Urban Development

The urban development of cities is seldom just a result of city planning. Communities are fashioned by residents around the economic, social and political factors that influence them. These varying features in amalgamation with unique geographic environments, cultures and histories lead to different types of cities. Population growth and changing factors of cities leads to changes in urban development over time. Urban populations are increasing by 75 million per year (The Economist, 2016) so the importance of having multicultural, economically strong and liveable spaces is vital. Examining the successful (and unsuccessful) types of cities can help form a model for how cities should be planned. Manhattan for instance is 36% public road while some unplanned African cities are as little as 5% (The Economist, 2016). The consequences of this urban form is important for understanding how connected a city is, how happy the residents are and the economic basis of communities. Urban development of cities cannot be explained though just one factor, instead it is the integration of factors that leads to different types of contemporary cities.

A key economic driver of urban development in cities is industrialisation as it leads to rapid acceleration of economic and population growth changing the nature of cities. Industrialisation is the most significant factor in the facilitation of urban development as it originally fundamentally changed the role of cities from agricultural hubs for trade to capitalist, production powerhouses (Hall, 2006).The factory system and mass production required large workforces attracting labour into cities and new industrial areas shaped cities as they benefitted from close proximity in industry.  London went from a workforce of 1 million in 1800 to 2.5 million by 1850 and 6 million by 1900 (Kaplan, 2009). Every worker added in the production of good creates four non-production jobs to the economy leading to exponential growth (Kaplan, 2009). This growth does come at a cost. Pollution from manufacture and power generation caused huge health problems for workers in industrial Britain and still causes issues today in megacities such as Beijing. Government policies today in Beijing attempt to control the amount of air pollution through guidelines over acceptable levels of pollution. Rapid population growth from urbanisation had some cities struggling to keep up and urban planners did not exist in many of these early industrial cities (Hall, 2006) leading to poor space layouts with factories taking the best sites for factories instead of public use (Pacione, 2009). Classes began to emerge as disparity’s in wealth became apparent from the gap between workers and capitalist investors (Hall, 2006). Cities had existed before industrialisation but the basis of cities had to shift from extraction to production and exchange (Kaplan, 2009). Urban development was centred around industrial centres with railroads, water sources and proximity to other factories used to position factories.

London is a contemporary financial city which is the world leader in banking and insurance. The “City of London” district specifically houses some of the world’s biggest banks and functions as a hub for financial transactions. London is ranked number one in the Global Financial Cities Index (Yeandle, 2016) and has a long history with some of the world’s first banks being formed here. The rise of London as a financial city can be traced back to the industrial revolution where London acted as the centre of finance and innovation. The nature of this district can be seen in the fact that only 7,000 people live in the district itself but over 300,000 people commute to work there (City of London, 2016).

Detroit in Michigan is contemporary example of a shrinking city which shows key factors of urbanisation but also key factors of change in urban economies. Automobile manufacture dominated the Detroit economy so the decline of the industry emptied the city as residents (Sugrue, 2004). The rapid rise of Detroit can be seen though the level of urban sprawl with mainly single story residential houses in the suburbs due to quick expansion of the city. The history of Detroit has significance for urban planners today as the declining population has resulted in empty houses. The population of Detroit declined from 1.85 million in 1950 to 700,000 in 2013 (Foulberg, 2012). Current redevelopment of this city focuses on the CBD and close suburbs (Foulberg, 2012)while houses not within close proximity are being demolished as the population is likely to never recover. Despite this, urban planners in Detroit are finding success within the redevelopment of the city to be a tech hub for new start up industries. Furthermore, empty factories from the automobile industry are repurposed bringing new life to old buildings. 

Technology shapes urban development as a driver of economic growth creating new industries and making cities more efficient. Advances in technology were essential for early cities as they enabled the farming sector to support urban residents as consistent agricultural surpluses needed to be sustained (Kaplan, 2009). The industry was very labour intensive requiring 50-90 workers per urban resident (Nel, 2016). Improvements in technology lowered this number and increased output resulting in increased urbanisation as people moved to the city to look for jobs. Improvements in technology also enabled better transport and trade shaping cities to the global cities seen today through technology like the internet.

Munich is an example of a contemporary technology based city which is home to over 22,000 start-up companies. This culture is engrained within the city and encouraged though urban development and organisations such as “start-up Munich” (Messe Munchen, 2016). Ranked the top tech city in a report by the European Commission, Munch has large companies in industry’s like automotive, ICT and biotech industries. Further proof of Munich as a high tech city is shown in that it has the highest amount of patents per capita in Germany.

A key political factor of urban development over time has been religion due to long standing significance and control over the development of cities. Religion provided a form of social organisation to tie larger communities together and regulate activities and resources within the city (Kaplan, 2009). Temples were often a centrepiece of early cities (Kaplan, 2009). Michael Pacione argues a primary characteristic for urbanisation and development is a class structured society and state organisation through the form of religious, political and military function. Early cities often had a combination of all three of these elements to control and organise social structure in a city. For a city to grow and be protected from conflict these conditions were essential and religion while not as important today was a significant factor which covered these factors. Religion itself is not the most important factor shaping urban development as economic factors grew to become more important (Kaplan, 2009) shifting the balance of power but religion did have influence in almost any decision in early cities (Morris, 1972).

An example of a contemporary religious city is Amritsar. SGPC, a Sikh organisation controls and develops Sri Harmander Sahib in Amritsar (Narayanan, 2016) .The organisation focuses on tourism linked to its historic religious sites and has investments in accommodation and infrastructure to support tourists. The organising body actively promotes visiting the historic Golden Temple which is one of the most visited sites in India with up to 60,000 people visiting per day. Sikhism and its morals are the paramount features governing any decision relating to the Golden Temple and cultural rules within the temple strictly monitor visitor behaviour (Narayanan, 2016). Demand from increasing tourists has shaped this city in the modern day while religion is to explain for its original urban form. There is also significance around preserving and restoring sites in the context of urban development. The city of Amritsar also faces pressure to add modern services such as libraries and museums to pre-existing religious complexes which they have done but they also face pressures of global urbanism to add malls (Narayanan, 2016) and other commercial structures.

Rapid global urbanisation is adding importance to effective long-term urban development in cities as population increases and changing economies mark uncertainties around the right way to build cities. In addition to this planning cities is not as simple as planning roads and districts with residents interpreting space in ways which suit their own economic, cultural, social and political beliefs. This essay has covered the significance of industrialisation as an economic force, technology, and religion as a political force but it this the unique combination of these factors in a physical geographic environment which culture the way a city operates leading to different types of contemporary cities. The problems these cities face vary so widely than no scenario can be called the same. Whether it’s depopulation in Detroit or a thriving tourism industry in Amritsar city planners and governors and influenced by different histories and cultures which shape cities differently in the present day.

Reference List

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