What is Urban Planning? Crash Course Geography #47

CrashCourse
21 Mar 202211:17
EducationalLearning
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TLDRUrban geography and planning reflect cultural values and power relationships. The Latin American city model has a central plaza surrounded by a wealthy neighborhood, with impoverished squatter settlements on the periphery. Brasília was an ambitious attempt at modernist design, but even well-planned cities evolve organically. In the US, urban planning like highways and redlining facilitated white flight to the suburbs while harming minority communities. As we plan future cities, we must learn from the past and involve more voices to create inclusive spaces, though no urban layout is truly neutral.

Takeaways
  • 😀 Urban geography studies patterns of settlement and land use in cities to understand how and why those patterns change over time.
  • 🚌 The Latin American Model describes cities designed by Spanish colonizers that included central plazas and expanding zones of poverty in surrounding areas.
  • 💰 In colonial cities, housing arrangement showed wealth and status, with the wealthy near the central plaza and the poor on the periphery.
  • ✈️ Brasília was an ambitious, uniquely designed new capital of Brazil meant to project the country into the future without the poverty of older cities.
  • 🚗 Brasília was designed for cars and separation of work and living areas, but organic messy growth still occurred in suburbs over time.
  • 😡 Urban planning in the US enabled suburban sprawl and white flight while policies like redlining kept minorities from owning homes.
  • ❤️ As we plan future cities, we must learn from the past and involve more voices to try to create more inclusive spaces.
  • 🔑 Every choice about land use in a city reflects the relationships and values of whoever is making those decisions.
  • 🌇 No arrangement of a city is neutral - the built environment reflects the people and classes prioritized.
  • 🤝 Understanding the social and economic forces that shape cities allows urban planners to try to create vibrant, thriving communities.
Q & A

  • What is urban geography and what does it focus on?

    -Urban geography is the study of patterns behind where people settle and how land is used in urban areas, and why those patterns change over time. Urban geographers use models and economic processes to predict the future of cities and explain their present and past development.

  • How did colonial priorities shape the structure of Latin American cities?

    -In Latin American cities, colonial priorities like showing wealth and status are built into the structure, with a central plaza and cathedrals, space for markets, and a grid system of streets radiating out from the center. Housing for the wealthy developed around the central market, while corridors of informal settlements made up of displaced lower income residents formed on the periphery.

  • Why was Brasília built and what were its key design elements?

    -Brasília was built in 1960 to be a new, modernist capital for Brazil that would spur development of the country's interior. Its key design elements were a monumental axis with government buildings, museums and offices, and residential wings on either side meant to contain everything needed for communities.

  • How did Brasília's design differ from traditional Latin American city models?

    -Unlike traditional Latin American cities that grew more organically from colonial central plazas and markets, Brasília was centrally planned and designed to look like an airplane flying into the future. It is also located much farther inland than other major Brazilian cities.

  • Why didn't Brasília develop exactly as planned?

    -Brasília was designed for only 500,000 residents and to separate functions like living and working. But its current population is over 4 times the planned size, and suburban sprawl developed as an organic mix of land uses, showing that cities encapsulate complex social relationships beyond just their physical design.

  • How did urban planning in the US facilitate white flight and suburban sprawl?

    -Post-WWII policies incentivized highways, affordable new housing, and low mortgage rates, enabling white middle and upper class movement out of cities. At the same time, redlining and discrimination prevented Black Americans from owning homes or receiving equal compensation when their neighborhoods were claimed for highways.

  • How can we make cities and their planning processes more equitable?

    -Cities reflect the priorities and relationships of those in power. To create more inclusive urban spaces, planning must intentionally address structural disadvantages for marginalized groups. It should also involve a diversity of voices in the process.

  • What is eminent domain and how was it misused during US highway expansion?

    -Eminent domain allows governments to claim private land for public use with compensation to owners. But Black neighborhoods destroyed for highway projects were systemically undervalued, so residents received little if any payment and could not afford to relocate.

  • What is an example of a zone of disamenity in Latin American cities?

    -Zones of disamenity refer to informal squatter settlements on a city's periphery, made up of displaced lower income residents who can't afford formal housing. These neighborhoods often lack legal land rights or basic services, making life precarious for inhabitants.

