The Western World Daily Readings on Geography Chapter 19 Pacific Realm Urban Geography I

CHAPTER 19 Pacific Realm Urban Geography I Centralized Australia hy Emu ham Noun Among the world countries , there are many that are very highly . Some ofthese very urban locations are thus by definition . Monaco as a is 100 urban . The same is true for Singapore . There are small islands that are all or nearly entirely urban is 94 urban . Other lands are small with few choices Kuwait as a desert land is 100 urban . Consider the most populated cities of Australia . TOP TEN CITIES OF AUSTRALIA Rank City Population in millions Coastal ?

Which side ?

Sydney yes eastern Melbourne yes eastern yes eastern Perth yes western Adelaide yes southern Gold Coast yes eastern New yes eastern almost eastern Sunshine Coast yes eastern yes eastern Notice that this makes Sydney the residence of 20 of Australia population . With 85 of Australia population being urban , Sydney has about 25 of all of the country urban dwellers . Commonly , if a city possesses 20 or 39

90 JOEL QUAM AND SCOTT CAMPBELL more of a country urban population , then it likely is a primate city that is , a city that dominates its country in all urban ways . However , Melbourne is nearly as large as Sydney thus , not being dominated by Sydney in simple numbers . though over ten times smaller than Sydney in population , is the political focus , as the planned national capital city . While we may not say that Sydney dominates the Australian urban life , we can argue that eastern Australia dominates all urban Australia . Adelaide sits on the southern shore , but slightly on the eastern half of the Australian continent . Melbourne is positioned on the southeastern corner of the landmass . Perth with two million people anchors the western side of Australia . Darwin holds port on the northern edge , but only with residents . The interior of Australia holds a scattering of towns , such as Alice Springs . The lion share of the national population is on the eastern coastline . Too much so ?

At the turn of the century , Australia had the most centralized population of any country in Photo the world . Seven out of every ten Australians lived in a city of at least . Less than two decades later in 2018 , 74 of Australian urban dwellers lived in the five largest cities alone . Let evaluate this measurement of centralized population . As noted above , this is not the same as a primate city . There are a number of countries in the world where one city dominates and has a high share of the urban population . For instance , in has over 50 of the country urban residents living in that one city . Here though I am taking centralized population to mean something else . I am looking for countries that have several highly populated cities at least five cities of at least one million citizens each . Compare the sum of the population of those five cities to the total urban population of the country . COUNTRY POPULATION SHARE PER FIVE LARGEST CITIES Country Urban population in five cities , in millions of all in those five cities Australia 16 74 Pa 39 50 South Korea 21 50 Turkey 27 44 Russia 23 21 Japan 24 21 18 18 Mexico 17 17 Brazil 25 14 Indonesia 19 13 India 56 12 China 79 10 USA 20

PACIFIC REALM URBAN GEOGRAPHY I 91 Thirteen countries qualify by these measures . Australia is far and away the highest on this standard . These are countries that have considerable urban development , but broadly geographic . It is understandable that hugely populated countries like China and India will have numerous cities of at least one million people each . Yet , their extraordinary population size means that the people are distributed very widely . Countries with small areas like South Korea often have a primate city in fact , Seoul with about ten million people may be a primate city . For many countries , having a primate city will mean that there are not enough other cities over a million people , so that such a country does not qualify for the centralized population category . Here we see that only South Korea and Japan fit this small area focus . All the other countries on the list above have large to huge areas , so that we would expect a wide range of cities by population and by distribution over space . Thus , it is difficult for large area countries to have only a few cities tally a big share of the nation urban population . Yet , Australia does . of urban Australians live in just five cities . Historically and geographically , we do find explanation . Since the arrival of British sea captain James Cook to the eastern shores of Australia in 1770 , the focus of European population was on the eastern Australia . Cook exploration and detailed examination of the eastern side of Australia revealed a number of attractive locations for settlement . The coastal plains there offered flat lands for development , agriculture , and population . Moving westward from these plains soon there are the main mountains of Australia the Great Dividing Range . On worldwide standards these mountains are rather low , at best a bit over 7000 feet ( but they do cause orographic precipitation to fall on their eastern slopes that is , into the coastal plains . Given the dry continent of Australia , Cook discovery of coastal plains with regular precipitation was like finding treasure . Additionally , Cook sails revealed several useful harbors along the eastern shores . Given Britain interest in colonization and trade around the world , access to useful ports also was coveted . These advantages propelled the east coast of Australia to develop several port locations into towns that evolved into several of the main cities of the land . This gives us Sydney , Melbourne , and of Australia top five cities . Adelaide is the key southern port , while Perth is the dominant west coast city . The east has the best settings , but having Adelaide and Perth as well led to Britain claiming all of Australia . The physical geography of Australia provides additional cause for the country centralized urban pattern . With the famed Outback as the means of referring to Australia desert and settings , the rugged environment of the interior yields few locations for large urban settlements . The Australian center has territory for sheep and cattle ranches , but the livestock far outnumber the human population . The interior has substantial natural resources ranging from key industrial elements such as iron ore to specialized materials such as opals . These raw materials bring miners to the resource sites , but the harsh environment does not encourage many other people to settle there as well . The five cities that got their impetus from early British colonization developed into appealing urban realms with jobs , culture , and beaches . However , some argue that these cities now have become overcrowded for instance , they could use better transportation infrastructure to reduce traffic woes . In any case , these urban patterns of Australia give it this distinctive centralization , the most so in the world . Did You Know ?

Note that this is not the same as the Rule . The United States follows the rule , but its top five cities together only account for of America urban population . Maps can be funky . Examine the at 92 JOEL QUAM AND SCOTT CAMPBELL CITED AND ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY Allen , Liz . 2017 . Australia Does Have a Population Policy Why ?

The Conversation . July , Michael . 2018 . March 22 , Bunker , Raymond , and Glen . 2018 . The Density Question The Compact City in Australian Quarterly 89 ( 31 , 44 . Comparing the Densities of Australian , European , Canadian , and New Zealand Cities . 2015 . Charting Transport . November 26 , Cox , Wendell . 2016 . World Urban Areas . Patrick . 2017 . Australian Cities among the Largest and Least Densely Settled in the . April 20 , Jones , Gavin 1997 . An Australian Population Policy Parliament of . The United States Is Already Overpopulated Federation for American Immigration 2019 . June . 2019 . Migrants Want to Live in the Big Cities , Just like the Rest of Us . The Conversation . March 31 , Urban Transport Crowding and Congestion The Australian Infrastructure Audit 2019 Supplementary Urban . White , Nic . 2017 . Australia Overcrowding Crisis in One Map . Mail Online . July 10 , Wikipedia Contributors . 2019 . List of Countries and by Population Wikipedia . Foundation . April 26 ,