Unit 6: Cities and Urban Land Use Patterns & Processes - AP Human Geography 2024-25

CBD

central business district

synekism

conditions that come from living together in a particular home and place

site

absolute location

situation

relative location

urban morphology

the layout of the city (physical)

rank-size rule

the population of a city will be inversely proportional to the rank in the hierarchy

suburbanization

lands previously outside the city becomes urbanized

megacities

cities that have large populations, vast territory, and strained inadequate architecture

shantytowns

unplanned developments of crude dwellings and shelters

disamenity sector

the poorest parts of a city

zoning laws

laws that divide a city and designate development

redlining

the process of banks denying people who live in redlined neighborhoods loans

gentrification

the rehabilitation of low-income neighborhoods

new urbanism

development, revitalization, and suburban reforms to create neighborhoods

gated communities

fenced in neighborhoods with controlled access and privatized police

urban geopolitics

the impact of global-scale geopolitical development on the character of cities

urbicide

the deliberate killing of cities

informal economy

economy not taxed and not counted toward the gross national income

globalization

set of processes and outcomes that occur on the global scale

alpha cities

cities that have a global capacity to provide services in the world economy

No primate city?

United States and Germany