Cities and Urban Land-use Patterns and Processes

AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY UNIT 6

Historical trends of urbanization

Urban populations have grown rapidly, especially since the Industrial Revolution, with the most significant increases occurring in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Processes that initiate and drive urbanization

Industrialization, economic opportunities, rural-to-urban migration, globalization, and improved infrastructure contribute to urbanization.

Site factor

Physical characteristics of a location, such as climate, water sources, topography, and natural resources, influencing urban development.

Situation factor

The relative location of a place based on its connections to other areas, such as transportation routes, trade networks, and accessibility.

Urbanization

The process of population growth and expansion in urban areas, often leading to increased infrastructure development and economic activities.

City proper

The legal or administrative boundaries of a city, distinguishing it from surrounding suburbs or metropolitan regions.

Urban area

A densely populated region with significant human settlement, including cities and suburbs, without strict legal boundaries.

Metropolitan area

A large-scale urban region encompassing a central city and surrounding suburbs, economically and socially connected.

Megacity

A city with a population exceeding 10 million, such as Tokyo, New York, or Mumbai.

Metacity

A city with over 20 million people, often characterized by extreme urban density, such as Jakarta or São Paulo.

World city

A globally influential city in finance, trade, culture, and politics, such as London, New York, or Tokyo.

Infrastructure

The physical and organizational structures necessary for urban function, including roads, utilities, public transport, and communication networks.

Challenges of rapid urbanization in stage 2-3 countries

Overcrowding, inadequate housing, insufficient infrastructure, unemployment, and environmental degradation.

Land tenure

The legal rights individuals or groups have to own, use, and transfer land.

Major urban challenges in the US

Affordable housing shortages, urban sprawl, traffic congestion, homelessness, and socioeconomic inequality.

Zone abandonment

When businesses or residents leave an area, leading to economic decline and neglected properties.

Redlining

A discriminatory practice where banks and lenders deny loans to people in minority communities based on racial or ethnic composition.

Redlining impacts

Segregation, disinvestment in minority neighborhoods, lower property values, and generational wealth disparities.

Blockbusting

A practice where real estate agents exploit racial fears to encourage white homeowners to sell their homes at low prices.

Restrictive covenants

Agreements in property deeds that prevent certain groups, often minorities, from purchasing homes in a neighborhood.

Gentrification

A process where wealthier individuals move into lower-income areas, leading to rising property values and displacement of original residents.

Inclusionary zoning laws

Policies requiring new housing developments to include affordable housing units for lower-income residents.

Environmental injustice

Unequal exposure of marginalized communities to environmental hazards such as pollution, poor sanitation, and toxic waste sites.

Food desert

An area where residents lack access to affordable and nutritious food due to the absence of grocery stores or fresh food markets.

Regional planning

A large-scale approach to urban and rural development that coordinates land use, infrastructure, and economic growth across multiple municipalities.

Brownfield redemption

The redevelopment and cleanup of abandoned or contaminated industrial sites to make them usable again.

Brownfields

Abandoned or underused industrial and commercial properties that may be contaminated but have potential for redevelopment.