UNIT 6 AP HUG

affordability

The maximum price that a buyer can afford to pay for a house or apartment

agricultural surplus

Crop yields that are sufficient to feed more people than the farmer and his or her family

anti-displacement tenant activists

Advocates for poor and working-class residents who are at risk of losing their affordable housing to new development

automobile cities

Cities whose size and shape are dictated by and almost require individual automobile ownership

below market rate housing

Housing that costs much less than the going rate

blockbusting

A practice in which realtors persuade white homeowners in a neighborhood to sell their homes by convincing them that the neighborhood is declining due to black families moving in

boomburb (boomburg)

A place with more than 100,000 residents that is not a core city in a metropolitan area; a large suburb with its own government

brownfield remediation

The process of removing or sealing off contaminants so that a site may be used again without any health concerns

brownfields

A property whose use or development may be complicated by the potential presence of hazardous substances or pollutants

built environment

The human-made space in which people live, work, and engage in leisure activities on a daily basis

capitalism

An economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit rather than owned and run by the state

central place

A settlement that makes certain types of products and services available to consumers

central place theory

A model, developed by Walter Christaller, that attempts to understand why cities are located where they are

city

A relatively large, densely populated settlement with a much larger population than rural towns and villages; cities serve as important commercial, governmental, and cultural hubs for their surrounding regions

communism

An economic and political system in which all property is publicly owned and managed

compact design

Development that grows up (in the form of taller buildings) rather than out (in the form of urban sprawl)

concentric zone model

A model of a city’s internal organization developed by E. W. Burgess that shows rings of factory production and different residential zones radiating outward from a central business district

de facto segregation

Racial segregation that is not supported by law but is still apparent

decentralize

In an urban context, to move business operations from core city areas into outlying areas such as suburbs

diverse housing options

Policy that encourages building quality housing for people and families of all life stages and income levels in a range of prices within a neighborhood

ecological footprint

The total amount of natural resources used and their impact on the natural environment

edge city

A concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment that developed in the suburbs, outside of a city’s traditional downtown or central business district

environmental justice

The movement to fix environmental discrimination

environmental racism

Occurs when areas inhabited by low-income people of color are targeted for environmental contamination

exclusionary zoning

Zoning that attempts to keep low- to moderate-income people out of a neighborhood

exurb

A semirural district located beyond the suburbs that is often inhabited by well-to-do families

Farmland Protection Policy Act (FPPA)

U.S. law that grants municipalities oversight over federally funded development projects on farmland

first urban revolution

The agricultural and socioeconomic innovations that led to the rise of the earliest cities

fiscal imbalance

Occurs when a government must spend more than it receives in taxes

fiscal squeeze

Occurs when city revenues cannot keep up with increasing demands for city services and expenditures on decaying urban infrastructure

fiscal zoning

The practice of using local land-use regulation to preserve and possibly enhance the local property tax base

galactic city model or peripheral model

A model of a city’s internal organization in which the central business district remains central, but multiple shopping areas, office parks, and industrial districts are scattered throughout the surrounding suburbs and linked by metropolitan expressway systems

gated community

Privately governed and highly secure residential area within the bounds of a city; often has a fence or a gate surrounding it

gentrification

The displacement of lower-income residents by higher-income residents as an area or neighborhood improves

gravity model

The idea that the closer two places are, the more they will influence each other

greenbelt

A zone of grassy, forested, or agricultural land separating urban areas

Griffin-Ford model

A model of the internal structure of the Latin American city developed by Ernst Griffin and Larry Ford

housing choice voucher program

A federal government program to assist very-low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled with affordable, decent, safe, and sanitary housing

Hoyt model or sector model

A model of a city’s internal organization, developed by Homer Hoyt, that focuses on transportation and communication as the drivers of the city’s layout

inclusionary zoning (IZ)

