Comparative Urban Politics: Pl.Sc. 422

1. Comparative Urban Politics:Pl.Sc. 422 Growth of Cities & Urban Regions in Latin America

3. Pre-Colombian Cities & Architecture Tenochtitlan

4. Spanish Colonial Cities/Built Environment of Mexico City

5. Cartagena: Key to the Spanish Caribbean

6. Man-made Destruction in Spanish Colonial Empire:19th Century • Political infrastructure destroyed in the struggle for independence • Looting and burning in the major colonial cities • Early nation-building: More destruction • Argentina’s first gauchos, or cowboys, were cavalrymen who fought in the civil wars that scourged the country for almost 50 years after independce

7. Caracas: A Case Study of Urban Destruction • Earthquake and sack by Spanish troops devastates the city • Fifty years of independence: destruction continues • Conservative interlude (1830’s to 50’s) • Liberal – Conservative clash in the 1850’s/1860’s • Built environment modernized (1880’s • Census of 1890 – Caracas regain the population it had in census of 1810 (50,00)

8. Contemporary Caracas

10. BRAZIL in SOUTH AMERICA

11. Cities of Brazil: Early Development • Colonial pattern resembled British Colonies of North America • Northeast Brazil as the heart of Colonial Brasil • Recife • Salvador

12. Cities of Brazil: Early Development Shift to Rio de Janeiro • 1763 – capital relocated to Rio de Janeiro • Transfer of Portuguese court consolidates primacy of Rio • Rio functions as primate city until the early twentieth century • Colonial built environment: government buildings in Rio

13. National Cities of Brazil: Twentieth Century • Emergence of São Paulo as the country’s largest and wealthiest city • Rio continues to exert national influence • Culture • Tourism • State corporations • Belo Horizonte becomes a national urban center

14. Cities of Brazil: Twentieth Century • Porto Alegre and Curitiba emerge as regionally important cities in the South • Northeast grows at slower rate • Salvador – regional metropolis • Recife – regional metropolis • Fortaleza – regional metropolis Transfer of capital to Brasilia in 1960

15. LATIN AMERICA: FROM A RURAL TO AN URBAN SOCIETY • 1960 less that 50% of Latin Americans lived in cities • Plummeting death rates and unchanged fertility rates lead to dramatic increase in migration to the large cities • Most cities provided employment, housing, transportation and basic health services

16. SHAPE OF THE CITY • Share basic similarity at their inception • Council of Indies sets Spanish American pattern • Overseas Council sets Brazilian pattern • Urban life centers on the plaza • Pattern of expansion has been similar • Part of international production system • Development path • Internationalization of consumer taste • Informal sector everywhere

17. Urban Primacy: Dominant Pattern • First city much larger than any other city in the country • Political center • Economic center • Cultural center • Buenos Aires and Lima ten times larger than the second city • Brazil city system: continental in scope • Colombia: Bogotá not yet a primate city

18. Map

19. GROWTH OF THE LATIN AMERICAN MEGACITIES • Mexico City and São Paulo approach twenty million • Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires exceed approach 14 million • Lima and Bogotá surpass 7 million