Option G - Urban Environments

Site

The actual physical location of a settlement (e.g. land, water supply, soil)

Situation

The location of a settlement in relation to other places (e.g. nearby rivers, trade routes)

Isolated dwelling

An individual household where no services are available and the resident travel to local villages for low order goods

Hamlet

A very small group of houses with few or no services (10-100 people)

Village

A small settlement with limited services (<10,000 people)

Town

A larger settlement with a range of services (<100,000 people)

City

A major settlement with extensive services, infrastructure or official city status (>100,000 people)

Conurbation

A continuous urban area formed by the merging of towns and cities

Metropolis

A large urban agglomeration (>1 million)

Millionaire city

A city with over 1 million people

Megacity

A city with over 10 million people

Megalopolis

A chain of connected cities and conurbations that form one massive urban area

Settlement Hierarchy

The ranking of settlements based on size, population, and the range of services they provide

Threshold

Minimum demand/sales a business needs to stay in operation

Suburbanization

Outward growth of towns and cities to engulf surrounding villages and rural areas

Gentrification

The process of wealthier people moving into a poorer urban area, improving housing and services, which often leads to the displacement of lower-income residents

Counter-urbanization

A process involving the movement of population away from larger urban areas to smaller urban areas

Urban renewal

The redevelopment of run-down areas in a city, involving new buildings, infrastructure, and public spaces to revitalize the area

Urban circular city

A sustainable city in which there are recycling, reuse, and reeducation or resources, renewable form of energy, and measures taken to reduce the ecological footprint

Urban sprawl

The rapid expansion of the geographic extent of cities/towns, often characterized by low-density housing and increased reliance on private cars for transportation

Nodality

The degree of connectedness a location has in relation to transport communications

Sphere of influence

The total area from which people are willing to travel to an urban function

Bid rent

The value of land for different purposes (e.g. commercial, residential)

Peak land value intersection

The region within a settlement with the greatest land value and commerce

Industrialization

The growth of manufacturing and industry in a region, often leading to urban growth, job creation, and infrastructure development

Deindustrialization

The decline of manufacturing industries, usually in HICs, leading to job losses, economic change, and sometimes urban decline

Positive segregation

Where groups of people of the same ethnicity chose to group close together, often for support or to be close to facilities

Negative segregation

When groups of people are forced to live in close proximity due to being excluded from other areas, often due to cost or red lining

Urban growth

The increase in the number of people living in urban areas

Urbanization

The increase in the % (or proportion) of a population living in an urban area

Centripetal population movement

The movement of people towards the city from the countryside

Natural increase

Birth rate is higher than death rate

Centrifugal movement

The outward population movement away from the center of a city

Urban Heat Island Effect

When urban areas are significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas due to human activities and built surfaces (like concrete and asphalt) that absorb and retain heat