U.S. Census Data and Mental Maps - Assignment Example

Section A: Short Answer Questions U.S. Census Data and Mental Maps The U.S Census Bureau describes a Metropolitan Statistical Area as a geological zone with a moderately high density of population within its core and proximity of economic ties all over the zones. Rural counties, such as Illinois, Washington, Macoupin, and Missouri make up the St. Louis MSA because they get centered by a single monumental city, which wields extensive authority over the area. Also, St. Louis MSA has a population of over one million, plus separate constituent regions, meeting statistical standards, and holds a local opinion. In regard to the 2000 U.S. Census, the smallest spatial scale for comprehensive population data such as home, ownership, etc. is Block. In fact, Block data provides the smallest scale since it can be generalized to tabulate other levels of data i.e., other data stream from Block data aggregation. Paths: channels or familiar routes on which observers occasionally, potentially, or customarily move, e.g. the Goshen Trail at IL route 157 2. Districts: Regions with noticeable internal homogeneity, which mentally, the observer gets in “inside of” and the region has some familiar, recognizable character, e.g. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District. Edges: are lines separating districts, e.g. Izmir Bay. Landmarks: are points of reference, usually distinct physical objects, e.g. the campus Clock Tower. Nodes: is an attraction centre that an observer enters e.g. primary junctions on campus Origins of Cities Both the Ancient Athens and Ancient Rome had civilization and achievements, plus Golden Ages. While the Ancient Athens developed direct democracy, Ancient Rome gave the landowners directives to elect their representation. As Athenians achieved in sculpture, literature and art, drama and comedy, Ancient Rome achieved in engineering, aqueducts and roads and copied the Athenians’ learning. The ancient Athens had a population of approximately 3000,000. The Romans were over one million people. Both Ancients had clashes within their empires. Medieval cities had vertical growth due to many people but less land. As a result, the inner cities became a site of insufficient housing, widespread decay and substandard living. The apartment in the medieval cities could be occupied by people, whose vicious cycle obligated them to stay there ((Knox and McCarthy 145). The street design of cities and architecture during the renaissance through the baroque era had the quality of perfect suitability with an expression of a culture’s mechanical knowledge. Architecture became demystified in preparation to the way for contemporary design. Cities such as the Rome got influenced by this period. Mercantile Era (1790-1840). During the Mercantile Era, new gateway cities emerged along waterways which connected the western territories and Atlantic Seaboard. The rise of interstate freeways, sub regional passenger airports, waterway transportation and railroads, increased the mobility of commodities and people. Utilitarianism refers to the ethical policy that the correctness of an action should be based on whether it boosts the total of human delight, or value. During the Mercantile Era in the U.S., businesses used the utilitarianism philosophy to operate on free competition with maintained reforms to develop the lower classes’ conditions. Figure 1: The Sjoberg’s Model of the Preindustrial City. From figure 1, the preindustrial cities occupied by undersized exclusive elite, catered for through their domestics, have powers over the city’s social functions. The lower classes in the preindustrial city are relatively more than the elites, while the majority consigned to the external city edges are the outcastes. Early Industrial Era (1840-1875) Agglomerate economies refer to the net benefits of putting up one or more businesses within a large population center or city. These economies occur due to market benefits that outweigh the additional expenses of residing in a city. In the Early Industrial Era, the agglomerate economy that existed was the urbanization economies ((Knox and McCarthy 245). The factory-based industry was a large scale industry, principally organized in nature. The cottage industry was home-based hence; small scale industry, mainly unorganized in nature. In the industrial revolution, workers used machineries to fabricate products and steam engines to mechanize industrial processes. The rank-size rule is a statistical correlation between population ranks and population sizes of a given geographical area, whose regression analysis is; log Pk = log P1 - b log k. P1 denotes the largest city’s population, Pk is the kth town’s population by rank, and the coefficient b is the empirical value for each investigation. In the United States, the port cities are the largest and dispersed thus; its cities’ relative sizes in rank have persisted over time. Industrial Era (1875-1920) Competitive capitalism is mixed-market or market-based resource allocation. Competitive capitalism is not purely monopolistic in nature. Resource allocation in Organized capitalism dwells in few recognizable markets hence; purely monopolistic in nature. These two forms of industrial capitalism emerged in the mid 19th century, during the Neoliberal Globalization era. Land use zoning is the act of authorizing acceptable uses of land as per the mapped zones dividing a given set of uses of land from another. In the industrial era, the zoning laws emerged from actions of individuals and