LEARNING UNIT 2: Urbanisation, Cities and Urban Life

LEARNING UNIT 2
Urbanisation, Cities and Urban Life

2.1 INTRODUCTION
Urban spaces are created by people, and they draw their character from the people that inhabit them. As
people live and work in urban spaces, they gradually impose themselves on their environment, modifying
and adjusting it as best they can, to suit their needs and express their values. Yet at the same time people
themselves gradually accommodate both to their physical environment and to the people around them
(Knox & McCarthy, 2014:359).

Preview …

AMSTERDAM.
Photo: André C Horn

In Learning Unit 1 it is indicated that cities mainly comprise (a) a built environment
(structure), (b) social, political and economic structures, and (c) people. Before we
can explore where, when and why cities and urban societies originated, the definition
of cities, urbanisation levels and the characteristics of urban life deserve attention.
These factors always provide the backdrop of the development of urban space.

2.2 LEARNING OUTCOMES AND READING

LEARNING OUTCOMES
After working through all the prescribed study material for this Learning Unit,
you should be able to:

• Explain what makes a place “urban”’

Open Rubric
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• Describe levels of urbanisation and the reasons for urban growth

• Define “urbanism” as a way of life

READING
• For the purpose of achieving the above outcomes, it is recommended that you
read specific sections of Chapter 2, The Origins and Growth of Cities and Urban
Life (sections: Preview and The Definition of Cities) and Chapter 13,
Urbanization, Urban Life and Urban Spaces of the recommended textbook
(Knox, PL & McCarthy, LM. 2014. An Introduction to Urban Geography (Third
Edition). Essex: Pearson).
• NB: Please take note that you will have to consult the specified chapters in your
Recommended reading material to be able to complete this module successfully.
The information contained in the Study Guide alone will not be sufficient to pass
the examination for this module.
• For further enrichment you can also read: Pacione, M. 2009. Urban Geography.
London and New York: Routledge. (Chapters 1 and 4.)
• You can also do further searches on the internet to enrich your knowledge. A
specific search phrase that I found worth having a look at is: “Preconditions for
urbanization”.

2.3 LEARNING CONTENT

In Learning Unit 2, we are trying to obtain a definition of what a city is (2.3.1), compare
levels of urbanisation in relation to the reasons for urban growth (and decline) (2.3.2)
and compare urban living with living in rural or remote areas (2.3.3).

2.3.1 The definition of a city

Defining a city as something different from rural villages is not as easy as one might
think. To establish for ourselves “what a city is” we acknowledge a number of the
views on the topics:

• Louis Wirth (a member of the Chicago School of Human Ecology – refer

to Learning Unit 1) in the early 20th Century identified three fundamental
characteristics that make cities different from rural settlements:
◦ An increased number of people
◦ People’s increased physical density of living (agglomeration)
◦ An increased heterogeneity (social diversity) of the population

• V Gordon Childe characterises the distinctive characteristics of cities as:

◦ Size and density
◦ Specialisation of labour
◦ Concentration of surplus
◦ Diverse and class structured society
◦ State organisation based on a well-structured political system
◦ Monumental public buildings and structures
◦ Long distance trade
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◦ Development of symbolic and aesthetic art

◦ An art of writing that facilitated social organisation and management
◦ Science: Arithmetic, geometry and astronomy

• Sjoberg highlights important physical and economic attributes that define a city:
◦ A community of substantial size
◦ Population density
◦ A variety of non-agricultural specialists
◦ The existence of an urban elite

• The above definitions mainly focus on the human side of cities, but, in addition
to that, there are many aspects of the built environment that can be added to the
definition of a city, for example:
◦ Size and height of buildings
◦ Structures for non-agricultural activities
◦ Specific forms of architecture
◦ Infrastructure (including road and railway systems, water services, electricity,
telecommunication, etc.)

