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CBD (central business center)
The downtown heart of a central city, the CBD is marked by high land values, a concentration of business and commerce, and the clustering of the tallest buildings.
synekism
The possibility of change that results from people living together in cities.
urban
The entire built-up, nonrural area and its population, including the most recently constructed suburban appendages. Provides a better picture of the dimensions and population of such an area than the delimited municipality (central city) that forms its heart.
city
Conglomeration of people and buildings clustered together to serve as a center of politics, culture, and economics.
Agricultural village
A relatively small, egalitarian village, where most of the population was involved in agriculture. Starting over 10,000 years ago, people began to cluster in agricultural villages as they stayed in one place to tend their crops.
Agricultural surplus
One of two components, together with social stratification, that enable the formation of cities; agricultural production in excess of that which the producer needs for his or her own sustenance and that of his or her family and which is then sold for consumption by others.
Social stratification
One of two components, together with agricultural surplus, which enables the formation of cities; the differentiation of society into classes based on wealth, power, production, and prestige.
Leadership class
Group of decision-makers and organizers in early cities who controlled the resources, and often the lives, of others.
First urban revolution
The innovation of the city, which occurred independently in five separate hearths. (Mesopotamia, Nile River Valley, Mesoamerica, Huang He and Wei River Valleys, Peru).
-urban hearths tied closely to the hearths of agriculture (develop through previous agricultural villages)
Mesopotamia
Region of great cities (e.g. Ur and Babylon) located between Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; chronologically the first urban hearth, dating to 3500 BCE, and which was founded in the Fertile Crescent.
-diffuse agriculture knowledge & urbanization through relocation diffusion after the population grows as a result of consistent food supply and sedentary lifestyle
Nile River Valley
Chronologically the second urban hearth, dating to 3200 BCE.
-the way of irrigation and urbanization are intertwined.
Huang He and Wei River Valleys
Rivers in present-day China; it was at the confluence of the Huang He and Wei Rivers where chronologically the fourth urban hearth was established around 1500 BCE.
Mesoamerica
Chronologically the fifth urban hearth, dating to 200 BCE.
Peru
Chronologically the sixth urban hearth, dating to 900 BCE.
Secondary hearth
An early adopter of a cultural practice or trait that becomes a central locale from which the practice or trait further diffuses.
acropolis
Literally “high point of the city.” The upper fortified part of an ancient Greek city, usually devoted to religious purposes. Ex. Parthenon of Athens.
agora
In ancient Greece, public spaces where citizens debated, lectured, judged each other, planned military campaigns, socialized, and traded. (commercial activity center)
site
The internal physical attributes of a place, including its absolute location, its spatial character and physical setting.
situation
The external physical attributes of a place; its relative location or regional position with reference to other nonlocal places.
Urban morphology
The study of the physical form and structure of urban places.
Functional zonation
The division of a city into different regions or zones for certain purposes or functions.
-reveal how different area serves different purposes or functions
Forum
The focal point of ancient Roman life that combines the functions of the ancient Greek acropolis and agora.
Trade area
Region adjacent to every town and city within which its influence is dominant.
-people from smaller villages or towns would go to the city to conduct business or shop.
Rank-size rule
In a model urban hierarchy, the idea that the population of a city or town will be inversely proportional to its rank in the hierarchy.
-often does not apply to country with one dominant city
Primate city
A country’s largest city—ranking atop the urban hierarchy—most expressive of the national culture and usually (but not always) the capital city as well.
-appear in many former colonies due to the colonial authority frequently from a single dominant city (economic & political activities concentrated)
Central place theory
Theory proposed by Walter Christaller that explains how and where central places in the urban hierarchy should be functionally and spatially distributed with respect to one another.
-model demonstrates in hexagon (fill in all gaps without overlapping).
-less relevant today due to new factors, forces, conditions (e.g. technology, internet)
zone
Area of a city with a relatively uniform land use. Ex.. industrial zones, residential zones.
Sun Belt phenomenon
The movement of millions of Americans from northern and northeastern States to the South and Southwest regions (Sunbelt) of the United States.
-due to social security funds, retirement planning, and social & economic policies that favor the “Sun Belt” cities
Functional zonation
The division of a city into different regions or zones for certain purposes or functions.
Central city
The urban area that is not suburban; generally, the older or original city that is surrounded by newer suburbs.
