City Types

• World City - a city that has a large influence on a global scale
• World Cities Characteristics: connections, good transport, best resources, decision making power, international financial services, range of jobs, headquarters for TNC
• Shanghai (world City) - education: 100,000 + graduate yearly from a higher education institution. Pool of skills is developed each year.
• Shanghai (world city) Business: export oriented economy, favorable business terms to overseas business attracting lots of overseas investment.
• Spacial Proximity (World Cities) - they are learning centers, cities grow as companies acsess the skills of the population, meaning companies do well attracting more. Companies often invest in skills of workers. Promotes learning.
• In a world citie the labour is often polarised: high level skill jobs or support jobs that are low paid and have limited career development.
• World Cities have different rankings - Alpha ++ are very integrated and have high levels of importance (eg london). Alpha + support alpha ++; Alpha, Beta and Gamma cities have integrate their area (of different sizes) into the world economy.
• immature megacities - rapid growth, rural urban migration, lots of problems eg housing and sewage. Consolidatin megacities - slower growth, improving housing/water provisons.
• Maturing mega cities - large service industry, legal and well built housing and has education. Established Mega cities - government, sustainability and a formal sector.
• Megacities - are centers of innovation, create solutions to global problems. Carry global political power/are influential in their country. Generate more GDP than other cities.
• Megacities: Urban dwellers have access to diversified employment market, a more informal economy (cash in hand, no tax)
• Megacities - economically and environmentally more efficient to provide services to a dence population rather than a spread out rural one.
• An edge city is a new settlement model focused on the idea of decentralisation of cities. It is an area on the outskirts of an existing urban area with a concentration of commercial and corporate facilities.
• LA is an example of an edge city: the core of LA is about 30 km wide, but the wider metropolitan area is 100 km wide. Within this there are 20 edge cities, links to social segregation.
• Edge cities: are a result of urban sprawl, and develop near major urban facilities - such as airports.
• An example of an edge city is canary wharf
• Characteristics of edge cities: more industrial activities than residential. High population during business hours, retail outlets, economics are simple to compete with parent city. Did not exist 30 years ago and have an inclusive cultural background.
• Curitiba, transport: use bus system: triple-articulated buses, elevated boarding tubes with ticket machines inside allowing for efficient loading. Buses have own lane, 4000 people per bus per day. Bus companies paid per km rather than per passenger - less popular routes still driven.
• Curitiba, Housing: Site and service schemes mean the government offers low interest loans on land and residents are trained to build homes (that have electric, water, sewage systems).
• Curitiba: a sustainable city, in 2010 given global sustainable city award. 99% of residents say they are happy with the city. Chief architect was jamie learner, focused on cheap small scale change as curitiba was cash poor. City WAS experiencing common problems associated with rapid urban growth.
• Curitiba, Waste: 2/3 of waste recycled, employs people. Green Exchange: people in squatter settlements collect and bring rubbish to collection points (trucks dont fit down slum roads) and exchange it for food (there is excess food production) or bus tickets. - helps local business and keeps slums clean.
• Curitiba, Parks: 28 interconnected parks spanning 1.4 million m2. Excess rainfall is diverted into lakes to prevent flooding. The parks prevent growth of squatter settlements.
• Curitiba - is manufacturing, Volvo developed the 'bendy buses'. 2010 given global sustainable city award.
• Freiburg: a sustainable city, recycling: can produce energy supplying 25,000 households. 40% of land is forested. River dreisam is unmanaged generally to provide habitat.
• Freiburg: groundwater is an important source of water so is protected, uses permeable surfaces. 350 community collection points for recycling. 10,000 jobs in 1500 environmental businesses. Solar important as frieburg gets most sunlight in germany
• Post modern western cities - an urban form associated with changes in urban structure reflecting the socioeconomic conditions in the late 20th centuary.
• PMWC:

  Fantastic - fragmentation, inequalities

  Geographers - global, global brands not local

  Start - simulation, architecture emulates other places

  Burping - beautification, architecture is art not all functional.

  Farting - fortification, fortress landscapes common

  If - information, dominated by service/knowledge economies.

  Given - gentrification

  Diet - decentralisation

  Pepsi - privatisation
• Las vegas is an example of a post modern western city
• Las vegas, early development: 'the strip' is an area just outside of th city, with casinos/entertainment area. Rapidly expanded as a result of cheap hydroelectric power and funding from gangster and entrepreneurs.
• Las Vegas, the strip has undergone a postmodern transfomation.
• Las Vegas: consumerism demonstrated in americain architecture. Eg a simulated eiffel tower.
• Las Vegas: Local government work in partnership with private corporations in planning for tourism infrastructure. EG MGMs CityCenter opened in 2009 and was the most expensive private development in the country costing 10 billion dollars.
• Las Vegas: gaming and casino industry dominated a fragmented and weak local government that draws from a limited tax base. Tourism/serivices drive the economy.
• Las Vegas: strip is now a promenade with thousands walking it daily. Is consistently ranked among worst for violent crime.