What is Urban Geography?

The Urban Geography is the study of cities. It is a specialized subdomain of human geography.

The study includes different aspects of urban life and the environment. It examines the factors that lead to the location and size of the city.

This study is done to help the city planning and its different aspects.

The Case Study of Urban Geography From a Global Perspective

The contemporary world is an urban world. This is apparent in the expansion of urban areas and the extension of urban influences across much of the habitable surface of the planet.

Today, for the first time in the history of humankind, urban dwellers outnumber rural residents.

Urban places—towns and cities are of fundamental importance: for the distribution of population within countries; in the organization of economic production, distribution, and exchange; in the structuring of social reproduction and cultural life; and the allocation and exercise of power.

Furthermore, in the present century, the number of urban dwellers and the level of global urbanization are likely to increase.

Even those living beyond the administrative or functional boundaries of a town or city will have their lifestyle influenced to some degree by a nearby, or even distant, city.

We inhabit an urban world in which the spread of urban areas and urban influences is a global phenomenon.

The outcomes of these processes are manifested in the diversity of urban environments that characterize the contemporary world.

The study of towns and cities is a central element of all social sciences, including geography, which offers a particular perspective on and insight into the urban condition.

The scope and content of urban geography are wide-ranging, and include the study of urban places as ‘points in space’ as well as investigation of the internal structure of urban areas.

Within the general field of urban geography, specialized subareas attract researchers interested in particular aspects of the urban environment (such as population dynamics, the urban economy, politics and governance, urban communities, housing or transport issues).

This eclectic coverage, allied with the synthesizing power of a geographical perspective, is a major advantage for those seeking to understand the complexity of contemporary urban environments.

Also read: Perceived Gap between Urban Geography Research and Dutch Urban Restructuring Policy