Urban Geography

Urban geography studies cities and urban systems — their internal structure, growth, and the social and spatial processes that shape urban life.

Scope

It covers urban form and land use, urbanization and urban systems, the political economy of the city, and urban social and spatial inequality.

Core questions

• How are cities structured internally?
• What drives urbanization and urban change?
• Who shapes the production of urban space?
• How is inequality expressed in cities?

Key concepts

• Urban form
• Urbanization
• Production of space
• Gentrification
• Urban political economy
• Segregation

Key theories

The political economy of the city

Harvey analysed urban space through Marxian theory, linking it to capital accumulation.

The spatial turn

Soja reasserted the importance of space in critical social theory.

History

Urban geography moved from the quantitative analysis of urban systems to a critical, political-economy approach (Harvey) and the 'spatial turn' (Soja, Lefebvre), engaging globalization and the just city.

Debates

Spatial science versus critical urban theory

Whether the city is best modelled quantitatively or analysed through critical social theory.

Key figures

• David Harvey
• Edward Soja

Seminal works

• harvey-1973
• soja-1989

Frequently asked questions

How does urban geography differ from urban sociology?

They overlap closely; urban geography emphasizes space, form, and spatial process, urban sociology the social relations of city life.