Human Geo Unit 6 Terms

ecumene

inhabited portion of earth’s surface

city-state

consists of an urban center & its surrounding territory, with own political system, functioning independently of other political units

borchert’s transportation model

describes geographical growth of cities based on changes in how people moved themselves & goods in/between urban areas

metropolitan statistical area

u.s. designation of city >50k, the county in which it is located, & adjacent counties with high degree of social & economic integration with urban core

micropolitan statistical area

u.s designation of city between 10-50k, the county in which it is located, & adjacent counties with high degree of social & economic integration with urban core

social heterogeneity

cities have high degrees of this; diversity in cultures, languages, professions, & other characteristics

nodal region

urban areas as defined by a focal point in a matrix of connections

urban hearth

early city-states emerged in locations with defensible sites & river valleys that facilitated agricultural surplus

time-space compression

facilitated by transportation & communication technologies

site

refers to characteristics at an immediate location - incl. climate, phys. features, labor force, human structures

situation

refers to location of a place relative to surroundings & its connectivity to other places

streetcar suburbs

modern & contemporary communities that grow along rail lines

pedestrian cities

earliest cities shaped by distances people could walk

suburbanization

process of people moving, usually from cities, to residential areas on outskirts of cities

sprawl

rapid expansion of the spatial extent of a city, usually with weak planning laws, growth of car culture, low land costs, & low-density single-family housing

leapfrog development

builders purchase low-cost land & build communities beyond periphery of city’s built area

edge cities

nodes of economic activity that have developed on the periphery of large cities, usually with tall buildings, concentrated retail space, few residences, & located at junctions of major transportation routes

boomburbs

rapidly-growing communities with populations exceeding 100k, but not the largest cities in a metro area

counter-/de–urbanization

flow of residents leaving for exurban areas

exurbs

prosperous residential areas beyond suburbs

reurbanization

when significant numbers suburban residents relocate to cities

conurbation

where cities have grown until they have effectively merged into an uninterrupted urban area of towns, suburbs, & cities

megalopolis

chain of connected cities; ex.

megacities

cities with population of >10mil.

metacities

continuous urban areas with population of >20mil., often network of urban areas that have grown into an interconnected system

urban hierarchy

ranking of cities based on influence, or connectivity, or population size

higher-order services

usually expensive, need many people to support and/or are only occasionally utilized; usually found in the largest cities

lower-order services

usually less expensive, require small populations to support and/or are used on frequent basis; widely available in smaller cities & towns

urban system

interdependent set of cities that interact on a regional, national, and/or global scale

primate city

if the city is at least 2x larger than next-largest; more developed than other cities in an urban system, and disproportionately more powerful

gravity model

posits that larger & closer cities will have more connectivity/interaction that cities further and/or smaller from each other

central place theory

explains arrangement & distribution of cities of different sizes across a region, using consumer behavior related to purchasing goods/services; larger cities distributed farther apart w/ smaller cities spaced in between

hexagonal hinterlands

within central place theory, market areas are depicted by these in overlapping areas of service based on higher- & lower-order services

threshold

size of population necessary for a particular service to exist profitably; lower-order services are captured in areas of smaller population, higher-order in areas of larger populations

range

distance people will travel to obtain specific goods/services; higher-order services will be demanded over longer distances

rank-size rule

describes way in which sizes of cities develop, such that the nth-largest city will be 1/n size of the largest city

concentric zone model

model that describes a city as a series of rings that surrounds a cbd

multiple nuclei & peripheral models

model that suggests that functional zonation occurs around multiple nodes, resulting in a city of a patchwork of land uses, each with its own center

sector model

model that describes how different types of land use & housing were all located new cities early in their history, with each growing outward as the city expanded

galactic city model

model that describes original cbd surrounded by smaller nodes that mimic the function of the original cbd

citadels, suqs

middle eastern & north african cities feature these (for protection) & these (as individual markets within a bazaar), with residential areas characterized by maze-like alleyways & homes to maximize shade/cooling

shantytowns, favelas

peripheral locations in latin-american urban model, characterized by disamenity zones with extreme poverty & (sometimes) lawlessness

griffin-ford model

latin american urban model characterized by dual cbds, one as a traditional market center & one a modern high-rise center

mcgee model

southeast asian urban model with focal point of modern city that was a former colonial port zone (export-oriented), & often a separate govt or administrative zone, a belt of market gardening, & secondary commercial zones of chinese businesses

informal/squatter settlements

peripheral residential zones found in urban areas of africa & latin america

african urban model

urban model featuring a traditional (pre-colonial) cbd with narrow/twisting streets, colonial cbds with broad/straight avenues, informal economic zones with periodic markets, a zone of mining & manufacturing, & ethnic-based residential zones

commensal relationship

major factor in choice of locations for businesses, based on the extent to which different commercial interests benefit each other

functional zones

idea that portions of an urban area have specific, distinct purposes