APHG Unit 6 Vocab (copy)

Suburbanization

Population movement within Dallas, Tx towards the city’s boundaries.

Gravity Model

Reveals that the two largest cities in a country will have the most interaction between them.

Megacity

A city with over 10 million people.

Rank-size Rule

States that the population of a city is proportional to its rank in the urban hierarchy.

Metropolitan Statistical Area

An integrated economic and social unit with a large population nucleus.

Central Place Theory

Describes large cities as economic hubs with radiating connections for commerce.

Conurbation

A large urban area formed by merging several cities.

Annexation

The process of a city legally adding more land.

Meta city

A city with over 20 million people.

Periferico

A road that runs a ring around the central part of a city.

Range

The maximum distance a person is willing to travel to frequent a service.

Suburb

Frisco is a residential area on the outskirts of Dallas, which makes it a suburb.

Social heterogeneity

Race, ethnicity, and social class diversity are all part of one’s social heterogeneity.

Concentric Zone Model

Describes a city growing outward from a central location in a series of rings.

Livability

Refers to an area's good quality of life.

City

An urban settlement that has incorporated into an independent self-governing unit.

Counter-urbanization

Moving from New York city into rural Texas is called counter-urbanization.

Transit-oriented development

Mixed land use with high-density housing options located near light rail and subway stops.

Greenbelts

Grassy and forested land areas that are put between urban areas.

Megalopolis

A city with extended and connected cities.

Informal settlements or slums

Favelas in Brazil are informal settlements or slums.

Disamenity area

A city marked by extreme poverty and social problems such as Chicago would be a disamenity area.

Gentrification

Young single recent college graduates who move into distressed inner city neighborhoods and refurbish their new residences would be an example of gentrification.

Urban area

The most practical definition for an urban area is the central city and the continuously developed areas.

Sector Model

A model of urban structure with wedge-shaped sectors radiating from the central business district.

Threshold

The minimum number of people needed to support a service or business is called the threshold.

Sprawl

The spread of an urban area into the surrounding rural areas without restrictions is called sprawl.

Edge cities

Are busy with economic activity on the edge of large cities.

Municipality

A city or town with local government is a municipality.

New urban design

Indicates approaches to urban planning to create walkable and environmentally sustainable communities.

Bedroom communities

Residential areas where people commute to work.

Urbanization

The process of settlement formation, expansion, and change is called urbanization.

Primate city

The most important city in a country.

Squatter settlements

Temporary, inadequate, and illegal informal housing.

Shantytown

An informal or makeshift housing such as homeless encampments is called a shantytown.