Encyclopedia of the City

خلاصه: The Encyclopedia of the City focuses on the key topics encountered by undergraduates and scholars in urban studies and allied fields. Contributors include major theoreticians and practitioners, and on other individuals, groups, and organizations which study the city or practice in a field that directly or indirectly affects the city, the Encyclopedia necessarily adopts an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary perspective. A solid but also provocative starting point for wider exploration of the city, this is a first-class work of reference that will be an essential resource for independent study as well as a useful aid in teaching.

Introduction

The term ‘city’ means anything and everything. Things we hear and see in the arts, films and books often determine our views. It is indeed a complex organism. We can examine the form of a city, its evolution, its people, cultures, public spaces, governance, institutions, environment, economics, etc. As such, it encompasses many things and gives rise to broad definitions. Acknowledging there is ‘no neat definition of a city’, Chant (1999:ix, quoting Hammond 1972:8) offers the following:

The city may be defined initially as a community whose members live in close proximity under a single government and in a unified complex of buildings, often surrounded by a wall. Since, however, this definition would also cover many villages, military camps, religious communities and the like, the city may further be described as a community in which a considerable number of the population pursue their main activities within the city, in non-rural occupations. But other communities, such as a monastery or small factory surrounded by the dwellings of its workmen, might be similarly characterized. A third characterization may therefore be that the city is a community which extends at least its influence and preferably its control over an area wider than that simply necessary to maintain its self-sufficiency.

Gallion and Eisner (1983:5) suggest the following:

The word ‘city’ implies a concentration of people in a geographic area who can support themselves from the city’s economic activities on a fairly permanent basis. The city can be a center of industry, exchange, education, and government or involve all these activities. These diverse areas of opportunity attract people from rural areas to cities.

In the classic The City in History, Mumford (1961) discusses the vastness of what might be considered a city. In rejecting a single definition of a city, Mumford (ibid.: 3) wrote ‘no single definition will apply to all of its manifestations and no single description will cover all its transformations, from the embryonic social nucleus to the complex forms of its maturity and the corporeal disintegration of its old age’. Nevertheless, we keep trying to do so.
A number of scholars define ‘city’ according to their discipline. As Passoneau (1963:9) has suggested:

To an economist, a city is a large, complex, input-output device. To a sociologist, a city is distinguished from a village by its higher degree of social differentiation and by the wider opportunity it offers by fruitful interaction between diverse individuals. To a political scientist, a group of compact, contiguous, but separately governed suburbs might not be a city, while a sprawling series of communities under a single government might be a city with a distinctive personality.

This belief may provide reasons why the problems of a city persist. Constantinos Doxiades (1970:5) acknowledged as much when he commented:

Man often continues to see the city through the eyes of experts in separate disciplines dealing with single aspects of city life. People speak of the transportation problem and try to solve it through the transportation engineers or the transportation economists only, in many cases without even bringing these two professions together…. To ntinue to deal with them separately by isolating its parts is like refusing to see that man himself is a single organism which cannot be looked at separately as body or senses or mind.

Park (1925:1) has observed that a city could not be viewed as purely a physical entity:

The city is, rather, a state of mind, a body of customs, and traditions, and of the organized attitudes and sentiments that inhere in these customs and are transmitted with this tradition. The city is not, in other words, merely a physical mechanism and an artificial construction. It is involved in the vital processes of the people who compose it; it is a product of nature, and particularly of human nature.

If it is not a physical entity, then how should we view a city? Mumford (1961) likened a city to ‘a theater of social action’. Saarinen (1943: ix) viewed the city as ‘an open book in which to read aims and ambitions’, while Gutkind (1962:81) offered an intriguing analogy comparing a city to a power station:

Cities are the power stations of our technical mass civilization. In these giant containers, ideas and habits, technical skills and inventions are transformed into new energy, spreading over vast areas and connected by the invisible bonds of similar pursuits and interests. The power lines and the pylons are symbolic media of this process.

