UNIT 6 AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY - CITIES AND URBAM LAND USE PATTERNS AND PROCESSES

Urban Area

A city and its surrounding suburbs

Metropolitan Area

A city and the surrounding areas that are influenced economically and culturally by the city

Urban Sprawl

Areas of poorly planned, low - density development surrounding a city

Edge City

A type of community located on the outskirts of a larger city with commercial centers with office space, retail complexes, and other amenities typical of an urban center

Boomburb

A suburb that has grown rapidly into a large and sprawling city with more than 100,000 residents.

Exurb

A typically fast - growing community outside of or on the edge of a metropolitan area where the residents and community are closely connected to the central city and suburbs

Infill

Redevelopment that identifies and develops vacant parcels of land within previously built areas.

Rank Size Rule

Explanation of size of cities within a country; states the second largest city will be one - half the size of the largest, the third largest will be one - third the size of the largest and so on.

Primate City

The largest city in a country, which far exceeds the next city in population size and importance

Central Place Theory

A theory used to describe the spatial relationship between cities and their surrounding communities.

Threshold

In Central Place Theory, the number of people needed to support a business

Range

In Central Place Theory, the distance that someone is willing to travel for a good or service

Megacity

A city with a population over 10 Million

Metacity

A city with a population over 20 million

World Cities

A city that wields political, cultural, and economic influence on a global scale

Concentric Zone Model

A model of urban development depicting a city growing outward from a central business district in a series of concentric rings.

Sector Model

A model of urban development depicting a city with wedge - shaped sectors and divisions emanating from the central business district, generally along transit routes

Multiple Nuclei Model

A model of urban development depicting a city where growth occurs around the progressive integration of multiple nodes, not around one central business district

Nodes

The focal point of a functional region

Galactic City Model

A model of urban development depicting a city where economic activity has moved from the central business district towards loose coalitions of other urban areas and suburbs; also known as the peripheral model

Latin American City Model

A model of Urban Development depicting a city with a central business district, concentric rings, and sections stricken by poverty; also known as the Griffin - ford model

Disamenity Zones

High - poverty urban areas in disadvantages location containing steep slopes, flood prone ground, rail lines, landfills, or industry

Squatter Settlements

An informal housing area beset with overcrowding and poverty that features temporary homes often made of wood scraps or metal sheeting.

African City Model

A model of urban development depicting a city with three central business districts, growing outward in a series of concentric rings.

Southeast Asian City Model

A model of urban development depicting a city oriented around a port and lacking a formal central business district, growing outward in concentric rings and along multiple nodes.

Zoning

The process of dividing a city or urban area into zones within which only certain land uses are permitted.

Ecological Footprint

The impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources

Mixed Used Development

A single planned development designed to include multiple uses, such as residential, retail, educational, recreational, industrial, and office spaces

Walkability

A measure of how safe, convenient, and efficient it is to walk in an urban environment

Transportation - Oriented Development

The creation of dense, walkable, pedestrian - oriented, mixed - use communities centered around or located near a transit station

Smart Growth Policies

Policy implemented to create sustainable communities by placing development in convenient locations and designing it to be more efficient and environmentally responsible

Mixed Use Zoning

Zoning that permits multiple land uses in the same space or structure

Traditional Zoning

Zoning that creates separate zones based on land - use type or economic function such as various categories or residential (low- , medium-, or high - density), commercial, or industrial

New Urbanization

A school of thought that promotes designing growth to limit the amount of urban sprawl and preserve nature and usable farmland

Slow Growth Cities

City where planners have used smart - growth policies to decrease the rate at which the city grows outward.

Urban Growth Boundary

A boundary that separates urban land uses from rural land uses by limiting how far a city can expand.

Greenbelt

A ring of parkland, agricultural land, or other type of open space maintained around an urban area to limit sprawl

De Facto Segregation

Segregation that results from residential settlements pattern rather than prejudicial laws

Redlining

Practice by which a financial institution such as a bank refuses to offer home loans on the basis of a neighborhood’s racial or ethnic makeup

Blockbusting

A practice by real estate agents who would stir up concern that Black families would soon move into a neighborhood; the agents would convince white property owners to sell their houses at below - market prices.

Zones of Abandonment

Area that has been largely deserted due to lack of jobs, declines in land value, and failing demand.

Filtering

The process of neighborhood change in which housing vacated by more affluent groups passes down the income sale to lower - income groups

Inclusionary zoning Laws

Law that creates affordable housing by offering incentives for developers to set aside a minimum percentage of new housing construction to be allocated for low - income renters or buyers.

Land Tenure

The legal rights, as defined by a society, associated with owning land.

Eminent Domain

A government’s right to take over privately owned property for public use or interest

Environmental Injustice

The ways in which communities of color and poor people are more likely to be exposed to environmental burdens such as air pollution or contaminated water; also called environmental racism

Urban Renewal

The Nationwide movement that developed in the 190s and 1960s when U.S. cities were given massive federal grants to tear down and clear out slums as a means of rebuilding their downtowns.

Regional Planning

Planning conducted at a regional scale that seeks to coordinate the development of housing, transportation, urban infrastructure and economic activities.

Brownfields

Abandoned and polluted industrial site in a central city or suburb