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.

Functional Zonation

Dividing a city into areas with specific functions (e.g., residential, commercial, industrial).

Central Business District (CBD)

The commercial and business center of a city, often characterized by high-rise buildings and high land values.

Bid-Rent Theory

The concept that land value and rent decrease with distance from the CBD, affecting land use patterns.

Residential Land Use

Areas designated for housing, varying in density based on urban models and income levels.

Residential Density and Income

Higher-income groups often live in lower-density, suburban or spacious areas; lower-income groups are typically in higher-density urban areas.

Culture Influences Residential Density

Cultural preferences and social norms shape housing patterns, such as multigenerational living or high-rise apartments.

Burgess Concentric Zone Model

A model describing urban land use in concentric rings around the CBD, with zones of transition and residential areas.

Hoyt Sector Model

A model showing urban growth along transportation routes, with sectors for industry, housing, and business.

Harris & Ullman Multiple Nuclei Model

A model proposing that cities develop multiple centers of activity rather than a single CBD.

Galactic City Model

A model illustrating a decentralized city with suburban areas connected by highways, featuring edge cities.

Griffin-Ford Latin American City Model

A model emphasizing the CBD’s importance and the residential quality decreasing outward, with squatter settlements on the periphery.

Disamenity Zones

Poor areas within a city often lacking access to city services, frequently found in developing countries.

Squatter Settlements

Informal housing areas lacking infrastructure, often found in developing cities.

de Blij African City Model

A model of African cities showing three CBDs: traditional, colonial, and market zones.

McGee Southeast Asian City Model

A model describing Southeast Asian cities with a focal port zone, growing along commercial corridors.

Urban Sprawl

The uncontrolled expansion of urban areas, leading to environmental and infrastructural challenges.

Edge City

A concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional downtown.

Livability

The quality of life in an urban area, influenced by safety, amenities, and environment.

Ecological Footprint

The environmental impact of a city’s population, measured by resource consumption and waste.

Boomburb

A rapidly growing suburban city with urban characteristics but lacking a defined downtown.

Exurb

A residential area beyond the suburbs, often with a rural feel.

Addressing Sprawl

Infill development, smart growth, and zoning strategies to control urban expansion.

Smart Growth Policies

Urban planning to promote sustainable, compact development, and reduce sprawl.

Traditional Zoning

Regulates land use based on separation of residential, commercial, and industrial areas.

Mixed-Use Zoning

Zoning that allows for residential, commercial, and industrial uses in the same area.

Mixed-Use Development (MUD)

An approach that blends residential, commercial, cultural, and industrial uses.

Walkability

The measure of how friendly an area is to walking, impacting health and environment.

Mixed-Income Neighborhoods

Communities designed for diverse income groups to live together.

Slow-Growth Cities

Cities that control urban expansion to prevent overdevelopment.

Urban Growth Boundaries

Limits set to control the expansion of cities and protect open spaces.

New Urbanism

An urban design movement promoting walkable, diverse, and sustainable communities.

Transportation-Oriented Development (TOD)

A strategy focusing on high-density, mixed-use areas around transit hubs.

Urban Greenbelt

A zone of parks and green space surrounding a city to limit sprawl.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

A system where consumers purchase shares of a local farm’s harvest.

Urban Farming

The practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or near urban areas.

Urban Planning & Design (Pros and Cons)

Pros: Improved quality of life, efficiency; Cons: Can be restrictive or exclusionary.

Central Place Theory

A theory explaining the distribution of cities based on size, services, and distance.

Gravity Model

A model predicting interaction between places based on population size and distance.

Rank-Size Rule

A pattern where a country’s nth-largest city is 1/nth the population of the largest city.

Primate City

A city that dominates a country’s economy, culture, and government, often much larger than others