Early development of the city

Early man was nomadic in nature. Individuals grouped together in areas near natural
resources like water and fertile grounds. The ability to locate at these locations allowed
the people to sustain themselves. When the resources were depleted, man moved to
another location to take advantage of the new resources. They located on elevated sites
and other areas that allowed them to see if anyone (e.g. outsiders or invaders) were
getting close to them. Developing at such strategic locations allowed them to control the
countryside. Agricultural occupations dominated early settlements. Distance was limited
by how far an individual could travel. Population density was not a concern of the times.
Walls soon became commonplace as individuals continued to group together.
Constructed of various stones and later bricks, walls were created for defensive purposes.
They stood as barriers against invaders. They also functioned as boundaries of ancient
cities. On many occasions, the walls were extended to accommodate the growing city. As
various types of weaponry were developed, the construction materials changed. Many
segments of ancient walls can still be found around the world.
The evolution of the city continued during the Greek and Roman times. Order started
being placed on land uses within the walls. For example, the meeting place and market
place had specific locations with the cities. Trading started occurring between towns.
Forms of government were created. The development of roads, aqueducts and sanitation
sewers followed.
As civilization advanced, problems started to surface. It is often said that citizen
participation was valued in early cities. While this may be true, it must be noted that it
was the participation of some people, not all people. Women, slaves or individuals
foreign to the city were not allowed to participate in civic matters. Only certain people in
the city were afforded the opportunity to participate. As such, a type of segregation or
discrimination among classes existed. A rigid class system was therefore clearly evident
in many early populations. Noblemen or religious leaders were the leaders of early cities.
They were clearly in charge. No one attempted to challenge their leadership. The
‘average’ man or woman was unable to rise to a leadership level.
The population of many cities continued to grow. Crowded conditions within the walls
led to various health problems, increases in pollution, crime, and other issues in search of
better living conditions.
Concerns over living conditions led to the creation of early rules, regulations and
codes designed to protect an individual’s health, safety and welfare—commonly known
today as an early version of the ‘police power’ in the United States. For example, the
Code of Hammurabi called for strict punishment to builders that constructed faulty
buildings. If the building collapsed and killed the owner of the building, then the
individual that constructed the building would be put to death. If the building owner’s son
were fatally injured from the falling building, then the son of the building’s builder would
be put to death. Early regulations prevented individuals from building structures that
would hang over a street for fear the structure might collapse and injure someone. Other
regulations existed in many areas that sought to restrict traffic (horse, cart or some other
mode of transportation) at certain times of the day. Moreover, early city regulations
placed restrictions on the width of carts due to the narrow nature of the early roads. It was
not uncommon to see horse-drawn wagons getting stuck between two buildings.
Early cities remained small in size for a number of years. Monuments to various
individuals were common fixtures in the cities, as were temples honouring various gods.
In fact, it could be said that monuments and temples dominated many early cities.
The living conditions found in early cities were not conducive to good health. People
threw their wastes into the streets. Animals travelled in the narrow streets depositing their
wastes. Combined with the fact that there was no drainage, health concerns plagued early
cities.
The seeds of change were planted. In order to facilitate pedestrian travel within the
cities, the narrow and confusing street patterns had to be changed. Hippodamus sought to
correct the confusion and plan cities by creating designs based on geometric layouts
during the fifth century BC in Greece. His ideas have been credited as the start of the
‘gridiron’ street system and are still discussed today.
The Greek influence on the design of cities was clearly evident in surrounding areas.
However, the small nature of the Greek city was soon to pass. New areas soon opened up.
New cities were created with large monuments and temples. Cities and their leaders
competed to see who could build the biggest monuments and temples. More people began
migrating to the cities. Increased overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions soon
occurred. The possibilities of fires became a harsh reality in densely populated areas. The
leaders of the city, in an attempt to avoid these problems, moved to the surrounding areas,
leaving the unhealthy living conditions to the ordinary people.
As time passed, new towns and cities were created. New empires were formed. A rigid
class system became evident in the cities. Rulers trying to make earlier buildings seem
insignificant continued to construct bigger and more elaborate buildings. Life revolved
around the rulers. Although improvements in water and drainage systems were made,
living conditions in the cities suffered. While the rulers lived in large and luxurious
buildings, the average person suffered. Extreme congestion and overcrowding occurred in
most cities. Instead of opening up land outside the cities to meet the needs of the people,
the rulers kept the lands for themselves.
After the fall of the Greek and Roman Empires, many cities had been destroyed.
People started returning to the rural areas for a better life. As time passed, people started
joining together once again for safety purposes or some other common purposes. A
period of feudalism soon surfaced.
So-called ‘city-states’ were created by rulers. The rulers, as their seats of power, built
castles. People began moving closer to the castles for protection. The economy remained
primarily agriculturally based. Within the castle, streets remained narrow. Market places
and public spaces continued to be found.
The number of cities continued to increase during the Middle Ages. They remained
rather small due to the size of the castles and the availability of natural resources like
water. Having only one source of water exacerbated matters.
Poor living conditions continued to plague the people within the castles. Density
started increasing as more people sought jobs and shelter within the confines of the
castles. Cart traffic increased in the already narrow streets, causing congestion problems.
People continued to dispose of their waste in the streets. Combined with poor air quality,
environmental and health problems soon emerged as major concerns.
The city continued to evolve. The invention of gunpowder and other weapons
signalled the eventual downfall of castle walls. As the walls came down, populations
started to decentralize. Designers and planners were brought in to put order into the cities.
New street patterns were created. The arts took on increased importance. Changes within
the cities continued during the Renaissance and the Baroque periods. Although many
changes had taken place in the cities, the living conditions of the people continued to
deteriorate.
Populations continued to move as people sought more freedom and better lives. People
left countries in the hope of finding better places to live. They took their experiences and
lessons from their old cities to their new areas. Various plans and development patterns
were followed in these new settlements. Some cities adopted simple development
schemes while others adopted new and elaborate development ideas. Additional changes
were on the horizon.

