18. City structure and growth
Contents
18.1 Urbanization is a global phenomenon
The global population is quickly nearing eight billion people, and more and more of these people are living in cities. Today, approximately four billion people live in urban areas. This number is steadily growing, as more people move from the countryside to work in cities. This process, known as urbanization, is especially fast in African and Asian nations. Urbanization has taken place at different rates in various parts of the world. It became a global phenomenon only in the latter half of the 20th century.
Metropolises are cities that accomodate over a million people. Together, metropolises can expand and grow into large megalopolises. An example of a megalopolis is the BosWash city chain in the northeastern United States, which is home to tens of millions of people.
In Europe, the largest population centers are located near the metropolises of London, Paris and Moscow, as well as in the German region of Ruhr.
The largest Finnish population center is the Greater Helsinki region, which is home to approximately 1,5 million people.
18.2 Movement between rural and urban regions
As people flock from rural areas to urban regions, the result is the formation of various net emigration regions. These regions can be found specifically in eastern and northern parts of Finland.
In a net emigration region, more people emigrate away from the region into other parts of the nation than immigrate into the region. As the young population of a net emigration region leaves to work in large cities, it is common that the average age of the region becomes older. In these regions, the birth rate is lower than in other parts of the nation, as the number of family-building adults is lower.
Finnish net immigration regions include all the large cities of Southern Finland and their surrounding municipalities. These regions offer plenty of jobs and education opportunities. On the other hand, the growing population density also increases the amount of traffic and pollution in these regions. In addition, the price of housing in these regions can skyrocket as demand increases.
The map on the left displays a forecast of population change in the Nordic countries between the years 2017 and 2030. The areas marked in deep blue are net immigration regions, where the population is estimated to grow by over 10 %. The areas marked by red lines are densely populated regions that accommodate approximately 80 % of the nation's total population.
The map shows how the Nordic population growth is concentrated only in specific, relatively small areas. These areas are mostly large cities and, with only a few exceptions, generally located in the southern parts of the Nordic countries.
18.3 Cities consist of different areas
Broadly speaking, the basic structures of large cities are similar everywhere the world. However, each city has its own unique features that have formed as a result of historical and geographical factors. Different functions, such as housing, industry and services, are concentrated in different areas of a city.
The heart of the city is the business center, which is often dominated by tall buildings and is easily accessible by various forms of transport from the surrounding areas. This means that the accessibility of the business center is good. This is why many services are located there. These services often include restaurants, banks, hotels, offices and stores. The rents in the business center are costly, but the centrality and accessibility of the location provide these services with a lot of customers. However, because of the high rents, housing in the business center is extremely expensive. This means that only a few people can afford to actually live there. In many cities, the business centers restrict the use of motor vehicles, making them safer and more pleasant for pedestrians.
When moving away from the center of the city, the price of land becomes cheaper. This results in lower buildings and larger land plots. The fringe areas of the city are dominated by neighborhoods of detached houses.
Large shopping centers are often built on the fringe areas of the city. These stores or hypermarkets are mostly accessible by car and offer a large variety of products at low prices.
A housing development in Turku.
During the 1960s, blocks of flats were built in areas that were located at some distance from the city centers in order to accommodate the growing urban population. These housing developments consist of high blocks of flats, schools, shops and other basic services. Today, Finnish cities expand further away from their centers. This has resulted in nearby cities forming connected urban areas with one another.
People belonging to the same ethnic or religious group usually concentrate in a certain area of a city. This process is called areal segregation. This process is behind the "Chinatowns" of cities such as New York and the favelas of cities like Rio de Janeiro. In Finland, areal segregation is sought to be prevented through regional planning.
Green areas, such as parks and urban forests, have an important role in increasing the pleasantness of the urban environment.
A park in Tampere.
The traffic areas of cities consist of street and railway networks, as well as parking lots, railway stations, bus stations, harbors and airports. In a sense, electricity and information networks as well as energy and water systems are also traffic areas. Complex networks of cables and tubes form the subterranean transport system of the city, transporting water, electricity, heating and information.
The structure of Helsinki.
18.4 Population centers and their spheres of influence
Naturally, the sphere of influence of a population center such as Helsinki is larger than that of a place like Kuhmo. Large population centers offer a great variety of services, which is why they are visited even from distant regions. The sphere of influence of a large population center can also contain a number of smaller population centers with their own spheres of influence.
The people living within a population center's sphere of influence use the services provided in the center, such as offices, stores, restaurants, schools and medical services. It is common that people living within a population center's sphere of influence also work in the population center. This is reflected in rush hour traffic during the early morning and evening. In addition to providing employees and customers, the sphere of influence also provides the population center with raw materials, goods and energy.
There are fewer large population centers than there are smaller ones. For example, small village centers are far more common than large regional centers. There are only five regional population centers in Finland: Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Oulu and Kuopio.
Tampere is the largest population center in the region of Pirkanmaa.