Unit 6 vocab all

Site

The physical characteristics of a place, including its topography, climate, soil, and natural resources.

Situation

The location of a place in relation to other places and features (relative location).

Patterns of Development

Observable spatial trends and variations in economic growth, urbanization, and social well-being across different regions of the world.

Connectivity

The degree of economic, social, or political connection between different places.

Accessibility

The ease of reaching a location or obtaining a service, influenced by transportation, infrastructure, and technology.

Service

Any activity that fulfills a human want or need and returns money to those who provide it.

Consumer Services

Services provided to individual consumers who desire them and can afford to pay for them.

Business Services

Services that facilitate the activities of other businesses.

Public Services

Services that provide security and protection for citizens and businesses.

Agglomeration

The clustering of businesses and industries in a specific area.

Globalization

The expansion of economic, political, and cultural processes to a global scale and impact.

World Cities

Urban centers that are major players in the global economy and connected to other global cities.

Global City

A major center for the provision of services in the global economy.

Settlement

A permanent collection of buildings where people reside, work, and obtain services.

Christaller’s Central Place Theory

A theory that explains how the most profitable location can be identified.

Market Area/Hinterland

The area surrounding a service from which customers are attracted.

Brownfields

Properties potentially contaminated by hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants.

Range

The maximum distance people are willing to travel to use a service.

Threshold

The minimum number of people needed to support a service.

Retailers High Threshold

Businesses that require a large number of customers to be profitable, located in high foot traffic areas.

Retailers High Range

Businesses that sell goods/services for which people are willing to travel long distances.

Size and Distribution

The spatial arrangement and relative size of settlements, businesses, or populations across an area.

Rank-Size Rule

The order of the largest city is proportional to its size.

Primate City Rule

A pattern where the largest settlement has more than twice as many people as the second-ranking settlement.

Primate City

The largest settlement in a country if it has more than twice as many people as the second-ranking settlement.

Gravity Model

A model indicating how the use of a service at a location relates to the population and distance to the service.

Periodic Market

A collection of individual vendors offering goods/services in a location on specified days.

Local Food Movement/Locavore

A movement connecting food producers and consumers within the same geographical region.

Economic Base

A community's collection of basic businesses.

Clustered Rural Settlement

A rural settlement in which houses and farm buildings are situated close to each other.

Dispersed Rural Settlement

A rural settlement pattern characterized by isolated farms rather than clustered villages.

Mixed Land Use

Cities blending residential, commercial, institutional, or industrial uses.

Urbanization

The movement and clustering of people in towns and cities.

Suburbanization

The growth of cities outside of urban areas.

Migration

Groups moving from one region or country to another.

Megacity

An urban settlement with over 10 million people.

Metacity

An urban settlement with over 20 million people.

Periphery

Countries with a very low standard of living and low industrial productivity.

Semi Periphery

Countries with a standard of living lower than the core but higher than the periphery.

Core

The most developed, economically dominant area within a region.

Decentralization

The tendency of businesses and industry to locate outside the central city.

Edge Cities

Urban areas with large suburban residential and business areas surrounding them.

Exurbs

Outlying areas of low housing density, with economic connection to metropolitan areas.

Suburban Sprawl

The spreading of urban developments on undeveloped land near a city.

Sprawl

Development of new housing sites at low density and not contiguous with existing areas.

Boomburbs

Urban places with more than 100,000 residents that are not core cities.

Infilling

The building of new spaces on vacant or underused parcels in developed areas.

Infill Housing

Development of new homes on vacant land within existing urban areas.

Central City

An urban settlement legally incorporated into a self-governing unit.

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

An urbanized area with at least 50,000 population and connected counties.

Micropolitan Statistical Areas (μSAs)

An urbanized area of 10,000 to 50,000 inhabitants and its associated county.

Core-based Statistical Area (CBSA)

The collection of all metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas.

Combined Statistical Area (CSA)

Two or more contiguous core-based statistical areas tied by commuting patterns.

Urban Area

A dense core of census tracts, densely settled suburbs, and low-density land linking them.

Urban Cluster

An urban area with 2,500 to 50,000 inhabitants.

Megalopolis

A continuous urban complex in the northeastern United States.

Central Business District (CBD)

The area of a city with clustered retail and office activities.

Burgess Concentric-zone Model

A model explaining the internal structure of cities in rings.

Hoyt Sector Model

A model where social groups are arranged along sectors radiating from the CBD.

Harris and Ullman Multiple Nuclei Model

A model of urban structure arranged around multiple activity nodes.

Galactic/Peripheral City Model

A North American urban model with inner city and suburban areas linked by a beltway.

Bid Rent Theory/Curve

A theory describing how real estate price and demand change with CBD distance.

Latin America Urban Model

A model combining radial sectors and concentric zones elements of Latin American culture.

Southeast Asia Urban Model

Features high-class residential zones and low-income squatter settlements.

Africa Urban Model

A diagram containing elements of pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial urban areas.

New Urbanism

A movement encouraging local development and sustainable growth.

Greenbelts

Measures to prevent urban sprawl by reserving land for natural uses.

Quantitative

Measures using numerical facts.

Qualitative

Information collection on human behavior and perception.

Blockbusting

Real estate practice convincing homeowners to sell at low prices due to fears.

Redlining

A process where financial institutions refuse loans for properties within certain lines.

Disamenity Zones

The poorest parts of cities often lacking city services and controlled by gangs.

Squatter Settlements

Areas where people illegally occupy land without rights.

Informal Settlements

Areas built without legal permits and lacking proper infrastructure.

Walkability

The degree to which the built environment accommodates human presence.

Sustainable Design

Development without natural resource depletion.

Census Tracts

Areas defined for publishing census statistics; similar to neighborhoods.

Census Data

Demographic information collected from the population regularly.

Annexation

Legally adding land area to a city.

Sustainability

Meeting current needs without compromising future generations' ability to meet theirs.

Density

The number of people, animals, or things within a given area.

Density Gradient

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

Smart Growth

Development and conservation strategies to enhance communities.

Slow Growth Cities

Urban areas prioritizing sustainable development over rapid growth.

Sustainable Development

Practicing present needs balance with future needs.

Transportation Oriented Development

Urban development maximizing residential/business space near public transport.

Zoning Ordinance

A rule defining land use in specific geographic zones.

Zoning

The process of dividing land into areas for specific uses.

Rush/Peak Hour

The consecutive periods with the heaviest traffic volumes.

Underclass

A group prevented from benefiting from a developed society due to various challenges.

Gentrification

Converting low-income areas into predominantly middle-class ownership.

Public Housing

Government-owned housing rented to low-income individuals.

Growth Poles

Locations generating new products/services through research and innovation.