The Industrial Revolution

The dawn of the Industrial Revolution signalled a number of changes in cities. The
transition from a traditional agricultural and rural economy to an urban and industrial
economy and the resulting changes from the invention of new technologies and
production processes made dramatic changes in cities. Many of the changes altered the
construction of urban space.
The transition to an industrial economy represented a ‘process’ of change, not an
overnight change. Moreover, a single change did not trigger the transition. Instead, it was
the result of various changes in agriculture, technology, demography and other areas.
Some countries were quick to embrace the changes while, due to political and other
factors, other countries took longer to embrace the changes. The impacts of the
technological changes clearly prompted various changes in settlement patterns.
Technological innovations in machinery offered new and improved means of doing
things. New discoveries and innovations in agriculture, textiles, coal and iron led to the
establishment of factories and assembly plants. People started migrating from rural areas
to cities in search of jobs. Many rural areas were hurt by this migration. Some rural areas
were devastated. Concomitantly, immigrants from different countries ventured to many
parts of the newly developing industrial world in search of jobs. With improvements in
transportation, additional land was opened for development. Factory towns were starting
to occur along transportation corridors. Many of these towns were prompted by the
presence of certain resources. The factories were there to extract materials like coal and
other raw materials so they could be used for other products. Many of them thrived for a
number of years. However, once the resource was depleted, the settlement became a thing
of the past. People left and migrated to other areas in search of employment.
The advent of the changes prompted rivalries between areas. Once compact cities were
opening up to more development and to more people. Once isolated areas could now be
reached by new modes of transportation. New markets opened up.
The growth of many cities did not occur without a number of drawbacks. Population
densities continued to increase. Industries had a cheap labour force. Factory workers
lived in poorly built units. With limited incomes, overcrowding became a common
occurrence in industrial cities around the world. Basic sanitation facilities were lacking.
The poor living conditions led to a number of health problems among the workers.

