Handout 4

TRENDS IN URBAN GROWTH

The definition of an urban area changes from country to country. In general, there are no
standards, and each country develops its own set of criteria for distinguishing cities or urban
areas. A city is generally defined as a political unit, i.e., a place organized and governed by an
administrative body. A way of defining a city or an urban area is by the number of residents. The
United Nations defines settlements of over 20,000 as urban, and those with more than 100,000 as
cities. The United States defines an urbanized area as a city and surrounding area, with a
minimum population of 50,000. A metropolitan area includes both urban areas and rural areas
that are socially and economically integrated with a particular city. Cities with over 5 million
inhabitants are known as megacities. There were 41 in the year 2000. This number is expected to
grow as the population increases in the next few decades. It is predicted that by the year 2015, 50
megacities will exist, and 23 of these are expected to have over 10 million people. Table below is
a list of the world’s 22 largest cities in 2012. The World's 22 Largest Cities, 2012; Population
(Millions).

What are the Problems Associated with Rapid Urban Growth?

The urbanization process refers to much more than simple population growth; it involves
changes in the economic, social and political structures of a region. Rapid urban growth is
responsible for many environmental and social changes in the urban environment and its effects
are strongly related to global change issues. The rapid growth of cities strains their capacity to
provide services such as energy, education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation and physical
security. Because governments have less revenue to spend on the basic upkeep of cities and the
provision of services, cities have become areas of massive sprawl, serious environmental
problems, and widespread poverty.

One of the major effects of rapid urban growth is “urban sprawl"-scattered development that
increases
traffic, saps local resources and destroys open space. Urban sprawl is responsible for changes in
the physical environment, and in the form and spatial organization of cities. Developed and less
developed countries of the world differ not only in the percent living in cities, but also in the way
in which urbanization is occurring.

Consequences of Urban Growth:

Increases traffic and Squatter Settlements
Pollutes air, water and other threats to natural environment
Worsens the existing degraded built environment
Destroys agricultural land, parks, and open spaces
Costs cities and counties millions of dollars for new housing, water and sewer lines, new schools,
and
increased police and fire protection
Creates crowded schools in the suburbs and empty, crumbling schools in center of cities
Solutions to decrease Urban Growth:
Enacting growth boundaries, parks and open space protection
Planning and promoting public participation in housing and transportation.
Reversing government programs and tax policies that help create sprawl.
Revitalizing already developed areas through measures such as attracting new businesses,
reducing crime and
improving schools; Preventing new development in floodplains, coastal areas and other disaster-
prone areas.

TRENDS IN URBAN GROWTH AND OBJECTIVES OF SOUND

PLANNING
i) 2500 to 5000 persons may be termed as Eopolis or Infantile Municipality Town
ii) 5000 to 10000 persons may be termed as Polis or Juvenile Town
iii) 10000 to 25000 persons may be termed as Mature Trade/Industrial Town
iv) 25000 to 50000 persons may be termed as Metropolis or Medium Size City
v) 50000 to 100000 persons may be termed as Megalopolis Intermediate City
vi) 100000 to 250000 persons may be termed as Trade/Industry/Service Sector City
vii) 250000 to 500000 persons may be termed as Primate City
viii) 500000 to 1000000 persons may be termed as Tyranopolis or a Metropolitan City
ix) 1000000 or more persons may be termed as Senile City or Mega City.

Eopolis: The Eopolis indicates the first stage of town as a village community whose
economic base is agriculture.

Polis: The Polis indicates and association of population with some mechanization and
specialization.

Metropolis: The metropolis is a city or town which serves as a capital of a state or

region.

Megalopolis: The megalopolis indicates the first stage of decline in town or city due to mega
problems & issues, or the reign of town or city shows the signs of decline and deterioration.

Tyranopolis: the Tyranopolis is the town or city which shows drastic deteriorating situation for
example the trade depression or military powers may occur with different war lords.

Necropolis: the necropolis is the worst stage of town or city. For example t he citizens are
shifting to rural areas or hinter land or village due to war, disease or economic break down. In
that case the town may recover from it after a large internal of time. According to Mr. Griffith
Taylor a town or city passes through four stages, i.e. Infantile, Juvenile, Mature and senile.
Infantile: this is the first stage of town in which a city is not yet divided in separate zones. Or
the city in which zoning regulations is not being prepared yet.

Juvenile: the juvenile stage of town or city indicates that, shops are being separated
from the houses or residential area and there are some factories or an industry has been
established at a minimal level.

