Unit 3: Towns and Cities around the World by egoitz axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973 Presentación para ayudar a estudiar en-us 2019-01-09 08:15:03 UTC 2026-03-04 14:42:11 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Clouds.png 1. RURAL HABITATS ACROSS THE WORLD egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/318668859 Rural populations in the world total 3.4 billion people (47%), but they are decreasing quickly, especially in the emerging and developing countries]]> 2019-01-09 08:18:53 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/318668859 1.1 Traditional houses and the environment egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/318670089 Traditional rural houses are characterised by their use of natural materials found in the environment as well as by their functionality (home, workplace, stables etc.).

We can classify houses according to their shape, the materials used in their construction, and their geographical location:

  • Stone houses. These are durable homes which are characteristic of sedentary populations, such as agrarian communities in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
  • Mud houses. These are made of adobe (a mixture of mud and straw).
  • Wooden houses. These are found in forest areas, such as the equatorial forests of Africa and America, European and Canadian forests, and the taiga in Siberia.
  • Houses of fur and fabric. These can be found in areas where nomadic livestock activities are carried out.
  • Cave houses. These are also known as troglodyte homes because they are carved within rock. 
  • Ice homes. Eskimos build these near the Arctic using cubes of ice. They are called igloos.

]]> 2019-01-09 08:23:19 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/318670089 egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/318673608 Stone house (mall)]]> 2019-01-09 08:36:45 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/318673608 1.2. Towns and villages throughout the world egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/318673969 Towns and villages are the conglomerations that each population forms when people group together and organise themselves within a space that they use and work in.

Populations are characterised by having a diversity of forms and by their interaction with the environment in many different ways.

  • Jungles and forests. These areas are difficult to access and are typically groups of dwellings in which the village is built along a main street. 
  • Grazing regions. Nomads who are shepherds in the savannah or semi-desert form very small communities which are sometimes surrounded by fences made of thorny plants to protect them against predators.
  • Intensive agriculture areas. Dispersion is predominant (crops in Valencia and Murcia and in areas of Asia, Central America and South America).
  • Extensive agriculture areas. Extensive agriculture is gradually becoming increasingly mechanised, especially in the case of crops grown for cereal production.
  • Fishing areas. Fishing towns and villages exist in different forms because they are dependent not only on the activities carried out in them, but also on the type of coast on which they are located.
]]> 2019-01-09 08:38:40 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/318673969 egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/318676548 Indigenous Yanomami (Venezuela)]]> 2019-01-09 08:49:14 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/318676548 2. URBAN HABITANTS: CITIES egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/318676989 During the last few decades, cities have become more densely populated. 53% of the human population is urban, so we could say that we live in a world of cities.]]> 2019-01-09 08:50:59 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/318676989 2.1. The concept of the city and its functions egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/318677768 A city is a group of people, houses and other permanent buildings. Cities provide services for the people living in them and for other individuals from more distant areas.

Three main characteristics are needed for a human settlement to be considered a city:
  • Demographic size.
  • The functions they perform
  • Density and permanence
However, certain cities do not meet these criteria, and the most important aspects that define a city are the activities and functions it performs, more than its demography or population density.
]]> 2019-01-09 08:54:17 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/318677768 2.2. Urban structure and urban morphology egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320684234 Urban structure refers to the functional internal organisation of cities as well as to their different uses.

Urban morphology refers to the external appearance of a city and is evident in the layout of the city and its streets, as well as in the buildings and their shapes.]]> 2019-01-15 10:33:03 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320684234 Esta aplicación permite ver todo tipo de rasgos geográficos egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320685683 https://www.google.es/intl/es/earth/index.html]]> 2019-01-15 10:38:20 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320685683 3. HISTORICAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF CITIES egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320688037 Certain cities have preserved many of their original characteristics, but both new cities and traditional ones have been experiencing radical changes in recent decades.]]> 2019-01-15 10:47:35 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320688037 3.1. Traditional cities egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320688630 Traditional cities are those that originated before the 19th century and the Industrial Revolution. They preserve most of their old layout and historical heritage.
  • Muslim cities. These have a medieval origin, although many of them existed even before that time.
  • South and Central American colonial cities. These were created after the arrival of the Spanish and the Portuguese in America (16th century).
  • Historical Asian cities. Urban trends are very old in Asia, a continent in which huge empires used to have large urban capitals.
]]> 2019-01-15 10:49:53 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320688630 3.2. New cities and city expansion egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320689604 The urban phenomenon is almost completely new for the majority of Africa and for large parts of Asia, whereas in the US, Canada and Australia it was especially developed during the 19th century. However, in all of these locations, there has been a recent vigorous (almost uncontrolled) growth in the cities. In the process, this has generated enormous urban and social contrasts.

