Geography 2060A/B Chapter 7: World Cities chapter 7 reading
24 Feb 2017
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World Cities chapter 7 reading:
Key themes:
Urban landscapes of the greater middle east have been shaped by the natural environment and
religion (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity)
Location is based on availability of water
Wold’s fist ities ge up in the fertile crescent along the Nile and Anatolian Plateau
Traditional cities were walled and dominated by a citadel or Kasbah
Economic geo been shaped by commerce that coursed across the region, its relative location at
a tricontinental junction
Some states have a primate city, others have two or more competing large cities, and few have
fully developed urban hierarchies
Ua tiagle = egio’s oe has a foothold o all thee otiets ad i thee diffeet
culture realms (Arab, Turkic, Persian)
20th century – oil and gas revenues turned the least urbanized countries into some of the most
urbanized
Population of the oil rich states have transformed by millions of south and southeast Asian
guest workers
domino effects of Arab springs revolutions in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Bahrain are shown in
the current uprisings in Syria, Yemen, and protests in other Arab countries. Cities are changing
to centers of reform and hope.
Urban problems range from rapid population growth and unemployment to preservation of
heritage resources
Intro:
Urbanism as we know it originated in the Middle east
Tri-continental junction
Roots of the western city
The word urban comes from the first urban places, Ur and Uruk, in southern Mesopotamia
These early settlements dating from 5 millennia BC offered protection, security and the ability
to control resources and trade
20th century – the egio’s ae haged fo Nea East to Middle East and expanded
geographical coverage
middle east is crescent shape and stretches from morocco to north Africa to southwest Asia to
the steppes of Kazakhstan.
Grouped together based on similar geographical characteristic and shared history.
Middle east is predominantly arid though there are some rivers and oases.
Culture attributes – Islamic empires
Location – literally in the middle of the eastern hemisphere. Frontier of Europe, Asian and
Africa. Cities here have been designed around access to water, God (or gods) and trade.
Physical geography:
Dry, seasonally dry, arid and semi-arid, desert and steppe
Most of the region suffers fresh water deficiency. Water comes from winter showers, oro-
graphic precipitation, exotic streams, rivers, natural springs, and shallow aquifers.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
In arid areas, water has determined location of cities and the growth
Although the dry environment offered natural obstacles to overcome, they also served as
natural frontiers. Surrounding desert serves as a buffer – protection from potential invaders.
Contemporary middle eastern cities also share common element of religion.
Birthplace of the 3 largest monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Islam most
widely associated with ME (early 7th century, Mecca and Medina)
Cultural geo varies within the region – Arab, Persian, turk, Kurd – but webbed together by
historical and current impact of Islam. Christians and Jews are found living within the Islamic
matrix.
Location of the ME has given its cities another common characteristic: trade and commerce.
Before the discovery of water routes in 15th century, trade between civilization had to cross the
dry land (ME) from Europe to Asia.
Configuration of land and water (interpenetration of seas, land bridges, and peninsulas)
suggested multitude of routes through this dry world barrier.
Trade of gold, copper, spices, perfume, frankincense and myrrh helped build ME cities
Development of Market Places
Therefore, the cities in the ME have evolved around water, the house of worship and the
marketplace. Larger cities developed in areas rich in these 3 elements. Countries then were
built around powerful cities. As concentration of political power rose in these powerful, larger
cities, a 4th element came into play – the palace.
Palace was symbol of secular power. Now the palace is government buildings. The government
in ME have been both monarchies and republics
Dependency theory – most Arab countries are still connected to their former colonizers (i.e.
Libya and Italy, Tunisia and France)
Palestinian-Israeli conflict (1948) has led to wards and unrest in cities of the ME such as
Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Gaza.
Ultimately it was physical geo that commended sites for urban development. A peninsula, for
instance, set the stage for the evolution of Istanbul, an oasis for Damascus, hilltop for Aleppo,
etc.
Site characteristics may be responsible for founding a city but location relative to routes of
commerce and seats of power controls growth of the city.
A good location in one age, may ot e i aothe i.e. a, oloizes. Dead ities aoss the
ME and archeological tells prove of how changing location can influence the geo of growth and
decline.