  • How do economic and social relationships shape urban landscapes over time?

    -Urban landscapes reflect cultural values but also emerge from economic and political relationships between groups. So even in centrally planned cities like Brasília, informal settlements and land use mixes still develop to meet residents' needs as conditions change.

Outlines
00:00
🏙️ Latin American City Model and Colonialism

The Latin American city model describes the urban design of cities built by Spanish colonizers in Central and South America. It includes a central plaza and market, grid streets, and zones of wealthy housing radiating from the center. Outlying areas were often informal settlements or 'squatter' communities with precarious living conditions.

05:03
🚧 Brasilia - A Modernist City Experiment

Brasilia, Brazil's capital, was an urban planning experiment in the 1950s based on modernist design. Shaped like an airplane, it separated zones for work, commerce, and residential areas. But organic city growth led to unplanned suburbs and satellites. While innovative, Brasilia shows that cities encapsulate complex aspirations beyond aesthetic design.

10:04
🏠 Urban Planning, Highways, and Racial Inequality in the US

Urban planning in the US enabled white flight to the suburbs while neglecting and harming minority neighborhoods. Highways built in the 1950s often demolished historically Black neighborhoods, with residents receiving little or no compensation. Redlining and other discriminatory housing policies compounded the racial inequities.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡urban geography
Urban geography is the study of patterns behind where people settle and how land is used in cities, and why those patterns change over time. It examines things like economic processes, models, and predictions about future and present urban spaces. For example, what future cities may look like or how past urban planning decisions impact people's access to resources.
💡urban planning
Urban planning involves the design and regulation of space within cities and urban areas. Urban planners aim to create zones for living, working, and recreation that benefit the whole region, balancing different social, economic, and environmental goals. Their work significantly impacts people's lives.
💡Latin American model
A model describing the structure of cities built by Spanish colonizers in Central/South America and the American Southwest. Key elements include a central plaza and market, grid street layout, a wealthy residential area around the market, and 'zones of disamenity' (squatter settlements) on the outskirts.
💡Brasília
Brazil's capital, built from scratch in the 1950s based on an innovative airplane-shaped design meant to embody modernist ideals. However, uncontrolled growth led to suburbs and 'satellites' that don't match the original organized layout.
💡relationships
The economic, political, and social connections and power dynamics that exist within cities, which profoundly shape urban spaces. Urban planning has to balance and negotiate these complex relationships.
💡equitable
Providing fair access, inclusion, rights, opportunities, and resources for all groups of urban residents, regardless of race, class, etc. Building more equitable cities requires addressing structural disadvantages.
💡redlining
A practice of marking certain (especially minority) neighborhoods as high-risk for loans/investment, restricting residents' access to capital and home ownership. Part of the history of discrimination that enabled white suburban flight.
💡eminent domain
The government's right to appropriate private land/property (with compensation) for public use. Often used controversially in 'urban renewal' projects that displaced minority communities.
💡suburbs
Low density residential areas outside central cities, largely inhabited by white middle/upper-class families. Suburban growth was facilitated by highways, incentives for new construction, and policies that restricted minorities.
💡inclusive
Urban planning process that includes a diverse range of resident voices, perspectives, needs, and participation in decision-making. Helps lead to more equitable outcomes.
Highlights

Urban spaces are created by all the economic, political, and social relationships that build our societies.

Urban planners have a tremendous influence on people's lives and there's a lot to consider.

The way any society designs their towns and cities will give clues about the goals of the leaders.

Housing arrangements in Latin American cities showed wealth and social status.

Squatter settlements are a highly precarious living arrangement.

Brasília was designed to be an innovative city without colonial poverty.

Even well planned cities go off script - cities encapsulate aspirations and situations.

Suburbs and urban sprawl involved white flight facilitated by urban planning.

Redlining made home ownership very difficult for Black neighborhoods.

Urban renewal allowed demolition of Black neighborhoods for highways.

Every decision about land use reflects relationships and values.

We can't unbuild cities; we must learn from the past in future planning.

No city design is neutral towards social relationships and priorities.

Efforts to eradicate urban poverty must address structural disadvantages.

Involve more voices for inclusive, equitable urban spaces in the future.

Transcripts

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