Urban area
built up area that forms part of a city
Site
actual land on which a settlement was established
Function
Main economic activity that takes place on a site/urban area
Formal sector
taxed activities ie. working in an office or factory
Informal sector
untaxed activities and unregulated jobs
Deindustrialization
Process of social and economic change with reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a city/country
Post industrial city
A city's economy shifted from industrial (secondary) to mainly offering services (tertiary)
Informal housing or slums
Residential areas that have been built illegally by residents (usually poor state)
Cycle of deprivation
The persistence of poverty and other socio-economic disadvantages from generation to generation
Urbanization
Increase in proportion of people living in towns and cities versus rural areas
Centripetal
movement towards an urban area
Centrifugal
movement away from an urban area
Suburbanization
Outward growth from cities and towns to engulf villages and rural areas - gets bigger
Counter-urbanization
migration from urban to rural areas - gets smaller or stays the same
Re-urbanization/urban renewal
development of activities to increase residential population densities within the existing built-up area of a city
Gentrification
Arrival of wealthier immigrants or residents to an existing urban district, with an economic dimension of retailing and services
Central business district
Is the commercial and economic core of a city
Range
The maximum distance people are willing to travel for a good or a service
Threshold
The minimum number of people needed to support the service
Low order goods
necessity goods or convenience goods bought frequently, such as bread, newspapers
High order goods
luxury or shopping goods bought or used infrequently, for example watches, cars
Sphere of influence
area served by a settlement
Urban ecological footprint
The amount of land required to sustain a population with the resources they need, and to assimilate their waste.
Urban circular system
A sustainable city with recycling, reuse and reduction of resources, renewable forms of energy, and measures taken to reduce the ecological footprint.
Resilient city design
vulnerable cities to climate change, mitigation, adaptation urban policies and design
Albedo
amount of solar energy coming in reflects back into the atmosphere by different Earth's surface
Microclimate
Distinct climate of a small-scale area such as a garden, park, valley or a part of a city
Urban heat islands
urban areas where temperatures are higher than rural areas
Bid rent theory
economic theory to how the price and demand on real estate changes as the distance towards the CBD increases
Vertical zoning
where the same building is used for different functions on different floors
Footloose industry
Industry that locate in a wide variety of places without a significant change in its cost of transportation, land, labor, and capital
Greenfield site
A plot of land, often in a rural or on the edge of an urban area, that has not yet been subject to any building development.
Brownfield site
Abandoned, run-down or under‑used industrial buildings and land that may be contaminated but have potential for redevelopment.