Unit 6 Vocab Quiz 2

Annexation

the process by which a city (or state) formally incorporates territory from another political entity into its own jurisdiction.

Central Business District

the commercial and business center of a city, from which it grows outwards

Census Tracts

subdivision of the country by US government for census

Central City

Commercial and cultural heart of a city, the urban area in a MSA or large settlement

Concentric Zone Model(Burgess Model)

A model that describes urban land use by stating there is a central business district, which is surrounded by a series of rings with varying levels of socioeconomic development

Council of government

Representatives of local governments in a metropolitan area in the United States.

Density gradient

The change in population density as one moves outward from the city center

Edge cities

A large node of office and retail activities on the edge of an urban area.

Filtering

A process where older, higher-quality housing is gradually occupied by lower-income groups as wealthier residents move to newer, better homes.

Galactic City Model

A model of urban land use characterized by a decentralized urban area with multiple specialized suburban centers connected by beltways and automobile usage.

Gentrification

Previously lower class neighborhoods undergo transformation that attract wealthier residents and displace the original inhabitants.

Greenbelts

designated areas of open land around urban centers that limit urban sprawl and promote sustainability by preserving natural landscapes.

Metropolitan Statistical Area

defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget that consists of a core urban area with a population of at least 50,000, along with adjacent communities that have a high degree of economic and social integration with that core

Micropolitan Statistical Area

A geographic region centered on an urban cluster with a population of 10,000 to 49,999, along with surrounding areas that have a high degree of social and economic integration with the core

Multiple Nuclei Model(Harris/Ullman Model)

A North American urban model that states cities lack a centralized business district or downtown area and that has several distinct neighborhoods that all act as regional centers within one larger city.

Peripheral Model of Cities

A concentration of office, retail, and entertainment development outside of a city's central business district (CBD).

Public Housing

government-funded residential buildings designed to provide affordable living spaces for low-income families and individuals.

Public Transit

A system of transportation services that are available for use by the general public, including buses, trains, and subways,

Redlining

The discriminatory practice of denying services or limiting them to certain areas based on race or economic status, often affecting housing.

Sector Model

An urban land use model that suggests cities develop in sectors or wedges radiating outwards from the central business district (CBD), influenced by transportation routes and economic factors

Smart Growth

Aim to curb urban sprawl focuses on sustainable development, promoting efficient land use, and creating livable communities within urban areas.

Social Area Analysis

Statistical analysis used identify where people of similar living standards, ethnic background, and life style live within an urban area.

Squatter Settlements

Densely populated areas where people establish homes on land they do not own or have legal rights to, often arising due to rapid urbanization and a lack of affordable housing.

Suburban Segregation

The unequal distribution of different social groups (e.g., based on race, ethnicity, or income) across suburban areas leads to distinct residential patterns.

Urban Renewal

The process of redeveloping areas experiencing urban decay, often involving demolition and new construction, with the goal of improving infrastructure and increasing tax revenue

Urban Sprawl

The expansion of cities and urban areas into surrounding rural or undeveloped land.

Zoning Ordinance

Regulations set by local governments that dictate how land in specific geographic zones can be used.

Blockbusting

rapid change in the racial composition of residential blocks in American cities. Real estate agents benefit from the turnover of the property

Boomburbs

A large rapidly growing city that remains essentially suburban and character, even as it reaches populations, more typical of urban core cities

Disamenity Zones/Sectors

The very poor parts of cities that extreme cases are not connected to regular city services and are controlled by gangs

De facto segregation

racial segregation that happens by fact rather than legal requirement

Decentralization

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

Exurb (exurbanization)

Small communities lying beyond the suburbs of a city

Exurbanite

Person who has left the inner city and moved to outlying suburbs or rural areas.

Favelas (barrios)

A very poor and crowded area of a city in Brazil; slum area

Ghettoization

A process occurring in many inner cities in which they become dilapidated centers of poverty, as affluent whites move out to the suburbs and immigrants and people of color vie for scarce jobs and resources.

Inner City Decay/urban decay

Those parts of large urban areas that lose significant portions of their populations as a result of change in industry or migration to suburbs. Because of these changes, the inner city loses its tax base and becomes a center of poverty.

Leap-frog development

development that occurs well beyond the limits of the current urbanized area, usually to take advantage of less expensive land (can lead to fragmented development)

Megacities

Cities, mostly characteristic of the developing world, where high population growth and migration have caused them to explode in population (pop. greater than 10 mil) most of these cities are plagued with pollution and poverty

Megalopolis

Several, metropolitan areas that were originally separate but that have joined together to form a large, sprawling urban complex.

Metacities

cities with populations over 20 million

New urbanism

A counter to urban sprawl. Development, urban revitalization, and suburban reforms that create walkable neighborhoods with a diversity of housing and jobs.

Node

geographical centers of activity, may be more than one in a city

Segregation

The process that results from suburbanization when affluent individuals leave the city center for homogeneous suburban neighborhoods

Slow-growth cities

urban communities where the planners have put into place smart growth initiatives to decrease the rate at which the city grows horizontally to avoid the adverse affects of sprawl

Suburban sprawl

development of new housing sites at relative low density in at locations that are not continuous to the existing built-up area

transportation-oriented development

A mixed use residential and commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport

Urban growth boundary

Geographical boundaries placed around a city to limit suburban growth within that city.

Walkability

is a measure of how friendly an area is to walking

World city

Centers of economic, culture, and political activity that are strongly interconnected and together control the global systems of finance and commerce.

Zones of Abandonment

areas that have been deserted in a city for economic or environmental reasons

Zoning practices

Legal restrictions on land use that determine what types of building and economic activities can take place in certain areas. In the US, areas are mostly commonly divided into separate zones of residential, retail, or industrial use.

African city model

generalized representation of urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa that reflect pre-colonial colonial and post colonial influences often with racial segregation (3 cbds)

Latin american city

Cities that owe much of their structure to colonialism, the rapid rise of industrialization, and continual rapid increases in population.

Primate city

A countrys leading city with a population that is disproportionately greater than other urban areas within the same country

Southeast Asian City Model (McGee Model)

The focal point of the city is the colonial port zone combined with the large commercial district that surrounds it. No formal CBD but found seperate clusters of elements of the CBD surrounding the port zone: the government zone, the Western commercial zone, the alien commercial zone, and the mixed land-use zone