making sense of cities
a geographical survey
by
Blair Badcock
Policy Manager, National Office,
Housing New Zealand Corporation,
Wellington, New Zealand
A member of the Hodder Headline Group
LONDON
Co-published in the United States of America by
Oxford University Press Inc., New Yor
CONTENTS
Preface vi
Introduction 1
1 Urbanisation Processes and Patterns in an Era of Globalisation 14
2 Urban Systems and the Growth of Cities 34
3 Geography of Wealth Creation in Cities t61
4 Location of Economic Activities in Cities 95
5 Work Performed in Cities 120
6 Housing Markets and Residential Location in Cities 143
7 Social and Cultural Mosaic of Cities 171
8 City Environments and Living Conditions 203
9 Urban Politics and the Management of Cities 225
10 Outlook for the Urban Millennium 245
References 254
Index 267
PREFACE
Apart from the other formalities normally found in a preface, this one tells instructors and students what kind of book Making Sense of Cities is trying to be. Making Sense of Cities has been developed to serve as a new-generation urban geography text for use in undergraduate programmes. It aims to fulfil the needs of students coming to the subject matter of urban geography for the first time, presumably after a first year course in human geography. Most of the contents are drawn from the second and third year courses currently taught in Australian universities. The text will also be useful in related disciplines where there is a need to build upon a systematic and up-to-date working knowledge of urbanisation and cities. It offers a solid foundation for later coursework in disciplines like urban and regional planning, sociology, environmental studies, urban design and architecture, and maybe political studies and economics.
On completion of Unfairly Structured Cities in 1984, I promised myself that I would never take on the task of writing another textbook! So why did I finally give in to a persistent commissioning editor way back in June 1997, knowing full well what would be involved? Especially when urban geography, having given ground to 'new cultural geography' in the 1990s, seems to have lost its way a bit in geography curricula on both sides of the Atlantic. With urban geography currently suffering somewhat from a crisis of confidence of sorts, it is fair to ask then, 'What is urban geography these days?' At a time when cities have never been more significant in shaping the material and environmental conditions that now govern the lives of the majority of humankind, this surely must strike the outsider as a peculiar state of affairs within geography.
First, the opportunity to write a new-generation urban geography text coincides with the advent of what some commentators anticipate will be the 'urban millennium'. The forces of urbanisation and burgeoning mega-cities will dominate the organisation of human affairs as never before. But, despite the unbridled faith that some futurists place in technological solutions, the massing of population in cities globally is bound to become increasingly unsustainable, in both human and environmental terms. While counter-urbanisation might be helping to relieve the pressure on some cities in affluent societies, the transport, housing and environmental systems that are crucial to the efficient functioning of a city are typically overloaded and close to breaking point in parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America. In view of this there is a need for a confidently argued urban text that demonstrates just how pivotal the study of cities remains for a discipline like geography. This to me is the real intellectual challenge ahead of urban geographers, for it requires no less than a reconciliation of the debates around the relative importance of economics, politics and culture for a global population in the twenty-first century that will be overwhelmingly urban. How can humangeography teachers with the responsibility of educating coming generations of students afford to neglect the urban? If they do, it will be at the risk of increasing irrelevance in policy circles, whether it be at the level where the big global issues are played out or at the level where local communities struggle to work out their own affairs. It follows that an understanding of urbanisation processes and how cities develop, their place in the economy, their impact on the environment, and how they sustain social life, is going to be vital to managing the future growth of cities and improving living conditions in them. Quite simply, then, this is to assert the value of a problem-centred approach to the study of cities. Educationally speaking, what does the particular approach to urban geography adopted in Making Sense of Cities have to offer students? Geographers accept that the way cities are organised spatially can tell us a great deal about the economic, political and cultural systems of the societies in which they have evolved. Cities exhibit, often with stunning clarity, the outcome of broad social processes. For example, the effects of economic restructuring, together with the politics of public policy, social conflict and changing gender relations, are etched and imprinted in the geography of cities. This is a geographical perspective that boldly claims, 'It all comes together in cities.' Not only does this hark back in a way to geographers' time-honoured mission as 'grand synthesisers'; this places them in the company of environmentalists, who are also conscious of the systemic interrelatedness of all aspects of human endeavour and nature.
Taking this approach ultimately involves making an educational judgement, which at the same time is epistemologically 'loaded', in relation to how urbanisation and the geography of cities are to be represented in this text. Does one set out to develop the unifying themes and to identify those aspects that cities share in common? Or does one pursue the themes of distinctiveness and difference, and forgo the search for generalisation? In opting for a crosscultural comparative analysis of cities, this textbook presents evidence of both convergent and divergent forms of urbanisation and urbanism, and highlights both commonalities and differences in outcomes with respect to patterns and processes in cities. I aim to show that an integrative approach to the study of cities can sensibly go hand in hand with acknowledging 'diversity and difference'. But the lasting impression I want students to take away from Making Sense of Cities is of the patterns and processes that generally apply to urbanisation and cities. Secondly, now that we have just rounded the corner to a new millennium, this is a fascinating time to be interpreting events on the world stage and how they are impacting upon cities and urban communities. Part of the great appeal of studying urban change and the spatial organisation of human activity in cities is that it raises deeper questions about the shaping of society that simply cannot be avoided. Any new text, even if confined largely to the needs of English-speaking students, has to reflect the realities of a world that is growing increasingly interdependent. While geography texts have traditionally been dominated by Anglo-American experience, in a global context the Asia-Pacific region is becoming more and more pivotal - economically and culturally. Environmental stresses are going to press these cities as never before. This requires a shift in orientation without overlooking the impact of recent developments in an expanded European region. UK cities, for example, are in the throes of changes that can be traced to the direct and indirect effects of integration into the European Union.
