Unit 6 AP Human Geo Vocab

• Urban area

• A region characterized by high population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it.

• Metropolitan areas

• Large population centers that include a city and its surrounding suburbs and exurbs.

• Infill

• The use of land within a built-up area for further construction, especially as part of community redevelopment.

• Edge city

• A large node of office and retail activities on the edge of an urban area.

• Urban sprawl

• The uncontrolled expansion of urban areas into the surrounding rural land.

• Boomburg

• Rapidly growing suburban cities that remain largely residential but have urban characteristics.

• Threshold

• The minimum number of people needed to support a service or business.

• Rank-size rule

• A rule that states the population of a city will be inversely proportional to its rank in the urban hierarchy.

• Primate city

• A city that is the largest and most dominant within a country, often more than twice the size of the second-largest.

• Central place theory

• A geographical theory that seeks to explain the number, size, and location of human settlements.

• Range

• The maximum distance people are willing to travel to use a service.

• Metacity

• very large city that has grown beyond its defined urban boundaries; population over 20 million.

• World cities

• Cities that function as control centers of the global economy.

• Megacity

• A city with a population of more than 10 million.

• Concentric Zone Model

• A model describing urban land use in concentric rings expanding outward from the city center.

• Sector Model

• A model that describes urban land use in sectors or wedges radiating out from the CBD.

• Multiple Nuclei Model

• A model of urban land use that suggests cities have multiple centers (nuclei) for different activities.

• Galactic City Model

• A model of North American cities showing a decentralized, post-industrial city with edge cities.

• African City Model

• A model that reflects the influence of colonialism, showing three CBDs (colonial, traditional, and market zone).

• Latin American City Model

• A model that features a central CBD with a commercial spine and periphery zones of squatter settlements.

• Southeast Asian City Model

• A model that includes a port zone instead of a traditional CBD and reflects colonial and modern influences.

• Apartheid

• A system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa.

• Disamenity zones

• Areas not connected to city services and under the control of informal or illegal organizations.

• Squatter settlements

• Areas within cities in less developed countries where people illegally establish residences.

• Nodes

• Points where functions and activities converge, such as transport or commerce hubs.

• Zoning

• Government regulation of land use that determines what type of buildings and economic activities are allowed.

• Mixed-use developments

• Urban developments that blend residential, commercial, cultural, and industrial uses.

• Walkability

• A measure of how friendly an area is to walking.

• Smart-growth policies

• Urban planning and transportation policies that aim to limit urban sprawl and promote sustainable development.

• Ecological footprint

• A measure of human demand on Earth's ecosystems

• Transportation-oriented development

• A type of urban development designed to maximize access to public transport.

• Mixed-use zoning

• Zoning that allows multiple uses in one space, like residential, commercial, and recreational.

• Traditional zoning

• Separates land uses into specific zones like residential, commercial, and industrial.

• New urbanism

• An urban design movement promoting walkable neighborhoods, mixed-use development, and community-oriented design.

• Slow-growth cities

• Cities that have policies to limit the rate of urban sprawl and growth.

• Urban growth boundary

• A regional boundary set to control urban development and protect rural land.

• Greenbelt

• A ring of open land around a city on which building is restricted.

• De-facto segregation

• Segregation that occurs not by law but by fact, often due to social, economic, or residential patterns.

• Redlining

• A discriminatory practice where services (like loans or insurance) are denied to residents of certain areas based on race or ethnicity.

• Blockbusting

• A practice where real estate agents convince homeowners to sell at low prices by exploiting fears of racial changes in neighborhoods.

• Zones of abandonment

• Areas that have been deserted in a city for economic or environmental reasons.

• Filtering

• A process of change in the use of a house, from single-family owner occupancy to abandonment.

• Inclusionary zoning laws

• Regulations that require a portion of new housing to be affordable for low to moderate-income families.

• Land tenure

• The way land is owned and managed in a region.

• Eminent domain

• The right of a government to take private property for public use, with compensation.

• Environmental injustice

• The disproportionate exposure of communities of color and the poor to pollution and environmental hazards.

• Urban renewal

• The process of redeveloping deteriorated urban neighborhoods.

• Gentrification

• The process of renovating urban neighborhoods so that they attract middle-class residents, often displacing lower-income families.

• White flight

• The departure of white residents from areas becoming more racially diverse.

• Restrictive covenant

• A clause in property deeds that restricts the use or ownership of the property, historically used to enforce racial segregation.