Urban Patterns
Essential Questions
What is urbanization and
what are its characteristics?
Why do inner cities and
suburbs have distinctive
problems?
Land Use
People use land….
For hunting &
gathering
For agriculture
For cities
Urban
Of, relating to,
or located in a
city
Characteristics
– large size,
high density,
diversity
Way Back When…
First cities appeared in SW Asia
more than 5,000 years ago.
City life became possible when
there was a surplus of food and
some people did not need to
farm any longer.
They became weavers,
merchants, traders, government
& religious officials, etc.
List It
What factors might influence a city’s location?
Write It
Would you rather live in a rural area or the city?
Write down your answer and a few sentences explaining
your answer (advantages & disadvantages).
Activity Time
Create a list of Kentucky’s largest cities.
How many are there?
What factors influence their location?
Where are they located in relation to each other?
Where are small ones located in relation to large ones?
Pick one city on your list and analyze its location by
listing factors that influenced that city’s development.
Activity Time
Using the Venn Diagram template, compare and contrast
the differences between urban and rural areas.
Physical
Social
Economic/land use
Population
Problems
List it
What problems do you think
the city of _________ faces?
Urban Problems
Transportation (roads,
gridlock)
Social – POVERTY (lack of
good jobs & housing)
Environmental – air, water, &
land pollution
(sanitation/sewers, fresh
drinking water)
Urban Sprawl
The development of new housing sites in less dense
areas not connected to the existing built-up area
What promotes urban sprawl?
Automobile
Mass Transit
Urbanization: Pro & Con
PRO
Fewer people in rural areas
Better for forests, soil,
wildlife
Lower family sizes
Better education
Better health
CON
Hazards of site
Loss of land
Outlying areas more
susceptible to landslides,
floods, storms, earthquakes
Farmland lost (US=1
million acres/year;
China=3x as much
Changed land cover
Natural landscape becomes
cultural (pavement,
buildings), more pollutants
Activity Time
World City
Choose one city you think is a world city.
Create an information brochure about the city –
including population statistics, name and description of
large businesses or organizations headquartered there,
and other interesting info.
Mention nearby cities that are economically or socially
tied to your city.
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