These notes are an informal supplement to the lecture only.

They may not be quoted or cited.

SA3205 Urban Policy

Semester A (2010-11)

Lecture 2 Globalization and Cities (9 September 2010)

Introduction

 Cities developed very late in human evolution.

 Could only develop – agricultural surplus. Domestication of animals,
invention of cereal production (wheat, grain), irrigation systems (canals,
shatouf).

Empire Cities of the Ancient World

 1st Mesopotamia, 5,000-6,000 years ago.

 Small, about 5,000-10,000 people.
 Possible - > productivity of irrigation farming and management of this surplus
by social elite.
 Centers of religious worship & control over the collection and distribution of
surplus.
 Control centers & ceremonial complexes of very hierarchical societies.
Housed elite, granaries, temples, palaces.
 Maintained order, distributed surplus.

Merchant Cities

 Concentrated more on commercial exchange than on threat.

 Development important in creation of world economy.
 Middle 12th C trade within Europe & between Europe & East. Needed money
economy, merchant class, urban trading centers. Merchant city - constellation
of shared interests, collective purpose private gain.
 Affairs regulated/controlled, proper pricing, establish rules, strike deals, made
contracts. Commerce implied cooperation.
 Merchants created civic culture, pursued civic virtue, built the public spaces
of the Renaissance cities.
 V. wealthy, wealth based on trade & products of craft guilds - new farming
equipment & commodities for the newly rich.
 Pre-capitalist cities, traded between partners. ‘Discovery’ of new world
(colonialism) - extraction of commodities and raw materials from around the
world.
Urban Policy:

 Minimal urban policy, but cities not particularly large or particularly

complicated.
 Relief for the poor primarily through religious organizations and charities.
 Development of the idea of civic responsibility and civic pride in cities.

Industrial/ Capitalist Cities

 Industrial revolution.
 Britain 1st. London - center, created large demand for consumer goods.
 Demand basis technological improvements.
 Agricultural improvements - huge boost from demand from city dwellers,
greater investment, technological improvements and ultimately increased
agricultural productivity.

 Ind. new cities and new types of cities.

 Great concentration people, fixed capital investment.
 Factory system most important form.
 Industrialists could reduce production costs and increased profits.

Urban policy:

 V. poor conditions of cities but ideology of minimum public involvement.

 Problems - overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, disease and social unrest.
 Growing perception social & economic cost of unplanned, unregulated
urbanization – imp gov reports, legislation. Eg housing.

Modern Cities

 Fordism and Welfarism.

 Fordism – 20thCdominated by new companies, nationaltransnational 
global.
 Fordism (Ford). Dev. large scale, mass production-based industries, built
around technologies of assembly line. Produced standardized commodities in
hierarchically structured organizations.
 Applied scientific management techniques (Taylorism) to labour process.
 Specialization & differentiation amongst workers, extensive division of
labour.
 Skilled workers were nearly all male.
 Unionization in large factories was strong.
 Rapid rise in real wages. Reduction in work hours. A golden era in the West,
high standards of living, mass consumption of consumer goods, possible on
one income.

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  Rise of consumerism. Rise of suburbs, sell all consumer goods – cars,
washing machines, fridges, lawn mowers, tvs, videos, etc.

Urban Policy:

 Rapid expansion of urban infrastructure. Roads, bridges, tunnels, new

suburbs, ports, etc etc. Infrastructure for modern industrial economy, rich
governments.
 Rise of the welfare state. State - social responsibilities of family or charities -
housing, education, health care, elderly.
 Golden era of public service provision.

Post-Modern Cities/Post Fordist Cities

 Shift manufacturing to services, often higher order services.

 Major changes - organization of labour. Assembly line obsolete in service
economy.
 Wide range of products for diversified and fragmented markets.
 Few ‘jobs for life’, ‘flexible’ contracts. Jobs, skills subject to constant change.
 Greater polarization between workers.
 Greater poverty.

 Increasing competition between cities.

 Image city connected to global culture of capital. Contemporary view, cutting
edge.

Urban Policy:

 Retreat of welfare state

 Policies 1970s & 1980s reduced role of state in providing social goods and
welfare.
 Privatization, welfare net, user charges, sale of state assets and contacting out.
 Time homelessness and poverty increased.
 West - “working poor”.

 Shift in ideology – individualism, importance of freedom of choice to meet

needs.
 Welfare net.
 New civic culture. Decline support for public transport, cultural affairs,
environment, public spaces.
 City government generating revenue vs dispensing revenue.
 Business incentives, grants and tax breaks. Compete to attract companies, tax
revenue & jobs they bring.
 City governments more active, entrepreneurial role in land development deals
vs planning.

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  We can compare the redistributional city of late modernism with the
entrepreneurial city of early post modernism.

Urbanization

 Refers to a process in which an increasing proportion of the population lives in cities

and suburbs of cities.
 Rates of urbanization

Year More developed Less developed World

regions regions
1950 55 18 30
2000 76 45 47
2030 84 57 61

 2005 urban dwellers – 3.2 billion people,49% of humankind.

- Asia (1.6 billion)
- Europe (0.5 billion)
- Latin America and Caribbean (0.4 billion)
- Africa (0.3 billion)
- Northern America (0.3 billion)
- Oceania (0.02 billion)

 Projected to increase to 4.9 billion by 2030, roughly 60% of humankind.

 2005 – China, India and USA had largest number of urban dwellers.

Percentage Urban by Major Area (1950-2030)

1950 2005 2030

World 29.0 48.7 59.9
Africa 14.7 38.3 50.7
Asia 16.8 39.8 54.1
Europe 50.5 72.2 78.3
Latin America / Caribbean 42.0 77.4 84.3
Northern America 63.9 80.7 86.7
Oceania 62.0 70.8 73.8

Mega Cities

 Mega cities – population more than 10 million.

 1950 – 2 mega cities - New York (12.3 million) and Tokyo (11.3).
 1975 – 3 mega cities – Tokyo (26.6), New York (15.9) Mexico City (10.7)
 2005 – 20 mega cities – 9.3% of urban population.
 2015 – 22 mega cities – 17 in developing countries.

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Cities with More than 10 million Inhabitants (2005)

1 Tokyo 35.2 11 Dhaka 12.4

2 Mexico City 19.4 12 Los Angeles 12.3
3 New York 18.7 13 Karachi 11.6
4 Sao Paulo 18.3 14 Rio de Janeiro 11.5
5 Mumbai 18.2 15 Osaka-Kobe 11.3
6 Delhi 15.0 16 Cairo 11.1
7 Shanghai 14.5 17 Lagos 10.9
8 Calcutta 14.3 18 Beijing 10.7
9 Jakarta 13.2 19 Manila 10.7
10 Buenos Aires 12.6 20 Moscow 10.7

Adrienne LA GRANGE
September 2010