Contemporary Urban Environments 3

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Urban form is the physical characteristics that make up a city, including its size and shape, population density and how the city is arranged.

Many cities were initially established in areas with good water supplies, fertile soil for growing food, plentiful natural resources and good defensive positions.

Over time the urban form of cities changes. These changes are influenced by a number of factors:

Physical factors:

  • Topography - physical features often influence the growth of cities.
  • Water - the presence of lakes and seas limits urban growth in those areas, while cities may grow along the course of a river. City centre shops and businesses are usually located close to the waterfront, rather than at the geographical centre of the city.
  • Natural resources - rich resources encourage growth in size and population of cities.
  • Land type - some ground surfaces are more difficult or expensive to build on than others.

Human factors:

  • Planning - urban expansion can be planned or unplanned.
  • Infrastructure - new developments are often built along transport links, leading to linear growth.
  • Land value - the highest value land is often found in the city centre, so profitable businesses normally locate there, while less profitable businesses may be found further from the centre.

Cities in developed countries tend to have a Central Business District (CBD) - a central zone of shops and businesses.

The CBD is surrounded by housing. Although land value tends to be highest in the city centre, houses generally increase in value with distance away from the centre:

  • Inner city areas have high land value, so housing is typically high density, e.g. skyscrapers. Wages are often low, and many residents live in relative poverty. The proportion of people from ethnic minorities tends to be high.
  • Land value is lower in rural and semi-rural areas, so residential areas are less dense and have more open space. Houses are usually larger and newer than those in inner city areas. Residents are generally quite wealthy and earn relatively high wages. The proportion of people from ethnic minorities tends to be low.

Because of the availability of cheap land in semi-rural areas close to urban centres, many science parks and large shopping centres are constructed there.

Cities in the developing…

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