Urbanization and Settlement Patterns

These flashcards cover key vocabulary related to urbanization, settlement distribution, and urban structures.

Urbanization

An increase in the percentage and in the number of people living in urban settlements.

Central Place Theory

A theory that explains the distribution of services based on the fact that settlements serve as centers of market areas for services.

Clustered Rural Settlement

A rural settlement where houses and farm buildings are situated close together, with fields surrounding them.

Consumer Service

A business that provides services primarily to individual consumers, including retail services and education.

Economic Base

A community's collection of basic businesses that provide jobs and services.

Gentrification

A process of converting a low-income urban neighborhood into a middle-income area.

Metacity

An urban settlement with a total population in excess of 20 million people.

Gravity Model

A model that holds that the potential use of a service at a particular location is directly related to the number of people in a location and inversely related to the distance people must travel.

Central Business District (CBD)

The area of a city where business, consumer, and public services are clustered.

Threshold

The minimum number of people needed to support a service.

Suburb

A residential or commercial area situated within an urban area but outside the central city.

Density Gradient

The change in density in an urban area from the center to the periphery.

Urban Sprawl

Development of new housing sites at relatively low density not contiguous to the existing built-up area.