The role of transportation

As previously mentioned, walking represented the mode of transportation in early cities.
Since early cities were compact in scale, it did not take very long to get from one place to
another in the city. Distance was limited to how far an individual could walk. As time
progressed, the use of horse-drawn ‘cars’ allowed individuals to cover more territory and
to make new areas accessible to the public.
The advent and presence of streetcars helped shape the commercial and residential
development of many cities. Their placement hastened the transformation of some
agricultural lands into commercial and residential areas. Streetcar routes became the
primary locations of development. As a result, these areas were in high demand. They
wanted to take advantage of prime locations made accessible by transportation. A market
for land speculation was created. Ultimately, the streetcars contributed, as Sam Bass
Warner Jr (1962) has written, to the creation of ‘streetcar suburbs’. Their development
has also led scholars to conclude that the presence and introduction of streetcar suburbs
contributed to the increased separation of various socio-economic groups.
The advent of motorized transportation continued to contribute to the spreading out of
many cities. The opening up of new land for development would lessen the amount of
congestion that was common in the existing cities. Land started being consumed in great
amounts as new land was opened for urban expansion. Unfortunately, some areas
expanded with little or no regard to the impacts on the natural environment.
The importance of transportation to an area’s development varies by city and by
country. If you ever wonder how important transportation is to a city’s development,
consider several examples. Hall (1989:119–20) claims that modern London is largely a
creation of its transportation system. Bullock (1999) notes that the railway system
increased accessibility throughout Berlin in the 1980s. In the following passage,
Bartholomew (1999:342) describes the impact of the railway on the old city of
Shahjahanabad during the building of New Delhi:

Making just as great an impact on the city as the military, came the railway, demolishing one of the city’s old gates and a segment of the palace complex itself as it was laid out from west to east across the northern edge of the city, crossing the river at a new bridge close to the palace. The western edge of the city was hemmed in by further rail developments. Then a cordon sanitaire was cleared next to the walls along the southern boundary of the city to separate it from New Delhi, which was laid out to the south with hardly any organic links to the old city. The result of all these developments was that the city, which was bounded on its eastern side by the river, became hemmed in and compressed on its other three sides.

City form

A number of ideas about city form have surfaced over the years. Camillo Sitte and
Benjamin Ward Richardson raised concerns over artistic principles and city planning and
public health and city planning. Daniel Burnham, through the City Beautiful movement,
embraced using principles of art, civic improvement and landscape architecture to reorder
public space. Social utopians like Ebenezer Howard and Arturo Soria y Mata advocated
proposals for garden cities with green belts and the linear city respectively. Le Corbusier
offered his version of a city with a large skyscraper surrounded by open spaces. An
additional proposal called for the creation of a city that incorporated rows of tall
buildings radiating outwards through landscaped space. In the United States, Frank Lloyd
Wright spoke against dense urban environments. Under his ‘Broadacre City’ proposal,
each citizen would be provided with a minimum of one acre each with access to
transportation linking people together. The role of government would be greatly reduced
under his proposed scheme. Ultimately, these ideas and others provided fruitful
discussions on the future form of cities. The ideas were applauded by some and ridiculed
by others. Nevertheless, their views and proposals created even more discussion on the
need to reorganize the urban form.
The structure and patterns of a city’s growth have been examined by a number of
scholars. A concentric zone model was proposed by Burgess, a multiple-nuclei model
was advocated by Harris and Ullman, the sectoral model was presented by Hoyt, while
the central place theory was offered by Christaller. These and other alternative models of
growth have provided keen insights into how cities have developed.

