COURSE PACKET

01: Meaning and

Nature of Urban
Geography

GEOGRAPHY 3
BSE II Social Studies
Course Description
The subject guides the students to
demonstrate an understanding of the
essential processes shaping socio-
cultural geographies of contemporary
cities. It also leads them to demonstrate
knowledge on the different issues
affecting cities such as economy, culture,
health, planning, human mobility,
transportation, including topics on
sustainability and the future of cities.
Meaning of Urban Geography

Urban geography, a part of the human

geography discipline, is the study of spatial
processes that create patterns in cities.
Nature of Urban Geography

The nature of urban geography.

Source: Pacione, 2009

Urbanization in the Philippines

The Philippines has three metropolitan areas as defined by the National Economic

and Development Authority (NEDA).
• Metro Manila is the largest conurbation or urban agglomeration in the country,
and its official metropolitan area is composed of the city of Manila plus 15
neighboring cities and the municipality of Pateros. 
• Metro Cebu, located in the Visayas, is the Philippines' second largest urban area
• Metro Davao, which is located in Mindanao, is the country's third largest
metropolitan area
Urbanization in the Philippines

Level of Urbanization in the Philippines reached 51.2 percent

• In 2015, the level of urbanization or the percentage of population residing in urban areas in
the Philippines was recorded at 51.2 percent. This means that a total of 51.73 million persons
resided in barangays classified as urban. There were 7,437 barangays classified as urban and
34,599 as rural. The level of urbanization in 2010 was only 45.3 percent.
Five regions surpassed the national level of urbanization
• Across regions, aside from the NCR, which is classified as entirely urban, four other regions
posted a level of urbanization higher than that of the national level (51.2 percent). These were
Region IV-A (66.4 percent), Region XI (63.5 percent), Region III (61.6 percent), and Region
XII (51.6 percent). In 2010, the same five regions posted the highest level of urbanization.
Urbanization in the Philippines

Three component cities and five municipalities were entirely urban

• Excluding the HUCs/municipality in the NCR and the 17 HUCs outside the NCR,
there were 75 component cities all over the country that had at least 50.0 percent of
their total population residing in urban barangays in 2015. Three of these component
cities were classified as entirely urban, namely, Cabuyao City and Santa Rosa City in
Laguna and Antipolo City in Rizal. Excluding Pateros in NCR, the five municipalities
that were classified as entirely urban were: Marilao in Bulacan, Kalayaan in Laguna,
Taytay in Rizal, Talaingod in Davao del Norte, and Jolo in Sulu.
•  
Important Terms in Urban Geography

• An urban area is the region surrounding a city. Most inhabitants of urban areas

have nonagricultural jobs. Urban areas are very developed, meaning there is
a density of human structures such as houses, commercial buildings, roads,
bridges, and railways.
• "Urban area" can refer to towns, cities, and suburbs. An urban area includes the
city itself, as well as the surrounding areas. Many urban areas are called
metropolitan areas, or "greater," as in Greater New York or Greater London.
Important Terms in Urban Geography

• When two or more metropolitan areas grow until they combine, the result may
be known as a megalopolis.
• In the United States, the urban area of Boston, Massachusetts, eventually
spread as far south as Washington, D.C., creating the megalopolis of BosWash,
or the Northeast Corridor.
• In the Philippines, Metro Manila is an example.
Important Terms in Urban Geography

• Rural areas are the opposite of urban areas. Rural areas, often called "the country,"
have low population density and large amounts of undeveloped land. Usually, the
difference between a rural area and an urban area is clear.

• But in developed countries with large populations, such as Japan, the difference is
becoming less clear. In the United States, settlements with 2,500 inhabitants or
more are defined as urban. In Japan, which is far more densely populated than the
U.S., only settlements with 30,000 people or more are considered urban.
Important Terms in
Urban Geography
• One type of urban area is a town. A town is
generally larger than a village, but smaller
than a city. Some geographers further define
a town as having 2,500 to 20,000 residents.

• Towns usually have local self-government,

and they may grow around specialized
economic activities, such as mining or
railroading.
 Important Terms in Urban Geography
• Suburbs are smaller urban areas that surround cities. Most suburbs are less densely populated than cities. They serve as the
residential area for much of the citys work force. The suburbs are made up of mostly single-family homes, stores, and
services. Ex: Binondo, Dilao, Ermita, Malate, Pandacan, Quiapo, Sampaloc, San Miguel, Santa Ana, Santa Cruz, and Tondo
• Many city residents move to suburbs, a situation known as suburban migration. Homes in suburbs are usually larger than
homes in cities, and suburbs usually have more parks and open spaces.
Important Terms in
Urban Geography

• Recently, experts have tried to curb the spread

of suburban sprawl, or at least create urban
areas that are developed more purposefully.
This is known as "smart growth." City planners
create communities that are designed for more
walking and less dependency on cars. Some
developers recover old communities in
downtown urban areas, rather than develop the
next piece of farmland or wilderness.
• Ex: New Clark City
 Important Terms in Urban Geography

• City is an agglomeration of people and buildings clustered together to serve as a center of politics,
culture and economics.
• Section 450 of Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991 - A
municipality or a cluster of barangays may be converted into a component city if it has a locally
generated average annual income, as certified by the Department of Finance, of at least One hundred
million pesos (P100,000,000) for the last two (2) consecutive years based on 2000 constant prices, and
if it has either of the following requisites:
• (i)a contiguous territory of at least one hundred (100) square kilometers, as certified by the Land
Management Bureau; or
• (ii)a population of not less than one hundred fifty thousand (150,000) inhabitants, as certified by the
National Statistics Office.
 Important Terms in Urban Geography

