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VII. Definitions of Urbanism
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Web Sites
Narration
Urbanism is the process through which cities grow. There are a variety of definitions of cities that are used in the AP Human Geography course. Most of them are specific to the United States and will probably vex students from other countries. Historically, it was relatively easy to define the differences between urban and rural settlements because cities were surrounded by walls. The removal of the walls and the rapid territorial expansion of cities during the modern period as well as the changing nature of agriculture have blurred the distinction of the physical differences between cities and urban areas. Today, urban settlements are defined by legal boundaries, a continuously built-up area, or as functional area. The legal definition of city varies around the world but is significant because legally defined, cities have certain sorts of political power such as the ability to raise taxes, provide services, and have their own elected officials. Sometimes, in the U.S., a city surrounded by suburbs (which are also cities) is defined as a central city. Confusion over the definition of "city" is a problem.
These definitions are arbitrary, and significant class time should not be spent on them. In the U.S., an urbanized area is usually defined as a central city plus its contiguously built-up suburban area where the population exceeds 1,000 persons per square mile. About 60 percent of the U.S. population lives in urban areas so defined. Another definition of a metropolitan statistical area (or MSA) includes the center city, which must have a population of 50,000, the county in which the city is located, and the adjacent counties with at least 15 percent of their residents working in the center city's county. These counties must also have 60 persons per square mile or at least 65 percent of their residents working in farm jobs. SMSAs are widely used in discussions about urbanization in the United States because the Census gathers information about them. However, because they are based on counties, they are tricky to use because many of the large counties in the west include parks or wilderness areas. For example, the MSA in Duluth involves the Boundary Waters Canoe Areas that is an officially sanctioned wilderness. SMSAs are also prone to overlap in areas where populations tend to grow rapidly. So there is another category called the Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas (CMSA).
Web Sites
To view the following Web sites, please go to "See also" below.
The Teachers' Corner contains links to suggested Web sites. The College Board neither endorses, controls the content of, nor reviews the external Web sites included here. Please note that following links to external Web sites will open a new browser window. If you discover a link that does not work, please let us know by sending an e-mail to apctechsupport@collegeboard.org.
About.com Geography Links Page
Look here first! This is a great, all-around site, which is one of the "must start here" points for Geography. Lots of articles and links related to the science and profession of geography and many other geography topics. Well worth your trip here -- the topic you are looking for will most likely be covered in the frame at the left or by following links in the middle of the page.
Virtual Geography Department Project
Look here second! This site from the University of Texas provides an outstanding overview of urban geography. The site is part of a virtual course, so there are a lot of graphs and visuals, also some interactive applications. Make this site one of the two "must visit" sites to start your research! Topics include course outline, materials and lists of resources on many major ideas in this section of the AP Human Geography course.
Cities of Today, Cities of Tomorrow
Produced by the UN as an educational tool. Good overview of urbanization. Good teaching resource.
GeoNet Geography Resources: A Topic Page
Very nice page to start from for a wide variety of geography topics. This will show a page for urbanization and cities, but look at the left frame for other geography topics. The one on ecosystems is a "Best of Net" winner.
Metropolitan Areas
A page from the U.S. Bureau of Census that defines and provides information about Metropolitan areas (SMSA).
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