URBAN ECONOMICS

I. Market Forces in the Development of Cities

A. Introduction

• "Cities have always been the fireplaces of civilization, whence light and heat radiated out into the dark." - Theodore Parker

• "I'd rather wake up in the middle of nowhere than in any city on earth." - Steve McQueen

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1.  Definitions

a. Municipality or city - political city:  self governing, local government services provided

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b. Unincorporated area - services provided by a higher level of government

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c. Town - no official meaning in the U.S.

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Top ten U.S. cities (in terms of population):

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(5)

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(10)

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d.  Urban area - Densely settled (minimum 500 people per square mile) geographic area with at least 2,500 people

(1) Urbanized area

• Total population of at least 50,000

• Densely settled area of at least 1,000 people per acre

• Surrounding area with at a density of at least 500 people per acre

• Usually has a large central city

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(2)  Urban clusters - similar to urbanized area, total population between 2,500 and 50,000

(3)  Urban population - people living in urban areas (urbanized areas and urban clusters)

e.  Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA) 

• At least one urban area with at least 10,000 people

• Central counties with at least 5,000 people or 50% of population resides in urban areas with at least 10,000

• Outlying counties if economically integrated

- At least 25% of workers in outlying county work in central county or counties, or

- At least 25% of jobs in outlying county filled by residents of central county or counties

• Counties used because boundaries don't often change, but includes rural areas

Ex. - Los Angeles

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(1) Metropolitan area - core area with a substantial population nucleus, together with economically integrated adjacent areas, minimum population of 50,000

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(2) Micropolitan area - similar to metropolitan area, population between 10,000 and 50,000

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• Top ten U.S. metropolitan areas (in terms of population), 2010

(1) New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA
(2) Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA
(3) Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI
(4) Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
(5) Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX
(6) Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
(7) Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
(6) Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL
(9) Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA
(10) Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH

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h.  Principal city - largest municipality in each metropolitan statistical area

• Other cities if at least 250,000 population and 100,000 employment

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