Here are a few more comments on the particularity of cities: Every city (present
and past) has/had a main reason for its origin. Such reasons may include location,
centrality in a region, trade routes, raw materials, defence, etc. However, cities are
volatile and if a city loses its original main function, it can become dysfunctional,
decline and even depopulate (mining towns are particularly vulnerable) or change its
function to survive. There are many examples to demonstrate this point: The main
activities in Detroit in the USA were centred on motor manufacturing, but because
of so many changes in the motor manufacturing industry, Detroit is now a city in
decay. Many cities in central USA were founded on the iron and steel industry (once
known as the boombelt), but as a result of the change in the international iron and
steel market, they are now part of a “rust belt”. Johannesburg in South Africa was
originally a gold mining town, but successfully expanded its functions to become a
world city. In the national and world context, cities are competitive and this is
indicated by concepts such as “urban blight”, “resilient cities” and “smart cities”.

ACTIVITIES
(1) To further enrich your view of what a city is, you can access the following
search phrases on the internet: “What is a city”, “Urban blight”, “Detroit”,
“Smart cities” and “Resilient cities”.
(2) Define the terms “Urban blight”, “Smart cities” and “Resilient cities” and
give an example of each.

2.3.2 Urbanisation levels

To obtain an understanding of urbanisation levels, you are referred to specific sections
of the prescribed textbook.
• The urbanisation level refers to the percentage of a country’s population living
in its cities. The map “World Urbanisation” indicates that many countries have
urbanisation levels exceeding 80 per cent (Gabon is
the only such country in Africa).
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• The map “Major Urban Agglomerations” shows the locations of cities

accommodating more than 10 million people. According to this map, there are
about 20 cities in the world with populations of more than 10
million people. In South Africa, the two largest cities ( Johannesburg and Cape
Town) have between 3 and 5 million inhabitants.
• The urban population growth over the last centuries shows that large-scale
urbanisation onlytook off at approximately 1750 A.D. (as a result of
industrialisation) and, today, just less than 50 per cent of the world population is
urbanised.
• From the above, it should be clear that large-scale urbanisation is a relatively
recent phenomenon and that the rapidness of the ever-increasing urbanisation
rate has serious consequences. National and local governments face the challenge
of how and where to accommodate the rapidly increasing urban populations and
to create employment and provide basic services to all these people.
• For your enrichment, a few notes on the South African population:
◦ The number of black Africans surpassed the number of whites in urban
areas already in the 1940s.
◦ Between 1980 and 2011, the South African population almost doubled
from 27.6 million to 51.6 million.
◦ Since the mid-1980s, the urban population has grown bigger than the rural
population. While the urban population is increasing at a rapid rate, the
rural population is tapering off.
◦ Currently, the average age of the population is 25 years; 44% of the
population are under the age of 20 years.
◦ There are two main migration routes: The one from Limpopo to Gauteng
and the other from the Eastern Cape to the Western Cape.
◦ Some statistics based on the 2011 national census survey of the five largest
cities (municipalities) in South Africa are presented below.

Statistics on the five largest South African cities (2011)

Municipality Population Growth rate Unemployment

(2001–2011) rate

City of Johannesburg 4.4 mil 3.18% 25.0%

City of Cape Town 3.7 mil 2.57% 23.9%

eThekwini Municipality 3.4 mil 1.08% 30.2%

Ekurhuleni Municipality 3.2 mil 2.47% 28.8%

City of Tshwane 2.9 mil 3.10% 24.2%

• The question is what causes changes in urbanisation levels? The answer lies in three
processes: rural-urban migration (in a national context), cross-border migration
(from one country to another) and high birth rates, particularly in less developed
countries. In addition circular migration also occurred during the apartheid era
when specifically mine workers returned to their home areas after serving their
contracts. Temporal urbanisation as a result of circular migration also occurs in
other parts of the world. Next, you should consider these processes in a South
African context to be able to answer specific questions in the Test yourself section
of this Learning Unit.
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ACTIVITY
(3) For a general overview of urban populations, access the internet using
phrases such as “Population and urbanisation”, “urbanisation levels in South
Africa”, and “cross boundary immigration in Southern Africa”.

• Specifically in Third World countries, there is one concept that explains rapid
population growth: Demographic transition. Cultural traditions, the absence of a
proper social welfare programme, and improved medical services often result
in continuous high birth rates among new immigrants in cities, while death rates
sharply drops as a result of better medical care. Thus, demographic transition
is the transition from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates.
Demographic transition is particularly influenced by the change from a rural
lifestyle to an urban lifestyle, and the change from a pre-industrial economy to
an industrial economy and then to a post-industrial economy.