private developers. The nuisance-zone statutes passed include suits of neighbor vs. neighbor; public official vs. neighboring landowner; and those involving persons sharing a given parcel of land. Figure 2: Burgess’ Concentric Zone Model of urban land use. In figure 2, two zones in transition are 1 and 2 since they have well developed transport infrastructure, enhancing many industrial activities to take place. In other words, these transition zones signify highly developed regions. A vacancy chain refers to a social structure via which resources get dispersed to consumers. On the edge of the Central Business District, a zone of discard can be generated by a vacancy chain when most consumers still value their old resource units rather than the new resources produced. Section B: Long Essay Questions What is the central place theory and how does it explain the urban hierarchy that exists in the Midwest of the United States? Be sure to discuss market area, threshold, and range, and give examples in your response. In 1933, Christaller Walter after he recognized the economic relations involving cities and their hinterlands, he summed up that residents gather together in cities and share ideas and commodities. In precise terms, these residents exist for merely economic grounds. Christaller developed the central place theory, which explains the rationales behind patterns of distribution, number and sizes of towns and cities around the globe. This theory serves a valuable role identifying vital aspects such as the city and region interdependence, market range, a hierarchy of centers and functions and threshold populations. A market area is where consumers who travel to the central place (which supply services and commodities to the surrounding population) settle. Market range gives the variations in consumption in relation to the preferences of the consumer in the central place. Threshold is the least amount of consumers required for an activity, or a central place, a business may require so as it can remain dynamic and prosperous. Hierarchically, In the Midwest of the united states, low order commodities such as the routine household items and food get purchased regularly at close locations rather than going to the city. High order commodities get purchased less often thus; offered normally in large cities, which can serve a high population in the immediate hinterland. The central place theory attempts to elucidate the urbanization’s spatial distribution. However, this pattern gets preeminently understood through a central place business and its market area, threshold and range. What were characteristics of the Central Business District during the Industrial Era (1875-1920)? How does Alonso’s bid-rent theory explain land use changes in the central city during the Industrial Era? A technocratic society evolved during the industrial era. The concept of the Central Business District became characterized and defined by the innovations in the Industrial Era, and theories such as the Alonso’s bid-rent theory emerged The Central Business District could be characterized by the manufacturing plants that got established on rail strips. The highway system made many locations become accessible to the CBD (Central Business District). The CBD acted as a gathering and distribution locality for agricultural and industrial commodities (Knox and McCarthy 210). It had shopping joints for the metropolis and its vicinity. The Central Business District became a centre for cultural, social and administrative activities. Professionals, retail employees and industrial workers made the CBD a working station. During the Industrial Era, Alonso’s bid-rent theory depicts that different users of land would compete with each other for land near the CBD. In other words, people would pay expensively for land near the CBD, but less for that further away from the CBD. That is why; the Central Business District becomes characterized by high innovations. The more reachable an area is, the higher the concentration of consumers, and the lucrative an area becomes. How did boosterism and the Progressive Era (1895-1920) change the character of American cities and improve the lives of urban residents? Why did boosters and progressives support annexation? During the early 1900s, United States entered an era of prosperity, peace, and progress. Within a nation of emergent cities, small businesses flourished, factory output grew, and incomes rose. All these changes transformed the American cities and developed the lives of urban residents. The Boosterism and Progressive eras enriched the city dwellers. Chain stores, department stores and shopping centers offered a green light to transact businesses in urban centers. These innovations met the rising demand for material goods. Amusement parks and other parks and baseball stadiums became constructed to provide the recreational and aesthetic needs. Systems of transport improved, as well as the infrastructure that met the high demands of the upper and middle class city dwellers (Knox and McCarthy 387). The progressives and boosters supported annexation in order to complete a bridge to the foreign markets. The Boosterism and Progressive Era marked a vital period for the citizens of the United States. In order to enhance their economic growth, they supported annexation where foreign markets could be deemed indispensable. Work Cited: Knox, Paul, and McCarthy Linda. Urbanization: An Introduction to Urban Geography. Third Edition. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Prentice Hall, 2012. Print. Read More