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Ecumene
The permanent and known inhabited portion of the earth’s surface
Urbanization
The ongoing development of towns and cities
Settlement
A place with permanent human population
Percent Urban
Portion of population that lives in cities as compared to rural areas
Borchert’s Model of Urban Growth
A model developed by geographer John Borchert that describes urban growth based on transportation technology.
City
A place where there is a relative concentration of people
Metropolitan Area
A city and adjacent areas across which population density is high and continuous.
Megapolis
A chain of interconnected cities
Megacities
Cities with 10 million people or more
Metacity
A city with a population of over 20 million people
World City
A city that exerts influence far beyond its national boundaries
Suburbanization
The process of people moving, usually from cities, to residential areas on the outskirts of cities
Boomburbs
Large, fast-growing suburbs
Edge City
A suburb that grows to the point that is develops its own economic core and can exist independently of the city it borders
Counter-Urbanization
When people move from urban to rural areas
Exurbs
Wealthy commuter communities located beyond the suburbs
Gravity Model
Places that are larger and closer together will have more interaction that places that are smaller and farther away from each other.
Rank-Size Rule
The population of a city or town will be inversely proportional to its rank in the urban hierarchy
Primate Cities Rule
If the largest city in an urban system is more than twice as large as the next city, the largest city is said to have primacy or be a “primate city”
Central Place Theory
A model that explains the size and spacing of centers that specialize in different goods and services.
Central Place
A location where people go to receive goods
Threshhold
The size of population necessary for an particular service to exist and remain profitbale
Range
The distance people will travel to obtain specific goods and services
Urban Morphology
The physical layout/structure of a city
Functional Zonation
The idea that zones/regions of an urban area have specific and distinct purposes
Central Business District
The commercial heart of a city
Infastructure
The basic organizational structures and facilities that cities need in order to operate
Infilling
Adding services and housing after the city has already been built
Culture of Povery
When poverty is persistent and people become accustomed to it
Redlining
The process by which banks refused loans to those who wanted to purchase/improve properties in certain urban areas
Filtering
The change in use of a house from being a single-family home to a multi-family homes with rented units leading to abandonment
Urban Decay
Deterioration of an urban area due to neglect or age
Zones of Abandonment
Regions of the city that have declined so much that they have been abandoned
Squatter Settlement
Housing built on land that people do not have legal right to settle on
Disamenity Zones
The poorest parts of cities that are not connected to city services and are often controlled by gangs
Slums
A district of a city marked by extreme poverty and inferior living conditions
Homelessness
The condition of not having a permanent place to live
Urban Redevelopment
Renovating a site by removing the existing landscape and building from the ground up
Gentrification
The process of wealthier residents moving into a neighborhood, renovating properties, and making it unaffordable for existing residents
Ghettos
Areas of poverty occupied by a minority group as result of discrimination
Blockbusting
When people of one ethnic group are frightened into selling their homes at low prices when they hear a family of another race or ethnicity is moving in
Gated Communities
Walled or fences neighborhoods with limited access
Food Desert
A community where there is no access to fresh, healthy, affordable food options because there is a lack of grocery stores or farmers markets
The Informal Economy
The portion of the economy that is not taxed, regulated, or managed by the government
Urban Canyons
Streets lined with tall buildings that can channel and intensify wind and prevent natural sunlight from reaching the ground
Urban Heat Island
A portion of the city that is warmer than surrounding areas due to the concentration of buildings
Urban Sprawl
The rapid spread of development outward from the inner city
Brownfield
An abandoned industrial property that has the potential to be a hazard or pollutant
Smart Growth Policies
A set of policies aimed to preserve farmland and other open, undeveloped spaces near a city
Greenbelts
Areas of undeveloped land around an urban area
New Urbanism
A movement in urban planning that emerged in the 1990’s with goals including reducing urban sprawl, increasing affordable housing, and creating livable neighborhoods
Mixed-Use Neighborhoods
Neighborhoods with a mix of residential and commercial buildings
Transportation-Oriented Development
Urban planning designed to maximize access to public transport
