# 🔹 URBAN FORM & STRUCTURE — DEFINITIONS ### **Urban form =** **Explanation:** What a city physically looks like and how it is laid out. **Memoriz

Urban form

What a city physically looks like and how it is laid out.

Central Business District (CBD)

Downtown area with offices, government, culture, and transport.

Urban structure

How different land uses are arranged in a city.

Urban morphology

The shape and physical form of the city.

Population density

How crowded a place is.

Class

Groups of people divided by money and social status.

Concentric Zone Model

City grows outward in rings from downtown.

Zone in Transition

Area next to CBD with industry and poor housing.

Sector Model

City grows along transport routes in wedges.

Multiple Nuclei Model

Cities have many centres, not one downtown.

Centripetal forces

Forces that pull activities together.

Centrifugal forces

Forces that push activities away.

Commercial spine

Main wealthy boulevard in Latin American cities.

In situ accretion

Gradual improvement of housing by residents.

Disamenity sector

Poor housing near pollution or hazards.

Informal settlement / Squatter settlement

Housing built illegally without services.

Neighbourhood

Area with similar housing and social traits.

Economic restructuring

Shift from factories to services.

Internationalization

More immigration from diverse regions.

Retrenchment of the welfare state

Government cuts social support.

Redlining

Banks refusing loans to certain areas.

Residential mobility

Moving houses within a city.

Filtering

Housing changes users over time.

Downward filtering

Housing declines in quality and value.

Upward filtering

Housing becomes more valuable.

Negative equity

Owe more than house is worth.

Gentrification

Wealthier people move into poorer areas.

Segregation

Groups live separately.

Charter population

Dominant group.

Minority population

Group seen as different.

Congregation

Voluntary clustering.

Involuntary segregation

Forced separation.

Enclave

Protective community.

Ghetto

Forced segregation area.

Colony

Temporary immigrant area.

Visible minority

Non-white, non-Indigenous (Canada).

Cultural minority

Difference beyond skin colour.

Index of Dissimilarity

Measures how separated groups are.

Isolation Index

Measures interaction within group.