  • New cities (18th and 19th centuries). After becoming independent at the end of the 18th century, the US received many European immigrants, which stimulated urban growth (New York, Boston).
  • The expansion of new and traditional cities. During the 20th century, industrial development and a continual influx of migrants stimulated growth in the cities (according to the North American model), increasing their economic, technological and political power. 
  • Recently developed cities. These cities are specialised in trade (Dubai, Hong Kong), tourism (Cancun, Miami), or performing the function of being the country's capital (Brasilia, Canberra, Tel Aviv). 
  • Suburban and rural-urban growth. Current cities have no defined limits that separate rural and natural areas, so large areas of them have a suburban or rural-urban character to them.
]]> 2019-01-15 10:53:44 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320689604 4. URBAN HIERARCHIES IN THE WORLD egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320691453 In a world that is becoming increasingly globalised and interconnected, the larger and most important cities have an influence that goes beyond the borders of the country they are located in. We can make a distinction between three different categories: world cities, continental cities and regional cities.]]> 2019-01-15 11:01:37 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320691453 4.1. World cities egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320692005
  • World metropolises. These are large urban centres that integrate other smaller cities within their metropolitan areas.
  • Megacities. According to the UN, these are cities with more than 10 million inhabitants.
  • Megalopolises. These are large-scale urban agglomerations formed by the metropolitan areas of several cities being joined by their transport systems.
  • Global cities. Due to globalisation, these cities have a global influence as regards certain activities, for example information technology (Silicon Valley, Seattle, Bangalore), transport (Rotterdam, Dubai, Antwerp, Los Angeles, New York, Singapore), finance (New York, Tokyo, London, Frankfurt, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo), and trade (Dubai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore).
    • ]]>     2019-01-15 11:04:08 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320692005     4.2. Continental and regional cities egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320692585 Continental and regional cities are cities with large populations that may be similar to the populations of world cities and megacities, but their influence is focused on smaller continental and regional areas.]]> 2019-01-15 11:06:39 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320692585 4.3. Medium-sized cities egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320693252 Medium-sized cities have most, if not all, the services found in larger cities, but their smaller size makes them more accessible to their inhabitants. Medium-sized cities favour personal relationships, tend to be less polluted, put less pressure on the natural environment, and are the types of city that offer the best quality of life. This is very clear in Europe and Spain (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Pamplona/Iruña, Santander, etc.).]]> 2019-01-15 11:09:27 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320693252 egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320694072 Ouarzazate]]> 2019-01-15 11:12:24 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320694072 egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320694352 Satiago (Chile)]]> 2019-01-15 11:13:20 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320694352 egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320694504 Vitoria-Gasteiz]]> 2019-01-15 11:13:55 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320694504 5. WORLD CITIES IN THE 21ST CENTURY egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320694579 Globalisation also affects urban structure and urban morphology. The construction of large blocks of flats, large residential suburbs, business centres, as well as the variety and high density of transport and communication modes are all common to the majority of large cities in the world.]]> 2019-01-15 11:14:12 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/320694579 5.1. Cities in Europe and Spain egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/321113945
  • West. Fundamentally urban with many cities of different sizes. We should mention London and the centre of England (Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham). 
  • Central-East. Here we find isolated towns of great size that are of national and regional importance: Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Warsaw and Bucharest.
  • South. This consists of countries with oversized capitals like Athens (Greece) and Lisbon (Portugal), but also others that are more urban and modern, such as the ones found in Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville) and Italy (Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, Florence, Palermo). All these countries have a rich and varied historical heritage (Greek, Roman, Islamic, medieval...), and have turned their cities into major worldwide centres of culture and tourism.

    • ]]>     2019-01-16 08:10:05 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/321113945     5.2. American cities egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/321114667 The model of the traditional colonial city still persists in many American cities, as does the North American model which consists of a large business centre and an enormous space used as a residential area.
    • USA and Canada. On the northeast coast we should mention cities created during the 17th century during British colonisation: Boston, New York, Baltimore and Philadelphia. They still fulfill an important cultural and educational role, and carry out financial, informative and commercial activities.
    • Mexico and Central America. In Mexico, as in all of Central America, we can still find historical colonial cities. 
    • South America. The cities of Brazil, especially São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, have experienced a process of very rapid growth (favela quarters are a result of this process). 
    ]]>     2019-01-16 08:13:42 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/321114667     5.3. cities of Asia and Oceania egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/321115756 The urban population of Asia is equivalent to 2 billion people. Asia therefore contains the highest percentage of the world's urban population as well as the largest cities.
    • China. The urbanisation process has accelerated enormously during the 21st century thanks to the incorporation of the country into the market economy.
    • Japan and South Korea. Japan is one of the developed countries with the highest percentage of urban population (91%), and its capital, Tokyo, is the most populated in the world (over 35 million inhabitants). 
    • India. India is the second most populated country in the world (although predictions claim that it will be the most populated country in the world by 2020). 
    • Other Asian countries. We should mention the cities of Karachi (Pakistan), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Jakarta (Indonesia), Manila (Philippines), Singapore, Bangkok (Thailand), Tehran (Iran), Baghdad (Iraq) and Dubai (United Arab Emirates).
    • Oceania. The only cities with more than one million inhabitants are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. They add up to 90% of the Australian population. The capital, Canberra, is a recent planned city, which fulfils the function of being the country's capital.
    ]]>     2019-01-16 08:17:20 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/321115756     5.4. African cities egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/321116967
  • North Africa. The Nile valley in Egypt is one of the oldest settlements in the history of humanity.
  • Sub-Saharan Africa and Guinea. Three centuries of slavery stagnated the development of urban cultures in these areas.
  • Central Africa. Central Africa has some large agglomerations that have been developed in recent years, but they have not been planned or structured, and this has led to huge shantytowns.
  • South Africa. This country has a sophisticated urban culture, although shantytowns can also be found. 
    • ]]>     2019-01-16 08:21:50 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/321116967     egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/321117783 Urbanisation and children video]]> 2019-01-16 08:24:44 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/321117783 6. PROBLEMS AND VALUES OF THE PRESENT-DAY CITIES egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/321118326 The populations of cities grow rapidly, and in some cases in a disorganised way, consequently creating new problems or highlighting pre-existing ones.

    ]]>     2019-01-16 08:26:21 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/321118326     7. AFRICAN COUNTRIES AND THEIR CAPITALS egoitz_axpe https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/321124269 List of the countries and the capitals
    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hw_UNO4X-DqHJq8kg8Ml2tyDIESDGfa4Tm6H-L8CdPE/edit?usp=sharing]]>     2019-01-16 08:48:21 UTC https://padlet.com/egoitz_axpe/9safn7m5b973/wish/321124269