Unit 6 APHUG vocab terms

Central Business District (CBD)

The commercial and business center of a city. Example: Manhattan in New York City.

Traditional CBD

Older part of a city with small shops and low-rise buildings.

Colonial CBD

The part of a city built by colonizers with European styles. Example: Nairobi's colonial-era buildings.

Metropolitan Statistical Area

A city of 50,000+ people plus surrounding counties linked socially/economically.

Micropolitan Statistical Area

An urban area with a core between 10,000-50,000 people.

Market Area

The area a service pulls customers from. Related to range and threshold.

Periodic Markets

Markets that pop up on certain days. Common in rural Africa.

Synekism

The interaction that causes cities to grow. From the Greek for 'together'.

Urban

Areas with high population density and built environment.

City

A large urban settlement with a governing body.

Agricultural Village

A small rural community dependent on farming.

Agricultural Surplus

Extra food that allows non-farm jobs to develop.

Social Stratification

Society's class layers—rich, middle, poor.

Social Heterogeneity

Diverse social backgrounds found in cities.

Leadership Class

The elite that make decisions and control wealth.

First Urban Revolution

The first time people formed cities, around 3,500 BCE.

Mesopotamia

One of the first urban hearths, in present-day Iraq.

Nile River Valley

Urban hearth in Egypt.

Indus River Valley

Urban hearth in Pakistan/India. Example: Mohenjo-Daro.

Huang He and Wei River Valleys

Early Chinese urban hearth.

Mesoamerica

Urban hearth in Central America. Example: Teotihuacan.

Urban Hearth

The origin of the first cities.

Secondary Hearth

An area where an innovation spreads and develops. Example: Greece for urban planning.

Acropolis

High city in Greek towns with temples. Example: Athens.

Agora

Marketplace in ancient Greece.

Site

The physical characteristics of a location.

Situation

A location's relative position to other places.

Threshold

Minimum population needed to support a service.

Range

Maximum distance people will travel for a service.

Nodal Region

Area centered around a focal point like a CBD.

Urban Morphology

The study of a city's shape and structure.

Forum

Roman equivalent of a Greek agora.

Trade Area

Region from which a city draws customers.

Rank-Size Rule

Country's nth largest city is 1/n the size of the largest. Example: USA.

Primate City

A city more than twice as large as any other in a country. Example: Paris, France.

Central Place Theory

Explains distribution of services, with hexagonal market areas.

Hexagonal Hinterlands

Ideal market shape in Central Place Theory.

Central City

Core city distinct from suburbs. Example: Chicago.

Suburb

Residential area outside the central city.

Exurbs

Communities beyond suburbs, often rural but connected to the city. Example: Loudoun County, VA.

Streetcar Suburbs

Suburbs that developed along streetcar lines.

Urbanization

Growth of cities and urban population.

Suburbanization

Movement from cities to suburbs.

Conurbation

A large urban region formed from merging cities. Example: Randstad in the Netherlands.

Counter-Urbanization

Movement from cities to rural areas.

Deurbanization

Population loss from cities.

Edge Cities

Suburban business areas. Example: Tysons Corner, VA.

Pedestrian City

City where walking is prioritized.

Galactic City

Decentralized post-industrial city with edge cities. Example: Detroit.

Megacities

Cities with 10+ million people. Example: Tokyo.

Megalopolis

Merged large cities. Example: Boston-Washington D.C.

Satellite City

Smaller cities near larger ones but with some independence.

World City

Cities with global influence. Example: London.

Global City

Cities integrated into the global economy. Example: NYC.

Inner City

Central urban area often facing socio-economic challenges.

Shantytowns

Poor settlements with informal housing. Example: Kibera in Kenya.

Favelas

Informal housing in Brazil. Example: Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro.

Ghettos

Segregated urban areas for minority groups.

Underclass

People experiencing long-term poverty and exclusion.

Barrios

Spanish-speaking neighborhoods in U.S. cities.

Brownfields

Polluted industrial sites needing cleanup.

Greenbelts

Open land around cities to prevent sprawl. Example: London.

Zone

Area with specific land use rules.

Informal Economy Zone

Areas with unregulated jobs like street vendors.

Disamenity Zones

Poorest city areas lacking services.

Functional Zonation

Division of a city by function (residential, commercial, etc.).

Zone of Transition

Area between CBD and residential zones with mixed use.

Zoning Laws

Rules governing land use in cities.

Urban Redlining

Denying services based on neighborhood racial makeup.

Blockbusting

Selling homes cheaply due to racial fear, causing turnover.

Commercialization

Turning city areas into commercial zones.

Redevelopment

Rebuilding parts of a city.

Eminent Domain

Government taking private land for public use.

Gentrification

Renovating urban areas, often displacing poorer residents. Example: Harlem, NYC.

Teardowns

Demolishing old homes to build bigger ones.

McMansions

Large, generic, often gaudy suburban homes.

Urban Sprawl

Uncontrolled expansion of urban areas. Example: Atlanta.

New Urbanism

Movement promoting walkable, diverse neighborhoods. Example: Celebration, Florida.

Gated Communities

Secured residential neighborhoods.

Municipal

Relating to city or town governance.

Municipality

A local government (city/town) with authority.

Annexation

Adding land to a city.

Incorporation

Creating a new local government (new city).

Urbicide

Deliberate destruction of a city (often in war). Example: Sarajevo.

Spaces of Consumption

City areas focused on buying and entertainment. Example: Times Square.

Griffin-Ford Model

Latin American city model with a spine and disamenity zones. Example: Mexico City.

McGee Model

Southeast Asian city model with mixed land use. Example: Jakarta.

Borchert's Model

Describes urban growth by transportation epochs.

Burgess Model (Concentric Zone Model)

Urban land use in rings. Example: Early Chicago.

Galactic City Model

Post-industrial city with edge cities. Example: Detroit.

Peripheral Model

Similar to Galactic City Model. Example: Atlanta.

Concentric Zone Model

Same as Burgess Model.

Sector Model

Urban development in wedges/sectors. Example: Chicago.

Gravity Model

Predicts interaction between cities based on size and distance.

Multiple Nuclei Model

Cities develop with multiple centers. Example: Los Angeles.

Urban Canyons

Streets with tall buildings that block light/wind. Example: Manhattan.

Urban Heat Island

Urban areas warmer due to concrete, pollution. Example: Phoenix.

Urban Wildlife

Animals adapted to city life. Example: Coyotes in Chicago.