Suburb
A subsidiary urban area surrounding and connected to the central city. Many are exclusively residential; others have their own commercial centers or shopping malls.
Suburbanization
Movement of upper- and middle-class people from urban core areas to the surrounding outskirts to escape pollution as well as deteriorating social conditions (perceived and actual).
Concentric zone model
A structural model of the American central city that suggests the existence of five concentric land-use rings arranged around a common center.
-dynamic model (problems / inner zones occupied the outer zones as the city grew; expands)
-do not relevant today and reflect cities' structure by the mid-twentieth century
Edge cities
A term introduced by American journalist Joel Farreau in order to describe the shifting focus of urbanization in the United States away from the Central Business District (CBD) toward new loci of economic activity at the urban fringe. These cities are characterized by extensive amounts of office and retail space, few residential areas, and modern buildings (less than 30 years old).
Megacities
Cities with 10 million or more residents. Ex. Mumbai, India, Sao Paulo.
-with a vast territory, high rate of immigration, & a strained, inadequate infrastructure.
-make analysis & hard to apply on city model
Griffin-Ford Model (Latin America city model)
Developed by geographers Ernst Griffin and Lary Ford, a model of the Latin American city shows a blend of traditional elements of Latin American culture with the forces of globalization that are reshaping the urban scene.
-reflect differences between privileged and impoverished areas of the South American city
-describes sectoral development elements present in many S. American cities.
-with thriving CBD as the backbone
-assure by public transit systems and residential area
Shantytown
Unplanned slum development on the margins of cities that is dominated by crude dwellings and shelters made mostly of scrap wood, iron, and even pieces of cardboard.
Disamenity sector
The very poorest parts of cities that in extreme cases are not even connected to regular city services and are controlled by gangs or drug lords.
McGee model (South-east Asia)
Developed by geographer T.G. Mc Gee, a model showing similar land-use patterns among the medium-sized cities of Southeast Asia.
-there is no formal CBD, but elements of it present as separate clusters in different areas surrounding the old colonial port zone (gov. zone, western commercial zone, alien commercial zone; for Chinese)
-with a hybrid structure of zones and sectors
-middle-income houses located in suburban areas (reflecting a large middle class)
Zoning laws
Legal restrictions on land use that determine what types of building and economic activities are allowed to take place in certain areas.
-In the United States, areas are most commonly divided into separate zones of residential, retail, or industrial use.
Redlining
A discriminatory real estate practice in North America in which members of minority groups are prevented from obtaining money to purchase homes or property in predominantly white neighborhoods. The practice derived its name from the red lines depicted on cadastral maps used by real estate agents and developers. Today, redlining is officially illegal.
Blockbusting
Rapid change in the racial composition of residential blocks in American cities that occurs when real estate agents and others stir up fear of neighborhood decline after encouraging people of color to move to previously white neighborhoods. In the resulting outmigration, real estate agents profit through the turnover of properties.
Commercialization
The transformation of an area of a city into an area attractive to residents and tourists alike in terms of economic activity.
Gentrification
The rehabilitation of deteriorated, often abandoned housing of low-income inner city residents.
Teardowns
Homes bought in many American suburbs with the intent of tearing them down and replacing them with much larger homes often referred to as McMansions.
McMansions
Homes referred to as such because of their “super size” graphic context and from a geographical perspective. Among other things, medical geography looks at sources, diffusion routes, and distributions of diseases.
-destroys the character of the street (too big)
Urban sprawl
Unrestricted growth in many American urban areas of housing, commercial development, and roads over large expanses of land, with little concern for urban planning.
New urbanism
Outlined by a group of architects, urban planners, and developers from over 20 countries, an urban design that calls for development, urban revitalization, and suburban reforms that create walkable neighborhoods with a diversity of housing and jobs.
Gated communities
Restricted neighborhoods or subdivisions, often literally fenced in, where entry is limited to residents and their guests. Although predominantly high-income based, in North America gated communities are increasingly a middle-class phenomenon.
Informal economy
Economic activity that is neither taxed nor monitored by a government; and is not included in that government’s Gross National Product (GNP); as opposed to a formal economy.
World city
Dominant city in terms of its role in the global political economy. Not the world’s biggest city in terms of population or industrial output, but rather centers of strategic control of the world economy.
Spaces of consumption
Areas of a city, the main purpose of which is to encourage people to consume goods and services; driven primarily by the global media industry.
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