The origins of the middle eastern City:
Hoe to old’s fist lage, aggloeated settlements
Centers of production, worship, defense, and trade
Offered the best life had to offer for powerful elites and their clients
Oldest cities in the world (proto-urban) were born during the Neolithic period.
Associated with beginnings of agriculture. Formed a triangle with one vertex in Iraq, one in
Palestine and one in turkey.
Cities south in Mesopotamia (4 millennium BC) were the largest cities in the world until the rise
of Babylon.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Earlier than this, Jericho in Palestine boasted a wall and watchtower as early as 9 millennia BC.
The Iaia plateau ad the Mediteaea asi gae ise to soe of the old’s ealiest
empires
Persian culture transformed Babylonian, median, and Phrygian cities
Greek culture blended with Eastern elements to create a new Hellenistic city
Roman culture = Phoenician trading posts and gave rise to a new set of cities in northern Africa
and SW Asia
Empires built by Persians, romans and, Greeks succeeded bc they were successfully
administered and promoted trade, not just in goods but also in ideas. I.e. forums, basilicas,
amphitheaters, coliseums, public baths, temples. Christianity transformed cities in/after 4th
century.
7th to 10th century = Islam. Mosques, madrassahs, universities, free thinking and scientific
process, honest trade, tolerance, and justice. Islamic cities marked by mosques, city walls,
markets, palaces, and forts.
After WW1 most of the ME came under the control of European powers. Independence came
after WW2.
Today most ME cities have a historical Islamic core and new sectors reflecting European and
global influences
Today, the ME tends to be decidedly urban bc of the declining viability of nomadism, rapidly
growing population restricted range of arable land, rise of prosperous fossil fuel economies,
educational opportunities, international access and political decisions of powerful elites
Cities and Urban regions:
Over 60% of its population lives in cities
Most urbanized are the small states of the Persian Gulf, oil-rich Libya and Israel. Lebanon is not
far behind. Most urbanized = most economically developed. Yemen and Tajikistan are not very
urbanized. Egypt and Syria have good agriculture land therefore lots of people live rurally and
work in primary sector.
ME urbanization has transformed over the last century bc of two forces: natural increase and
migration.
Natural increase: Death rates have declined and faster than birth rates since WW2. Syria, Iraq,
Yemen, Palestine have the highest birth rates in the world.
Migration: from rural areas and from abroad (in oil-rich states (i.e. Saudi Arabia and UAE) and
Israel)
Rapid city growth bc development has happened faster in urban settings than countryside.
Technology, government, access to health care.
Rapid growth in ME has created environmental challenges. Demand exceeds available water
resources and the water quality is shit (sewage systems suck). Waste is just dumped into nearby
canals or drainage ditches. Numbers of cars i the ME has also ieased ith goth i pop’.
The core of the ME is defined by a decagon formed by five seas (Mediterranean, Black, Caspian,
Persian Gulf, and Red) and five land bridges (Anatolia, Caucasus, Iran, Arabia, Suez). On the
peiete of this oe lie of the old’s lagest etopolises iteotietal, iteatioal,
and intercultural urban triangle).
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Urban landscapes of the greater middle east have been shaped by the natural environment and religion (islam, judaism, and christianity) Wo(cid:396)ld"s fi(cid:396)st (cid:272)ities g(cid:396)e(cid:449) up in the fertile crescent along the nile and anatolian plateau. Traditional cities were walled and dominated by a citadel or kasbah. Economic geo been shaped by commerce that coursed across the region, its relative location at a tricontinental junction. Some states have a primate city, others have two or more competing large cities, and few have fully developed urban hierarchies. U(cid:396)(cid:271)a(cid:374) t(cid:396)ia(cid:374)gle = (cid:396)egio(cid:374)"s (cid:272)o(cid:396)e has a foothold o(cid:374) all th(cid:396)ee (cid:272)o(cid:374)ti(cid:374)e(cid:374)ts a(cid:374)d i(cid:374) th(cid:396)ee diffe(cid:396)e(cid:374)t culture realms (arab, turkic, persian) 20th century oil and gas revenues turned the least urbanized countries into some of the most urbanized. Cities are changing to centers of reform and hope. Urban problems range from rapid population growth and unemployment to preservation of heritage resources. Urbanism as we know it originated in the middle east.
