Studied by 12 people
Agglomeration
Grouping of firms in one area for shared resources.
Break-bulk point
Location where large shipments are divided for local markets.
Brick-and-mortar businesses
Traditional businesses with physical stores.
Bulk-gaining industries
Industries where products weigh more after assembly.
Bulk-reducing industries
Industries where final products weigh less than parts.
Commodity dependence
Reliance on raw material exports affecting trade balance.
Core
Regions with concentrated economic power and innovation.
Core-Periphery Model
Development model with core-dependent underdeveloped regions.
Cottage industry
Home-based production of goods and services.
Deglomeration
Dispersal of an industry from an agglomeration.
Deindustrialization
Decline of industrial activity in a region.
E-commerce
Online economic activities.
Ecotourism
Tourism focused on nature and sustainability.
Export-processing zone
Areas in developing countries that offer incentives and a barrier-free environment to promote export-oriented production
Footloose firms
Manufacturing activities in which cost of transporting both raw materials and finished product is not important for determining the location of the firm.
Fordism
Mass production system credited to Henry Ford.
Free Trade Zone
Area with relaxed trade restrictions.
Gender equity
Comparison of opportunities for men and women.
Globalization
Increasing global interconnectedness.
Gross domestic product
Total value of goods and services produced in a country.
Gross National Product
Total value of all goods and services produced by a country.
Human Development Index
Measure of life expectancy, literacy, education and standards of living for countries worldwide.
Industrial Revolution
Development of industry that started in Great Britain in the late 18th and 19th centuries, was brought about by the introduction of machinery and technology
Least-Cost Theory
Optimal location concept by Alfred Weber.
Least/Lesser-developed countries
Nations with low productivity and living standards.
Maquiladoras
US factories in Mexico assembling goods for export.
Microlending
Small loans to promote small business development.
Nonrenewable resources
Resources like fossil fuels not replenishing quickly.
Offshore financial centers
Areas promoting banking and finance transactions.
Outsourcing
Process of moving industrial production or service industries to external facilities or organizations often out of the country.
Periphery
A less-developed, economically poor country.
Primary economic activities
Activities involving natural resource extraction.
Productivity
Measure of goods and services produced in a country.
Purchasing-power parity
Monetary measure considering buying power in countries.
Quaternary economic activities
Activities related to the generation of knowledge and the sharing of research.
Quinary economic activities
Involves the decision-making and policy-making that drives the other sectors of the economy.
Renewable resources
Resources produced in nature more rapidly than it is consumed by humans.
Rostow's Stages of Development
Model describing the 5 economic steps that countries take to be fully developed.
Secondary economic activities
Activities processing raw materials.
Semiperiphery
Newly industrialized countries with median living standards.
Service-based economies
Economies focused on providing services such as research, marketing, telecommunications, innovation, teaching...
Special Economic Zones
Designated areas in a country with special economic regulations more favorable than the regulations that apply in the rest of the country
Specialty goods
Individually assembled or limited quantity goods.
Sustainable development
Using natural resources in ways that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Tertiary economic activities
Economic activities that professionals such as teachers & professors, lawyers, medical officers, clerical and personnel services.
Transnational corporation
Firm operating in at least two countries.
World cities
Cities with global financial and commercial dominance (e.g. New York City, London, and Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong, and Singapore).
World-Systems Theory
Theory explaining core-periphery-semiperiphery connections.
Threshold
Population size needed for service provision to be economically feasible
Range
Average maximum distance people travel to buy goods/services
Central place theory
Explains town/city size based on shopping behavior
Situation
Relative location of a place
Site
Physical character/absolute location of a place
Hinterlands
Outlying towns relying on central city for goods/services
Sector model
Urban land use description with wedge-shaped sectors
Latin America city model
Model showing CBD, elite residential sector, concentric zones
Rank size rule
Population inversely proportional to city rank in hierarchy
Primate city
Large, dominant city expressing national culture
Edge cities
Nodal retail/office concentrations on metropolitan fringes
Gentrification
Higher-income households moving to working-class neighborhoods
Multinational corporations
Businesses operating in multiple countries
Gravity model
Predicts place interaction based on population, distance
Semiperiphery
Newly industrialized countries with median living standards
Periphery
Countries with low living standards, industrial productivity
Bid-rent curve
Land value at varying distances from city center
Light-rail systems
Street-level rail public transportation with separate right-of-way
Megacity
City/metropolitan area with over 10 million people
Suburb
Urban area surrounding and connected to central city
Suburbanization
City growth outside urban area
New Urbanism
Planning based on walkable blocks, mixed land use
Postindustrial economy
Shift from manufacturing to services, information, research
Solar panel farms
Large-scale solar installations harvesting solar power
Squatter settlements/Shanty towns
Residential developments characterized by extreme poverty that usually exist on land just outside of cities that is neither owned nor rented by its occupants.
Transit-oriented development
Urban development maximizing public transport proximity
Quantitative data
Statements based on observations, interviews, evaluations, e.g. U.S. Census.
Quality of life
Measure of well-being based on literacy, mortality, life expectancy (HDI)
Southeast Asian city model
Focal point at old colonial port zone with commercial district
Multiple nuclei model
City with multiple regional economic/residential centers
Galactic city model
City growth independent of central business district
Local ordinances
Laws governing property use based on location in a city
Smart-growth urban planning
Sustainable urban design avoiding sprawl
Mixed-use land development
Combines residential, commercial, cultural functions
World cities
Dominant cities in global political economy, e.g. New York, London, Paris.
World urban hierarchy
Ranking world settlements by size, economic functions
Favelas
Slums within or on outskirts of large cities in Brazil
Qualitative date
Descriptive information, usually in the form of text
Metacity
City/metropolitan area with over 20 million people
Megalopolis
Chain of contiguous cities and surrounding regions, e.g. Boswash.
Slash and Burn
Traditional farming method of cutting and burning vegetation to clear land
Intensive farming
High-input agriculture with high labor and capital per unit area
Intercropping
Growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same field
Inter-tillage
Cultivating between rows of a crop to reduce soil erosion
Bid-rent theory (agriculture)
Economic theory explaining the price gradient for land based on its distance from the market
Shifting Cultivation
Traditional farming system where land is cultivated temporarily, then abandoned and allowed to revert to its natural state
Nomadic Herding
Raising livestock while moving in search of forage and water
Mediterranean Agriculture
Agriculture practiced in regions with a Mediterranean climate, characterized by vineyards and olive groves
Desertification
Process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically due to drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture
Irrigation - negative impact
Adverse effects of irrigation such as salinization, waterlogging, and depletion of natural water sources
Subsistence Agriculture
Self-sufficient farming for survival without surplus for sale
Deforestation
Clearing of forests for agriculture, logging, or urban development
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