Looking into the future

In order to understand the future of the ‘city’, it is imperative that we examine the past
and present time of a city. We cannot understand a city at one particular time in its
history. As Lynch (1960:1) has so eloquently noted, ‘like a piece of architecture, the city
is a construction in space, but one of vast scale, a thing perceived only in the course of
long spans of time’.
We have seen where and why cities were created. We have seen the factors that
influenced their development. We can point to the importance of land and other natural
resources in pre-industrial settlements, the importance of technological innovations to the
restructuring of urban space, the importance and implications of new forms of urban
space, and to the importance of competition between cities.
No one can foresee the future of any city. We can, however, be sure of some things.
The world’s population will continue to increase, faster in some areas and slower in other
areas. Oucho (2001) indicates that projections suggest a world population increase from
5.7 billion people in 1995 to 8.9 billion in 2050. Some of this growth will occur in rural
areas. Some of the population will migrate from rural areas to urban areas and others
from urban areas to rural areas. Others will migrate from one urban area to another urban
area.
The exodus of people from rural areas to urban areas suggests a number of potential
problems. Some people lack the skills necessary to find a job. This suggests a potential
problem in finding affordable housing. These problems could lead to additional problems
such as crime, drugs, vandalism, etc. The ability to respond to and to ‘solve’ these
problems represents a serious challenge to our cities.
Urban area growth will be dramatic. A United Nations report compiled in 1999
(United Nations 2001) estimated that the world’s urban population in 2000 would reach
2.9 billion persons. The report also indicated that the world’s urban population is set to
increase by some 2 billion persons to 4.9 billion by the year 2030. This increase
represents virtually all of the world’s expected population growth.
The growth is no more evident than in the Asia-Pacific region. According to the
‘Cities of Asia’ website (http://whc.unesco.org/events/asiaciti.htm), in 1970 only eight
cities in the Asia-Pacific region had populations of more than 5 million inhabitants. That
number has increased to more than thirty. By 2020, the website indicates, more than half
of the urban areas on the planet will be located in Asia, holding more than a third of the
world’s population. Problems such as poverty, overcrowding, environmental degradation,
etc. are bound to accompany this growth in such large cities as Seoul, South Korea;
Bombay, India; and Jakarta, Indonesia.
We are currently in an age where our cities and businesses have the ability to create
and disseminate information globally. This age is generally referred to as ‘the new global
economy’ or ‘knowledge-based economy’, an economy based on information as a
commodity. Cities will continue to change. As Graham and Marvin (1996:124) have
suggested, ‘no longer can we understand cities primarily as centres for the manufacturing
and the exchange and production of physical goods and commodities—as most were
during the last hundred years’. Today, the production and transmission of information or
knowledge are prime factors enabling cities and regions to innovate and grow. Distance
no longer remains as a major impediment or obstacle to an area’s growth. Markets can be
anywhere. They can be thousands of miles from the home business or industry. Today,
instead of a California business having markets in Arizona, Texas, Washington,
Michigan, Florida and Massachusetts, changes in technology enable a California business
to reach potential markets in such countries as the United Kingdom, Brazil, Italy,
Sweden, China, South Africa and Australia. Unfortunately, many countries have been
unable to adapt as quickly to participate in the new economy. Some scholars have
speculated that the collapse of the Soviet Union may have been hastened due to the
structural inability of its economic system to adapt industrial processes to a changing
global economy.
Today, workers, in a number of professions, can take advantage of new information
technologies and conduct work or business from their home or another off-site location, a
practice known as ‘tele-commuting’. Cities might be able to realize a number of potential
benefits from telecommuting including a reduction in the number of vehicles on the
roads. The reduction also helps to reduce air pollution problems, a growing problem in
many cities of the world.
Technological advances have contributed to even more changes in cities and countries
around the world. Whereas earlier cities prospered because of their location, they have
had to reassess their roles, functions and capabilities in relation to the new technologies.
Manuel Castells (1989:1), in The Informational City, provides an eloquent statement
about the potential of the new changes in technology:

A technological revolution of historic proportions is transforming the fundamental dimensions of human life: time and space. New scientific discoveries and industrial innovations are extending the productive capacity of working hours while superseding spatial distance in all realms of social activity. The unfolding promise of information technology opens up unlimited horizons of creativity and communication, inviting us to the exploration of new domains of experience, from our inner selves to the outer universe, challenging our societies to engage in a process of structural change.

As such, the new economy is more than simply an area of ‘high tech’. It involves
examining new business practices and markets.
Advances in the field of information and communications technologies will continue
to influence the future of the ‘city’ (Cairncross 2001; Castells 1989, 1996; Graham and
Marvin 1996, 2001; and Mitchell 1996). Clark (2000:151) has noted that ‘the
communication city of the twenty-first century will likely further weaken the arguments
for a compact urban form with a dominant center’. However, cities will remain. As
Aurigi and Graham (2000:489) point out:

Clearly, electronic networks can substitute for some physical travel and face-to-face encounters, as phone banking and online shopping demonstrate. But it does not follow that cities will somehow ‘vanish’ with the growth of the online realm.

