes with flamboyant flags, signs, music and entertainment. Retail establishments include trendy shops, restaurants, and entertainment facilities.


This is one of the several ultra-modern, enclosed malls in Hong Kong. The theme here is the Dragon Boat Festival, held annually in the lunar calendar’s fifth month. This view is from an open, tiered restaurant.


Festival settings– Some festival settings serve as sites for concerts,

ethnic festivals, and street performances Also focal points for more informal human interactions

usually associated with urban life In this sense do perform a vital function in the attempt to

revitalize downtowns

– Massive displays of wealth and consumption often stand in contrast to neighboring areas that have received little benefit from these projects


“Militarized” space– Meaning the increasing use of space to set up defenses

against elements of the city considered undesirable– Includes landscaping development that range from:

Lack of street furniture to stop homeless living on the streets Gated and guarded residential communities Complete segregation of classes and races’ within the city

– As Davis says, “cities of all sizes are rushing to apply and profit from a formula that links together clustered development, social homogeneity, and a perception of security”

– Has taken on epic proportions as many big American cities become “militarized” spaces


Decline of public space– Related to the increase in “militarized” space– Change in shopping patterns from downtown to

shopping malls– Many city governments have joined with

developers to built enclosed walkways above or below city streets

Provides climate-controlled conditions Provides pedestrians with a “safe” environment to avoid

possible confrontations on the street


Decline of public space– Related to the increase in “militarized” space– Change in shopping patterns from downtown to shopping

malls– Many city governments have joined with developers to built

enclosed walkways above or below city streets Provides climate-controlled conditions Provides pedestrians with a “safe” environment to avoid

possible confrontations on the street– Some scholars suggest the Internet is a new forum for

social and political interaction

A New Landmark: London, England


This is the high-tech, engineering style (1986) of Lloyd’s of London Insurance building. Designed by Richard Rogers, co-designer of the Pompidou Center in Paris, it stands as a challenge to those in love with the past.


It stimulates controversy and has become a landmark enhancing the legibility of the city. Not only is it made of reflective materials and the glass atrium suspended on central pillars, but much of what is traditionally inside, such as stairways, elevators and lavatories, is now on the outside. It is a building with its guts exposed. The black structure is Barclay’s Bank.

Culture Regions Urban culture regions Cultural diffusion in the city The cultural ecology of the...

Documents

Transcript of Culture Regions Urban culture regions Cultural diffusion in the city The cultural ecology of the...