Year 8 - Geography Unit 2 Glossary

Agglomeration

An extended city (continuous urban areas) consisting of the built-up areas of a central location and its suburbs.

Agrarian Revolution

Technical innovation in the 17th century in farming techniques in Britain and Europe that improved crop yields from subsistence to surplus.

Arable

Capable of producing crops; suitable for farming.

Central business district (CBD)

The commercial and, often, geographical heart of a city.

City

A large settlement which provides a great variety of specialised goods and services.

Conurbation

The continuous built-up urban areas formed when two or more cities spread and merge into each other, for example, BOSNYWASH (Boston, New York and Washington, DC)

Decentralisation

The tendency of industry to be located outside of a central city area.

Distribution

The way in which something is spread over an area.

Distribution patterns

A pattern which highlights the spread of something of an area.

FIFO

Fly-in, fly-out worker.

Function

The purpose or reason why a settlement exists: in an urban settlement, these functions include administrative, residential commercial, industrial and recreational functions; in a rural settlement, these functions focus on farming/agricultural activities.

Hamlet

A small rural settlement: generally a group of buildings that may contain a general store or community hall.

High-density housing

Housing that accommodates a large number of people relative to the land area, e.g. high-rise apartments.

Hukou migrant

An internal migrant in China with local residency rights.

Industrial Revolution

A period of rapid economic change in Britain and Europe in the mid-18th century, brought about by advances in mechanisation (machines) that vastly improved production (manufacturing).

Infastructure

The basic facilities and systems that serve a country, city or area, for example: transportation and communication systems.

Interstate

Between or among states.

Liveability

Measures the quality of life available through living in a place, including health and well-being, equity, inclusivity, safety and security, environmental quality, education services, retail services, recreational facilities, cultural activities and a diversity of choice and opportunities.

Low-density housing

Housing that accommodates a small number of people relative to the land area, for example: detached houses on large blocks.

Medium-density housing

Housing that accommodates more people that low-density housing but fewer that high-density housing, for example: townhouses.

Megacity (megalopolis)

A metropolitan area which is extremely large and complex, with a great number and specialised goods and services, and an extremely large population.

Metropolis

A large city which is other the capital of a country or region; it has complex and specialised goods and services, and often has a central focus called the CBD.

Metropolitan area

A region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding areas, sharing industry, infrastructure and housing.

Net Interstate Migration (NIM)

The net gain or loss of population through the movement of people from one state/territory to another.

Net Overseas Migration (NOM)

The net gain or loss of population through immigration to, and emigration from, a particular country.

Non-Hukou migrant

An internal migrant in China with local-residency rights. Collectively , they are often referred to as the 'floating population' because of the transient nature of their residency.

Population density

The number of people who live in an area, for example people per square kilometre, or people per hectare.

Push-pull factors

A push factor is a condition that drives the movement of people away from a place; a pull factor is a condition that attracts the movement of people to a place.

Rural

An area by low-population density and few services and industries; the majority of the working population is engaged in agricultural activities.

Rural-urban fringe

Outer edge of the suburbs, where it meets the countryside.

Sea change

Migrants moving to lifestyle locations in coastal locations.

Settlement

Either rural or urban: a group of buildings where people live and work. The larger and more complex a settlement, the greater the number and types of buildings, often extending over a much wider area.

Slum

A heavily populated urban area characterised by substandard housing and squalor.

Special Economic Zone (SEZ)

An urban area whose purpose is to encourage foreign investment. Most-commonly known description for several of China's megacities.

Standard of living

A measure of the economic well-being of people.

Suburbanisation

The outward growth of urban development which results in some of the villages/hamlets around the urban fringe being engulfed.

Sustainability

The capacity of the built and natural environment to continue to support our lives, and the lives of other living creatures, into the future.

Town

An urban area larger than a village but smaller than a city; it has a variety of shops and places that provide goods and services.

Transit City

A city relying on its transport networks for transporting people and goods.

Tree Change

Migrants moving to lifestyle locations in a semi-rural setting.

Urban

An area characterised by high population density and a variety of services and industry; employment is mainly in non-agricultural activities.

Urbanisation

The process of economic and social change in which an increasing proportion of the population of a country or region lives in urban areas.

Urban agglomeration

An extended town area consisting of a built-up central place and its suburbs.

Urban concentration

An increasing proportion of a country's population concentrated in urban areas.

Urban consolidation

Planning policies intended to make more efficient use of existing urban infrastructure by encouraging development within existing urbanised areas rather than non-urbanised land. This process would limit urban sprawl.

Urban decay

The deterioration of existing buildings and the subsequent degradation of surrounding areas.

urban renewal (gentrification)

Process by which wealthier people move in to renovate and restore housing in the inner city which was formerly home to lower income earners.

Urban hierarchy

A ranking of settlements according to their side in population.

Urban sprawl

The (often unplanned) outward growth of cities.

Village

A group of houses in a rural area and associated buildings providing some goods and services; larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town.