The long-term impact of electronic networks on cities is still being debated. We have
certainly witnessed a number of changes in how cities conduct government business
(Castells 1989, 1996; Castells and Hall 1994; Caves and Walshok 1999; Graham and
Marvin 1996, 2001; Mälkiä et al. 2004; Moss 1987). Today, cities are providing
increasing amounts of government information via their internet websites. The minutes of
city council meetings are posted on city internet sites. If an individual was unable to
attend a public meeting, some communities offer the opportunity to download various
meetings in video format for viewing in the comfort of your own home. Other
communities use the internet to promote their jurisdictions for economic development.
Social service agencies, hospitals, schools, etc. use the internet to provide citizens with a
wealth of information on their services. Communities all over the world continue to
develop and implement programmes using information and communications
technologies. For example, programmes such as Smart Communities, Digital Cities,
TeleCities, etc. have been created in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and
elsewhere.
While the internet does offer the opportunity to provide information and services to
people without regard to their location, some people may still lack the ability to take
advantage of this opportunity. A ‘digital divide’ exists among various individuals and
groups, between the ‘information haves’ and the ‘information have-nots’ (Norris 2001;
Schiller 1996; Warschauer 2003). The divide could be categorized along racial,
economic, ethnic, age, gender or education lines. It has been seen in rich countries vs.
poor countries or developed vs. non-developed countries. Moreover, some areas lack
community technology centres or facilities that might enable these individuals and groups
to take advantage of the information or services. The ability of cities and groups to bridge
this ‘digital divide’ represents a global challenge. This challenge has been discussed
worldwide by such organizations as the World Bank and the United Nations.

Concluding comments

As this encyclopedia was being assembled, a number of activities and events occurred
that could have drastic impacts on cities. These impacts could be either direct impacts or
indirect impacts. For example, after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center
towers and the devastating consequences of what is now commonly known as ‘9/11’,
cities around the world are on heightened security alerts for possible terrorism attacks. No
country is immune from such atrocities. Phrases such as ‘code yellow’ and ‘code orange’
security alerts are commonly heard in everyday life. Concerns over security have risen to
the top of many public policy agendas. Security issues surrounding the home, the
workplace and public spaces have taken on increasingly important dimensions in family
life, communities, states and nations.
Whether they occur in cities in the developing or developed world, conflicts or wars
have the potential of devastating parts of or entire towns or cities. The hopes of many
individuals and families are shattered. Homes and businesses are destroyed. Hospitals
and government buildings are destroyed, as are various systems or modes of
transportation.
These events lead to even more problems. With housing destroyed, spontaneous
settlements lacking the infrastructure necessary to sustain a given population have
occurred. Living conditions suffer, health problems may surface, and tensions heighten.
Many families are separated. Critically needed human services are hindered or
completely stopped. People are forced to move in search of new employment
opportunities. Lacking sufficient funds for housing and a lack of employment may
intensify a lack of jobs or housing problems in their new area.
The economic base of a city or country can be drastically impacted by armed conflicts
or wars. The economic base may essentially be destroyed and a new one will need to be
created. Unfortunately, if the residents’ employment skills are devoted or tied to one
industry, they may need to be retrained to meet the needs of new industries. New workers
will be attracted to the new opportunities while the earlier labour force may be forced
into unemployment.
The partial or complete destruction of an area’s transportation infrastructure presents a
formidable challenge to areas devastated by armed conflicts or war. Many areas lack the
resources necessary to make repairs or to rebuild roads, railroads, etc. They need time to
make the necessary repairs or to engage in reconstruction efforts. Many will need to seek
the assistance of such groups as the World Bank, the United Nations or other
organizations to help in the various reconstruction efforts.
Cities continue to be a product of the interaction of many things. As Abrams (1965:16)
has suggested, ‘a city, even an American city, is the pulsating product of the human hand
and mind, reflecting man’s history, his struggle for freedom, his creativity, his genius—
and his selfishness and errors’.
What is meant by the word ‘future’? Some areas have developed plans for the future
and use something like five or ten years from now. It really represents a hard word to
define. It has a way of alarming people. All we know is that it represents a time that has
not yet happened. People are leery of the unknown. In fact, while some people look
forward to the future, other people will be frightened by it. To them, not knowing what
the future holds concerns them. They like the status quo. They will actively resist change,
or, as Schon (1971:32) indicates, practise ‘dynamic conservation’—‘a tendency to fight
to remain the same’.
It is important that we think about the future. Reacting to problems as they occur may
simply exacerbate the problems. We need people and futurist thinkers like Jules Verne
(1996), Alvin Toffler (1970, 1980, 1990) and Nicholas Negroponte (1995). To many,
discussing the future is venturing into a realm of science fiction, pure speculation. This is
what attracts many people to Verne. Written approximately 100 years before the period it
discusses, in Paris in the Twentieth Century, Verne (1996) describes a Paris he envisions
in the 1960s where technological progress is more important than culture. In being
digital, Negroponte (1995:231) hails the power of being digital:

