urban landscape

Reliefs-And-Ecosystems

2022

We explain what the urban landscape is, its characteristics and various examples. Also, what are suburban and rural landscapes.

Rome was the first great city, inaugurating the history of the urban landscape.

What is the urban landscape?

The urban landscape arises from the combination of environmental phenomena and humans, coexisting in a particular area of ​​the land surface. It is a space that is constantly modified with the passage of weather, both for its growth and developing as for its deterioration.

It consists of an urbanized area that is formed by the advantages offered by the geomorphology and the conditions of the place to promote human development: proximity and easy access to rivers and oceans, the kind of I usually, rock stratification, the type of weather, etc.

Throughout the history, the human being has always sought dominance over nature. That attitude plays a fundamental role in the interaction of man with his environment. The scenery it is the concrete manifestation of the observable space. In the case of the urban landscape, it is identified as such by two main factors:

  • Objective factors. They are the concrete elements (natural or created by the human being) that presents a town and that the difference from others.
  • Subjective factors. They constitute the mental image or conception of the city that the inhabitants have, their behaviour and their way of thinking, which give rise to the idiosyncrasy of the population.

These two groups of factors are inseparably interrelated to form an urban landscape.

Characteristics of the urban landscape

Cities like New York have a very high population density.

Among the main characteristics of the urban landscape are:

  • The population density. Although the number of inhabitants varies from one city to another, it refers to a large number of people who live nearby.
  • The population growth. Despite the increase in the number of inhabitants, the increase is not synonymous of evolution. There are settlements with constantly increasing populations, but the physical and environmental conditions become dangerous for the life.
  • The infrastructure. Covers roads, buildings for housing, dams, engineering works, etc. The greater the development of the infrastructure In a given urban landscape, better living conditions can have its inhabitants.
  • Human activity. It consists of the economic production of the five sectors (primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary and quinary), which is key to the evolution of the urban system. This economic activity is conditioned by the politics from Condition.
  • The geography of the area. It covers different conditions such as the type of I usually (very important for the production of food), access to drinking water, the construction of roads and houses (which allow a human settlement to develop and evolve into an urban system).

Examples of urban landscape

Many cities are located on the coast, such as Vancouver.

Some examples of urban landscape are:

  • New York. The city is located on the island of Manhattan, in the United States. It emerged as an important port city in colonial times and continues to be so today, due to the fact that it has one of the best natural harbors in the world that allows the arrival of ships of all sizes.
  • Rome. It is the first great city in history, located in Italy. It has been known since ancient times as "the city" and has the highest concentration of historical and architectural assets in the world. It was the center of one of the most important civilizations, whose legacy exerted influences in subsequent centuries (social, cultural, artistic, architectural, philosophical, religious, moral, in the language and in the right).
  • Vancouver. The port city located in Canada is one of the largest population density and of diversity ethnicity in the world. In addition to its natural harbor, it is surrounded by moutains. It is characterized by being one of the most expensive and safest places, due to its very low crime rate.
  • Saint Paul. It is the first great city of South America, located in Brazil, and one of the most populated in the world (the third after New York and Mexico City). It is the main financial center of your country and one of the best to do business in Latin America. In addition, it stands out for its great cultural and entertainment centers.
  • Shanghai. It is the most populous city in China that, in ancient times, was dedicated to fishing and textile industry. From the 19th century it gained importance due to its strategic location with a sea and river port, in addition to opening up to international market. It is currently the port with the highest volume of goods in the world.
  • Berlin It is the most populous city in Germany. It stands out for being an urban, cultural and artistic center of great global recognition and, due to its geographical location and its recognized educational offer at the university level, it is an important link between Europe eastern and central. In addition, it is one of the most influential cities in the political sphere of the European Union.

Suburban landscape

The suburban landscape is greener and offers a calmer life.

The suburban landscape corresponds to the peripheral areas of large cities, that is, the outskirts where residential or industrial populations settle and which have a lower concentration of population and infrastructure compared to cities.

In ancient times, the suburbs were places where the poorest sectors of the population settled. With the advancement of roads and transport services, the journey from the city to the peripheral areas was speeded up.

This influenced the development of large residential neighborhoods with greener landscapes, air purer and a calmer pace of life than that developed in the city.

Urban landscape and rural landscape

Unlike the urban landscape, the rural landscape lacks human population density and no building infrastructure or highways. It is the space used mainly for the development of agricultural activities, industrial, forestry and for environmental Conservation.

The activity carried out in rural areas generates impact and makes life possible in urbanized areas because it supplies them with raw Materials and of food, among other benefits. To a lesser extent, the rural landscape includes residential, transportation, and service areas.

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