Mature: the mature stage of town shows the divisions of residential zone, commercial zo
ne and industrial zone in the city. Or the landuse and zoning regulations in town shows
the stage of mature city / town.

Senile: Finally the senile stage of town indicates the physical decay in most of the portions of the
city. Or the physical, social & economic degradation is evident in the built environment of
town or city.Apart from these theories of urban growth and process of decay there are some
models of urban growth & its pattern of landuse in the form of different theories. These include
concentric zone theory or concentric ring theory, Axial Development theory, Sector theory
and multiple nuclei theory. These theories of urban development patterns are quite important
in landuse planning. Because in landuse planning process the main focus is on conversion of
individual parcels of land from rural to urban uses and the role of public and private sector in that
conversion.

What is Urban Growth?

It is basically the growth and development of urban areas, over a period of time. It can also be
understood by the term urban sprawl.

What is Urban Sprawl?

Urban sprawl is the term to describe development pattern in cities. Unfortunately it lacks a
precise definition. However it can be understood through visualizing the on going process of
growth in cities. The urban sprawl
can refer to at least three different patterns.
i) Low density continuous development.
ii) Ribbon development.
iii) Leapfrog development
i) Low – Density Continuous Development Pattern:
This is the development pattern on housing and related land uses in all direction of city. It is also
termed as the horizontal growth, which occupy large amount of land and expand the boundary of
the city. This development pattern is manly measure for at least 50 years.
The affects of low density continuous development pattern are as follows:
Waste of land resources. It increase the cost of development i.e. utilities, transport. It increases
the travel time and energy consumption.
ii) Leapfrog Development Pattern:
It is a process of skipping over of parcels of land. This pattern occurs due to various reasons such
as property value increase, deteriorating law and order, opportunities of better life & upward
mobility. The affects of leapfrog development are as follows: It is unplanned growth that occurs
spontaneously. It creates incompatible land uses.

iii) Ribbon Development Pattern:

It is the development that follows street, car lines roads. Subways, and commuter railroads, by
leaving the interstices undeveloped. Mainly the highways promote ribbon development.
Interstices mean space between things / objects. According to Encyclopedia of Urban Planning
by Whittick Arnold, “It is an urban development along main roads leading to cites”.
According to Mr. G.K. Hiraskar, in this growth pattern, the development takes place in the form
of Ribbon or line. It is a single row of house, shops, market, commercial buildings along the bust
routes railway lines, and highways. The ribbon development mostly occurs in newly developing
towns where zoning rules and regulations have not been strictly enforced.

Cellular Growth: As evident from the term itself the cellular growth is the growth and
expansion of cells.
What is cell? Cell is basically a unit of planning.

Linear City:
The linear city concept can also be termed as more refined version of ribbon development. The
concept of linear city was developed by Mr. Don Arturo Soria Y. Mata in 1882, in Madrid.
According to his concept, “A city should be designed on the principal that transport rout
will be the main determinant to develop physical shape / form / morphology of the city.”

Suburbs and Suburban Growth:

Suburbs are the compactly developed / developing areas in the surrounding of a city. There is no
identifiable boundary between city and suburban. However they are distinguished by their
homogenous socio-economic and physical characteristics. Cities merge gradually into the
suburban areas without and break in the physical aspect.

Objectives of Sound Planning:

According to Harold MacLean Lewis;
Whatever the plan may be, but it should have reasonable foresight to be adapted to new
conditions with little disturbance and destruction in making improvements. The work of planning
should be assigned to people who have a vision, technical training and experience. A reasonable
plan once decide, should be implemented with its essential features without any demand and
opposition and that is sound planning. However the objectives of sound planning are to have
flexibility in plans to adopt change. Foe instance if informal development is more than formal
development, then it should be regulated. The efforts & investments of people shall not be
destroyed so as resources shall not go waste & that is the objective of sound planning. The logic
behind regulation of informal sector is the failure of formal sector in provision of services and
infrastructure for example, will it be possible for a poor person to have concrete house? Or can
they get the services of an engineer or hire an architect who can provide low cost solutions? The
answer is definitely no. So if a poor person made his house without standards he must be
regulated not bulldozed. Another thing that must be kept in mind that, who made the great cities?
Princes; Kings; some Powerful People or an Institution of Government. So what is their
objective to make a new city? Mainly their objective is to develop capital cities as a place of their
importance at national and international level to get praise for them from generations to come.
Now what a great city Islamabad is? The planners of Islamabad wanted to have a capital in cool
climate because people work efficiently in cool climate. Now due to decision maker’s choice of
cool climate billion of rupees of a poor country were spent on it. So can we justify such an
objective for sound planning?