The access, the mobility, and the ability to effectuate change are what will make the future so different from the present. The information superhighway may be mostly hype today, but it is an understatement about tomorrow. It will exist beyond peoples’ wildest predictions. As children appropriate a global information resource, and as they discover that only adults need learner’s permits, we are bound to find new hope and dignity in places where very little existed before.

This encyclopedia is designed to help individuals better understand the city. It is not an
end. As such, additional individuals, concepts, issues, etc. will surface that will give rise
to their being included in later editions. In order to truly understand the complexity and
fascinating nature of the study of cities, we must continue to study the past and the
present, and project into the future.
There is no question that the structure and form of the world’s cities have changed
over time. Many former compact cities are experiencing varying degrees of peripheral
expansion. Cities that once possessed a single downtown business area now have
multiple business areas scattered throughout the city. New cities are developing on the
periphery of other cities. New patterns of land development are emerging. Environmental
concerns over haphazard development are surfacing everywhere.
Population growth continues to be an issue in many parts of the world. Some areas
will be better prepared to deal with it than others. Concerns over the continuing
expansion of cities remain. It poses numerous dilemmas. Gutkind (1962:96) offered the
following questions that must be answered: ‘But where and how can the population
increase be absorbed? Can the cities of tomorrow remain the centers of attraction and
culture, or will they become mere refuse dumps for human beings?’
Handling population increases and city expansion varies greatly by city, country, and
region of the world. Many areas are ill-equipped to provide guidance. Some countries
make decisions at the national level while other countries have decentralized the ability to
make certain decisions. In some areas, economic development remains the main activity
of a government. Such governments are apparently willing to accept environmental
problems in the name of jobs and economic development.
The original compact nature of a city has changed dramatically over the years. Many
cities lack a defined shape. They grow in different directions. Some scholars question
whether the city still exists. Arrango (1970:65) acknowledged this when he mentioned
more than thirty years ago that ‘the typical American city is not, in fact, a city; it is a pan
urban region, a conglomeration of cities, suburbs, and semi-urbanized areas loosely set
together, among which there is little social unity’. This idea suggests the possibility and
probability that many problems facing cities are no longer purely local problems. Instead,
many of the problems are regional in nature. Air and water pollution does not respect any
boundary. Many of a city’s problems require regional cooperation and regional actions.
City expansion remains a critical issue facing many cities around the world. Many
areas have seen the creation of squatter settlements at the periphery of large cities. These
areas have generally lacked the critical infrastructure needed to meet the needs of the
residents. With many of the inhabitants lacking employment, the areas have become
breeding grounds for many problems.
Differences will continue to exist between cities. European cities are more compact
than their American counterparts. The population in many parts of the world has accepted
mass transit. The United States, on the other hand, is still predominantly an automobile
society. Unfortunately, as Glazer (1970:5) points out, ‘no modern society with any degree
of consumer freedom has figured out how to control the impact of the automobile’. Many
US cities are trying to offer mass transit alternatives to the automobile. Some of these
cities are seeing increased numbers of people taking advantage of the alternative
transportation.
In the film Field of Dreams, a voice is heard saying ‘If you build it, they will come.’
Although the voice was talking about building a baseball field, the same is true about
cities. Cities are like magnets. They attract people. People have flocked to the city
through the ages. There is nothing to suggest this will not hold true for the future.