Municipal and county planning ordinances that require a given share of new construction to be affordable for people with low to moderate incomes

infill development

The building of new retail, business, or residential spaces on vacant or underused parcels in already developed areas

land tenure

The right to own or hold property; it defines the ways in which rights to that property are managed

metropolis

A very large and densely populated city, particularly the capital or major city of a country or region

metropolitan statistical area

In the United States, a region with at least one urbanized area as its core

mortgage

A loan that is taken out to purchase a home

multiple-nuclei model

A model of a city’s internal organization, developed by Chauncy Harris and Edward Ullman, showing residential districts organized around several nodes (nuclei) rather than one central business district

New Urbanism

An approach to city planning that focuses on fostering European-style cities of dense settlements, attractive architecture, and housing of different types and prices within walking distance to shopping, restaurants, jobs, and public transportation

NIMBYs

Abbreviation for “not in my backyard”; term for a person who tries to prevent the construction of affordable housing and other types of development in their neighborhood

perceived density

The general impression of the estimated number of people present in a given area

phytoremediation

The removal of contaminants with plant species that react with or degrade contaminants or draw up contaminants from the soil into shoots and leaves

primate city

A city that is much larger than any other city in the country and that dominates the country’s economic, political, and cultural life

range

In central place theory, the distance people will travel to acquire a good

rank-size rule

The population of a settlement is inversely proportional to its rank in the urban hierarchy

redevelopment

A set of activities intended to revitalize an area that has fallen on hard times

redlining

The practice of identifying high-risk neighborhoods on a city map and refusing to lend money to people who want to buy property in those neighborhoods

scattered developments

Subdivisions or developments that do not abut existing settlements and that remove agricultural land from production

second urban revolution

The industrial innovations in mining and manufacturing that led to increased urban growth

site

An absolute location of a place on Earth

situation

The relative location of a place in reference to its surrounding features, or its regional position with reference to other places

slow-growth city

A city that changes its zoning laws to decrease the rate at which the city spreads horizontally, with the goal of avoiding the negative effects of sprawl

smart growth

Policies that combat regional sprawl by addressing issues of population density and transportation

social controls

Formal or informal institutions that help to maintain law and order in a place

socioeconomic stratification

The structuring of society into distinct socioeconomic classes, including leadership (for instance, a government or ruling class) that exercise control over goods and people

sprawl

The tendency of cities to grow outward in an unchecked manner

squatter settlement

An area of degraded, seemingly temporary, inadequate, and often illegal housing

streetcar suburb

A settlement outside of a city with streetcar lines; the streetcars take residents into and out of the city easily

suburb

A populated area on the outskirts of a city

suburbanization

The movement of people from urban core areas to the surrounding outskirts of a city

threshold

In central place theory, the number of people required to support businesses

urban

relating to a city

urban area

Any self-governing place in the United States that contains at least 2500 people

urban cluster

In the United States, an urban area with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants

urban footprint

The spatial extent of an urban area’s impacts on the natural environment

urban hearth areas

Regions in which the world’s first cities evolved

urban heat island

A mass of warm air in cities, generated by urban building materials and human activities, that sits over a city

urban hierarchy

A ranking of cities, with the largest and most powerful cities at the top of the hierarchy

urban renewal

Large-scale redevelopment of the built environment in downtown and older inner-city neighborhoods

urban risk divide

The idea that disasters and disaster risk become urban phenomena as the world’s population becomes increasingly concentrated in large cities

urban system

A set of interdependent cities or urban places connected by networks

urbanization

The movement of people from rural areas to cities

urbanization rate

The percentage of a nation’s population living in towns and cities

urbanized area

In the United States, an urban area with 50,000 people or more

violent crime

A category of crime that includes murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault

white flight

The mass movement of white people from the city to the suburbs

world city

A world center of trade, finance, information, and migration

zoning

The classification of land according to restrictions on its use and development

zoning regulations

Laws that dictate how land can be used

micropolitan statistical area

In the United States, a region with one or more urban clusters of at least 10,000 people as its cores