Agricultural Village
• Small in size and population.
• Everyone living in the village was involved
in agriculture
• People lived at near-subsistence levels.
• Villages were egalitarian – all people were
relatively equal. Shared goods among the
people.
Important Terms in
Urban Geography

Sjoberg’s Societal
Classification

• Folk-Preliterate - Earliest
cities, predating written
languages.
Important Terms in Urban
Geography

Sjoberg’s Societal Classification

• Feudal - Arose during the Middle Ages

which actually stagnated urban growth in
Europe; fostered a dependent relationship
between wealthy landowners and peasants
– provided few alternative economic
alternatives.
Important Terms in
Urban Geography

Sjoberg’s Societal Classification

• Pre-Industrial - Found in societies

without sophisticated machine
technology, where human and
animal labor form the basis for
economic production (no city
moved past this stage until the
Industrial Revolution).
Important Terms in Urban Geography
Sjoberg’s Societal Classification

• Urban Industrial - Predominate in the modernized nations of Western Europe, America, Japan (and to a lesser extent
where their cultures have globalized) where productivity through machines, and energy sources from fossil fuels and
atomic power phenomenally expand economic productivity.
Important Terms in
Urban Geography

The Six Urban Hearths (area where cities

first began to emerge)
• Mesopotamia
• Nile River Valley
• Indus River Valley
• Huang He and Wei River Valleys
• Mesoamerica
• Peru
Important Terms in
Urban Geography
Urban Hierarchy - Ranking of settlements according to
their size and economic functions
• Hamlet – rural and to small to be a village.
Hamletting—or clearing an area of an alleged rebel
presence and maintaining a military presence to keep
them out— was practiced by US-backed South
Vietnamese army during the Vietnam War in a bid to
fight communist infiltration. 
• Village
• Town
• City
• Regional Capitals – Provide highest order goods and
have a huge market area
Important Terms in Urban Geography

• Hinterland - Literally “country behind”; refers to the surrounding area

served by an urban center (the heartland).
Important Terms in
Urban Geography

Megacities - High population

growth and migration cause these
cities to attract massive amounts
of population since WWII; tend
to be plagued by chaotic and
unplanned sprawling growth,
pollution, and widespread
poverty.
Important Terms in Urban
Geography
Urban Morphology - the layout of a city, it’s physical
form and structure
Functional Zonation - the division of the city into certain
regions (zones) for certain purposes (functions).
Acropolis - In Greece, a temple or religious building built
at the high point of the city. Acro = high point Polis = city.
Parthenon of Athens is the most famous
Agora - in Greece, public spaces where citizens debated,
lectured, planned military campaigns, socialized and
traded. Became the center of commercial activity (a market
or business zone).
Forum - the Romans would combine the agora and
acropolis into one central point.
 Zoning Laws
Zones of the City • Municipal or local government laws

Important Terms • Central business district (CBD) – often referred

that dictate how property can and
cannot be used in certain areas
(zones).
in Urban to as the downtown.
• Zoning laws limit commercial use of
• Central City (the CBD + older housing zones)
Geography land in order to prevent oil,
manufacturing or other types of
• Suburb (outlying, functionally uniform zone businesses from building in
residential neighborhoods.
outside of the central city)
Important Terms in Urban Geography

Central Place Theory - organizes the

urban hierarchy into a unified spatial
network of cities and towns.
Central Place - Any town or city to
which people travel in order to make
purchases
Market Area - The areas people
travel from – going to the central place.
A market area is an example of a
functional region
Central Place Function (CPF) - A
good or service that is provided by the
Important Terms in Urban
Geography

Threshold - The minimum

market area size required to
keep the CPF in business.
Range - The maximum
distance a customer is
willing to travel to obtain a
good
Important
Terms in
Urban
Geography
Important Terms in Urban Geography

Central Place Functions have an Order

Low Order Function - A good or service that is obtained on a regular basis, requires
a small market area to be profitable and people are unwilling to travel far to obtain it
Medium Order Function - A good or service that is obtained on a semi-regular basis,
requires a medium sized market area to be profitable and people are willing to travel
(but not to far) to obtain it
High Order Function - A good or service that is required less frequently, requires a
large market area to remain profitable and people are willing to travel farther for it.
Important Terms in Urban Geography

Christaller’s Urban Hierarchy

• Cities are organized into a hierarchy according to their size and importance.
Importance is determined by if they offer low or high order functions
High Order Cities - Offer all goods and services from low order to high order
Medium Order Cities - Offer low order items and services for their residents as well
as medium order functions for themselves and those living in smaller communities
nearby.
Low Order Cities - Offer only low order functions and are small and many in number
Important Terms in Urban Geography

Assumptions of Central Place Theory

• The system assumes that the central place evolves • On a flat featureless
infinite plain
• Has a uniform population density
• Customers prefer to shop at the nearest location that offers the products or
services they need
Important Terms in Urban Geography

• Highest order cites have a large market area for their highest order
goods. They have a medium sized market for their medium order
functions. They have a small market for their lowest order goods
• Gentrification - Individuals buy up and rehabilitate houses, raising
the housing value in the neighborhood and changing the
neighborhood.
• Slums - Older, run down inner-city neighborhoods.
Important Terms in Urban Geography
Important Terms in Urban Geography