ACTIVITIES
(4) Make sure that you understand the concept of demographic transition. It is
mentioned and discussed in the prescribed textbook on pages 4, 56, 58,
140 and 155.
(5) You can also use the search phrase: “demographic transition”.

2.3.3 Urbanism (as a way of life)

It is important to know that the urban way of life differs in many respects from the
lifestyle in rural areas.

• Wheatley’s definition of urbanism:

◦ It is stated that the emergence of cities resulted in a “… particular set of

functionally integrated institutions which were first devised … to mediate
the transformation of relative egalitarian, ascriptive, kin-structured groups
into socially stratified, politically organized, territorially based societies”.

• Social life in cities

This section refers to, amongst others …
◦ The concept of a continuous “socio-spatial dialectic” between urban space
and urban society in which each shapes and reshapes the other (also refer to
Learning Unit 1 where it is mentioned as one of the most popular approaches
to the study of urban geography and the development of urban space).
◦ The existence of “individual life worlds” within the overall relationships
between space and society. This point links with the section on “The public
and private worlds of city life”.
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ACTIVITY
(6) Draw a diagram (a mind map) of your understanding of the “socio-spatial
dialectic” and the “structures” and “agents” involved in a neighbourhood,
district or city scale. This important activity challenges you to think practi-
cally and abstractly. Use your own life world and ask yourself: How does the
structural environment influence my life and how do I (on my part) change
the environment in which I live? Then reduce your thoughts to its essential
elements and draft the mind map as requested.

• Theoretical Interpretations of Urban Life (including)

◦ An introductory section referring to the influence of social philosophers
such as Ferdinand Tönnies (1855 –1935), Emile Durkheim (1858 –1917) and
Georg Simmel (1858 –1918).
◦ The “moral order” of city l ife – including important terms such as
Gemeinschaft (community) and Gesellschaft (society) established by Tönnies,
and Durkheim’s differentiation bet ween mechanical solidarity and organic
solidarity.
◦ The section on: The “moral order” of city life also includes important
sections on “Anomie and deviant behaviour” and the “Liberating aspects
of city life”.
◦ Urbanism as a way of life – the important contribution of Louis Wirth as
a member of the Chicago School of Human Ecology.

ACTIVITIES
(7) For more information on this theme access the internet and use the search
phrases: “urbanism”, “urbanism as a way of life” and “urbanism definition”.
(8) Make sure that you can clearly differentiate between gemeinschaft (com-
munity) and gesellschaft (society).
(9) Below are a number of concepts that you should be able to define briefly
(with examples if possible). These include:

• anomie
• deviant behaviour
• the bohème, avant-gardes, and flâneurs of city life
• fragmentation of social life
• future shock
• social disorganisation
• moral order
• public spheres, private spheres and neutral spaces (within the urban
realm)

2.4 SUMMARY
Learning Unit 2 started by explaining “what a city is.” Although city status varies
from country to country, cities display a number of characteristics that makes them
different from other types of human settlement. Following that, an overview of
urbanisation levels at a global scale has been provided. You were also encouraged
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to investigate the changing urbanisation level in South Africa as a self-study

activity and were asked to explain how rural-urban migration, cross-border
migration and continuous high birth rates in cities influence the rising
urbanisation level in this country. Finally, the Learning Unit explained the
uniqueness of the urban lifestyle.

2.5 TEST YOURSELF

Paragraph/Short essay questions (5 –20 marks)

2.1 What is a city?

2.2 Discuss urbanisation levels in South Africa in relation to global

urbanisation levels.

2.3 Explain in broad terms your understanding of the demographic transition

principle and model.

2.4 How is the urban lifestyle different from the rural lifestyle?

2.5 Explain the continuous interaction of city and society as a socio-spatial

dialectic with the aid of a sketch or diagram.

2.6 Write an essay presenting your views on different behaviour patterns

in different urban spheres (public, private, neutral) as an individual, a
member of a community and a member of society.