Urban Areas and Edge Cities

from the Esri GeoInquiries™ collection for Human Geography

Time required – 15 minutes

Map URL: http://esriurl.com/humanGeoInquiry15

Audience – Human geography

HUMAN

GEOGRAPHY

Urban areas and edge cities

? Louis Wirth identied a city to have dening characteristics. What might these include? [Characteristics

might include a large population, size, a heterogeneous nature, and a dened boundary.]

? What is the dierence between “city” and “urban”? [A city is identied by businesses, a population, and a cul-

tural landscape. Urban locations include non-rural areas like the city and suburbs. ]

? What are some common characteristics of major cities? [Major cities have downtown areas, many build-

ings, and highways and transportation networks.]

ʅ Click the map link above to start the map.

ʅ With the Details button underlined, click the button, Show Contents of Map (Content).

ʅ Click the checkbox to the left of the layer name, USA Major Cities.

? What are some major cities in the United States? [New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and so on.]

ʅ Zoom in and out to identify and view some of these cities.

? What are examples of small cities located in the United States? [Local answers will vary.]

ʅ Turn on the layer, World Urban Areas.

? Zoom out to a world view. Why is the layer not visible? [It is set to a visible scale.]

? Select a continent, and zoom to specic urban areas. What are some major world cities? [Answers will

vary but could include Tokyo, London, or Sao Paulo.]

ʅ Zoom to the United States.

ʅ Turn on the layer, Population Density - Counties.

? What connections are evident between population distribution and major cities? [Cities have high popula-

tions, while outlying areas have fewer inhabitants.]

ʅ Turn o the layer, Population Density - Counties.

ʅ Turn o all layers to see the baselayer, World Street Map.

ʅ Zoom to a city of interest.

? Why might cities grow at dierent rates? [ese factors include location, proximity to other cities, and

access to transportation.]

? Why are cities often surrounded by other nearby cities? [Transportation, suburbanization, and new down-

town centers can lead to edge cities.]

Explore urban areas around the world, including their layout, size, and other factors.

APHG: 7.D1. Evaluate the built environment and social structure of urban areas

APHG: 7.A1. Explain factors that initiate & drive urbanization & suburbanization.

• Students will locate urban areas and identify factors of urbanization.

• Students will identify characteristics and examples of edge cities.

APHG Benchmarks

Learning Outcomes

Ask

Acquire

Explore

What characteristics dene a city?

What are some examples of cities?

What factors have led to urban growth of cities?

Activity

? How is urban growth changing cities around the world? [Countries will have to develop land in order to

provide services to growing populations.]

? How have residential and commercial areas changed the urban landscape? [ey have added houses and

apartments, restaurants, hotels, education institutions, roads, and leisure activities.]

? How is urban growth changing the areas adjacent to cities? [It is consuming farmland, developing residen-

tial areas, forming edge cities, and creating businesses.]

? How can the Urban Observatory (http://www.urbanobservatory.org/) or other applications visualize

these concepts? [ey allow users to compare landscapes and identify urban patterns.]

ʅ Use the search box, above and right of the map. Search for Washington, D.C.

? What are some examples of edge cities that have emerged in the area? [Bethesda, Rockville, Silver Spring,

Gaithersburg, and so on.]

ʅ Zoom in to Washington, D.C., and observe the land use patterns.

? What characteristics identify these as edge cities? [Edge cities have residential areas, businesses, multiple

types of transportation, and connections between cities.]

? What is the next stage of growth for these edge cities and surrounding suburbs? [e next growth stage is

an increase in population and sprawl.]

Analyze

Act

How have edge cities changed the physical and cultural landscape?

What is the future for urban growth?

DID YOU KNOW? ArcGIS Online is a mapping platform freely available to public, private, and home schools. A school

subscription provides additional security, privacy, and content features. Learn more about ArcGIS Online and how to get a

school subscription at http://www.esri.com/schools.

THEN TRY THIS...

• Use the Calculate Density analysis tool to analyze the distribution of cities in an area of your choice.

• Create a distance buer to illustrate patterns in the spatial distribution of edge cities.

Next Steps

WWW.ESRI.COM/GEOINQUIRIES

Version Q3 2018. Send feedback: http://esriurl.com/GeoInquiryFeedback

LAYER VISIBILITYSEARCH

• In the place name search box, type the city name.

• Click the magnifying glass.

• The map will zoom to the location (you can zoom in and

out as needed).

• Make sure that the Details button is underlined, and click

the button, Show Contents Of Map (Content).

• To show individual map layers, select the check boxes

next to the layer names.

• • Hint: If a map layer name is light gray, zoom in or out on

the map until the layer name is black. The layer can now

be turned on.

TEXT

REFERENCES

• The Human Mosaic by W. H. Freeman & Co – Chapter 10

• The Cultural Landscape by Pearson – Chapter 13

• Human Geography: People, Place, and Culture by

Wiley Press – Chapter 9

This GIS map has been cross-referenced to material in sections of

chapters from these texts.