Yet for us to make sense of the urban transformations taking place, they also have to be measured against the geographies of cities past and present. However, despite the overwhelming tendency to eurocentrism in texts written by English speakers, this writer has nevertheless erred on the side of selecting case studies that students on both sides of the Atlantic will mostly be able to relate to. Within these practical constraints, I have tried to select materials that are vibrant, relevant, and inclusive of the experience of other settings and cultures. Extensive use is made of material sourced from current periodicals like the Guardian Weekly, The Economist and several daily newspapers. No one can do justice to urban studies these days without keeping up to date with current affairs around the globe. Thirdly, in calling this textbook Making Sense of Cities I want to signal an intellectual commitment to the Enlightenment project without getting mired in an epistemological morass. Students ought to be alive to the fact that the sense we make of the natural and social world around us is the product of our powers of reasoning. Yet the knowledge acquired through this process always remains open to question. Naturally our ideas are going to be contested - and so they should be! Indeed, the history of ideas suggests that the only certainty is that eventually a mode of thought or an idea will be overtaken. Nevertheless, there are significant ideas and content within urban geography from earlier generations that are still relevant and ought to be carried forward into a new text. On this basis I am convinced that, whatever the intellectual fashions of the day, there needs to be a clear structure and sure hand steering students through an introductory text so long, as teachers, we remember the cautionary wisdom of Zen: 'Use your finger to point to the moon, but don't mistake your finger for the moon.' This is a good time to be developing a new urban text because, by now, the relative importance of globalisation, economics, politics and culture has at least had a good airing in the social sciences, and we also have the benefit of a variety of post-structuralist and feminist critiques of what has gone before. Gender issues need to be integrated into all discourse, and not simply because a majority of students are likely to be women. As well as this, after the economic fundamentalism of the 1980s and 1990s, governments and their advisers in countries like the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have come to realise that the limit has been reached in the pursuit of market solutions. Although decidedly problematic, the search is on for a 'Third Way' to manage better economic and social policy, urban and regional development, and the affairs of communities within cities. The UK's Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and perhaps the strongest advocate of a 'Third Way', has even gained a measure of support for his government's reforms from some of Europe's most powerful social democrats. This all has implications for the future management of cities and the well-being of their citizens. One is now able to be much more confident about the kind of balance to strike in relation to these debates since some time has elapsed since they first began.
Fourthly, there is one other development in the realm of ideas that helped to spark my enthusiasm for this task. When I was first approached to write this book, there were signs that the suspension of ethical judgement that had hitherto blighted so much writing in a post-modernist vein was under challenge. I must say I wouldn't be able to muster much enthusiasm for an assignment that didn't hold the spotlight on issues of social and environmental justice in cities. The point, ultimately, of trying to make sense of cities is not for its own sake, but to advance ideas that can help to contribute to an improvement in the human condition. In my experience students appreciate critical analysis that is followed up by canvassing options for bringing about progressive change. Students should be aware of, and encouraged by, the fact that there are cities where urban managers and communities are successfully tackling some of the same seemingly intractable problems that beset their metro area or neighbourhood.
This book was conceived and written during a topsy-turvy time. It would have been impossible to carry on at work and rebuild my life after Carole's death without the understanding of very caring departmental colleagues and lots of treasured friends. Simon and Jonathan were instrumental in urging me to press ahead with the writing. Leaving Adelaide after 30 years to return to New Zealand opens up new possibilities for me, but not without some cost to those left behind. With the decision to move from university life to a public service position, I also owe a special debt of thanks to the generation of students who have elected to take my courses over the years. Their own career moves will continue to be watched with a kind of paternal pride. And, for me, the time has come to show that I've also got what it takes to 'walk the talk'...
On the production side, I have been helped by two very professional members of the Department of Geographical and Environmental Studies at Adelaide University, Mrs Joanna Rillo (tables) and Mrs Chris Crothers (figures). I have worked very closely with Mrs Marian Browett on a series of research projects over the years and she must take the credit for some of the quite complex computations sitting behind Figure 6.7. I am grateful to the Institute of Geography at Victoria University in Wellington for providing a Visiting Fellowship and other logistical support whilst writing. Dr Phillip Morrison at 'Vic' has been especially supportive and Chapter 5 is much the better for Phil's generous offer of access to a manuscript that has subsequently appeared in Urban Studies. Discussions held with Professor Chris Hamnett and Dr Loretta Lees at University College London in April 2000 reassured me that I was getting at least some things right! The three commissioning editors associated with this book contract - Laura McKelvie, Luciana O'Flaherty and Liz Gooster - have shown extraordinary patience and forbearance during its gestation. In the latter stages, Liz Gooster and her team at Arnold have been a constant source of advice and practical support.
Finally, this book is dedicated to two special women who were at school together in the 1950s. Without their love and encouragement, this book would never have been written. Carole's will to live inspired me to write it; Rosemary's healing hand made it possible.
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