People live in the country or in the city. There is still no alternative. If we talk about the field, we refer to a physical environment with some characteristics. The set of them is what is called rural space. And in parallel, something similar happens in the
cities, where the type of space that is inhabited is called urban space.
The characteristics of urban spaces are the following:
- Places where there is a complex infrastructure system: roads, hospitals, public services, leisure areas, etc.
- There is a complex and heterogeneous structure, where people can carry out different activities in the same environment.
- Population density is usually high, especially when compared to rural population centers.
- There is a historical and administrative nucleus that is usually located in the center, and from there the city grows and incorporates new areas.
- There are specific marginal or conflictive areas: the suburbs, the suburbs or neighborhoods with social problems.
These are some of the characteristics of urban spaces, especially large cities or megacities. The growth of these spaces is disorderly and there is a complex urban framework. An example is the city of Sao Paulo, Los Angeles, Caracas or Hong Kong; all of them are very extensive metropolises (in English the term huge city is used) where populations of different origins, tourists and a native population coexist.
Urban planners study the needs and problems of urban spaces. One of them is the growth model, since it is difficult to set limits on individual initiatives, but cities cannot normally absorb a controlled development. For this reason, corrective measures are taken: traffic limitation, vehicle parking restriction, etc.
The urban space has a series of advantages for its inhabitants. The main one is the great diversity of services it offers. And one of the biggest drawbacks is air pollution. The concept of urban space has been changing in recent decades. Currently, megacities are no longer so attractive and smaller cities are committed to incorporating aspects of rural life (large open spaces and low population density) with the advantages of cities.
