UNIT 6 KBAT

African city model

Shows how cities in Africa have a colonial center, a traditional market, and squatter settlements on the edges.

Annexation

When a city adds land from nearby areas into its boundaries.

Bid-rent theory

Land closer to the city center is more expensive because more people want to be there.

Blockbusting

When real estate agents scare white people into selling homes cheap, then resell to Black families at high prices.

Boomburbs

Fast-growing suburban cities that are big but not the main city.

Brownfields

Abandoned or polluted industrial sites.

Built area (landscape)

Land that has buildings, roads, and other human-made structures.

Central business district (CBD)

The downtown area where businesses and offices are concentrated.

Central place theory

Explains why cities and towns are located where they are and how they serve surrounding areas.

Census tract

Small area used by the government to collect data about people.

City-state

A city that acts like an independent country (like ancient Athens).

Concentric zone model

A model showing a city in rings, with the CBD in the center.

Conurbation

A big urban area formed when cities grow and merge together.

Density gradient

How the number of people per area changes as you move out from the city center.

Disamenity zones

Poor areas in a city with few services and often unsafe conditions.

Edge city

A new city area on the edge of a bigger city, with offices, malls, and homes.

Eminent domain

The government’s power to take private land for public use (with payment).

Exurbanization (exurbs)

People moving even farther out than the suburbs.

Filtering (filter process)

When wealthy people move out of homes and poorer people move in.

Food desert

A place with limited access to affordable and healthy food.

Galactic (peripheral) model

A model showing a city with a central area and edge cities connected by highways.

Gateway city

A city that connects two places, like immigrants arriving or goods being traded.

Gentrification

When wealthier people move into poor areas, raising property values and pushing out low-income residents.

Gravity model

Predicts interaction between places based on size and distance (like cities attracting people).

Greenbelts

Areas of open land around a city where building is restricted.

Infilling

Building on empty land within a city instead of expanding outward.

Infrastructure

Roads, water, power, and systems that support a city.

Latin American city model

Shows a city with a strong CBD and spine of business leading to wealthy neighborhoods.

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

A large area with a city and its suburbs, used for census data.

Megacities

Cities with over 10 million people.

Megalopolis

A huge area where several large cities have grown together.

Metacities

Cities with more than 20 million people.

Mixed-use neighborhoods

Areas where homes, shops, and offices are close together.

Multiple nuclei model

A city with several centers of activity, not just one CBD.

New urbanism

City design that promotes walkable neighborhoods and mixed-use buildings.

Planned community

A town built from scratch with a clear plan.

Primate city

A city that is much bigger than any other city in the country.

Public housing

Housing owned by the government for low-income people.

Range

The distance people are willing to travel for a service.

Rank-size rule

A pattern where the second-largest city is half the size of the largest, and so on.

Redlining

Denying loans or insurance to people in certain neighborhoods (often based on race).

Reurbanization

Moving back into the city after living in the suburbs.

Sanitation

The systems for keeping water clean and handling waste.

Sector model

A model showing a city in slices, with sectors of housing and industry.

Segregation

Separation of people based on race, income, or other factors.

Slum (favela)

A very poor, crowded neighborhood with bad housing and little infrastructure.

Smart growth

Building cities in ways that reduce sprawl and protect the environment.

Southeast Asia city model

A city model with a port zone, colonial influence, and squatter areas.

Squatter settlement

Homes built illegally on land people don’t own.

Urban sprawl

When cities spread out over more land in a messy or unplanned way.

Suburbanization

When people move from the city to the suburbs.

Threshold

The minimum number of people needed to support a service.

Transit-oriented development

Building homes and businesses around public transport.

Urban growth boundaries

Limits placed on where cities can grow to stop sprawl.

Urban heat island

Cities are warmer than nearby rural areas because of buildings and pavement.

Urban hierarchy

A ranking of cities based on size and services.

Urban renewal

Rebuilding run-down city areas.

Urbanized area

A place with a high population density and lots of development.

White flight

When white people move out of neighborhoods as Black or minority families move in.

World (global) city

A major city that influences the world’s economy and culture.

Zones of abandonment

Areas in a city that have been deserted or neglected.

Zoning ordinance

Rules about how land in a city can be used (like housing, business, or parks).

Hinterland(Market Area)

The land surrounding the central place.