Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes

These vocabulary flashcards cover the fundamental terms of urban geography, city models, and urban design initiatives as presented in Unit 6: Cities and Urban Land-Use.

Megacity

A metropolitan area with a population of more than $10$ million people.

Metacity

A term coined by the United Nations to describe a metropolitan area with more than $20$ million people.

Urbanization

The process of the development of dense concentrations of people into settlements.

Urbanized Area

As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, a densely developed territory that has a population of $50,000$ or greater.

Urban Cluster

A category recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau for areas with a population between $2,500$ and $49,999$..

Metropolitan Area

Includes a city and the surrounding areas that are influenced economically and culturally by the city.

Suburbs

The less densely populated residential and commercial areas surrounding a city.

Site

The actual place or location of a settlement and the land on which the city was built, including landforms, climate, and availability of water.

Situation

The relative location of a city and the connections between its site and other sites, often dictating its growth and functions.

Fall Line

A narrow strip of land marking the geological boundary between an upland region and a plain, where waterfalls and rapids provided power for early factories.

Gravity Model

A model stating that the level of spatial interaction between two cities depends on the size of the cities' population and the distance between them.

Rank-size Rule

A rule stating that the largest city in a country will have a population twice as large as the second largest city, the third largest will be one-third the size, and so on.

Primate City

A city whose population far exceeds the next city in size and which possesses outsized political, economic, and cultural influence.

Central Place Theory

Developed by Walter Christaller to explain hierarchical patterns in the number, size, and location of cities based on consumer behavior and the provision of goods and services.

Threshold

In central place theory, the minimum number of people needed to support a certain good or service.

Range

In central place theory, the maximum distance that a consumer is willing to travel for a specific good or service.

Sustainability

In urban planning, the design of cities that are compact and efficient to limit impacts on the ecosystem and protect wildlife habitat and natural resources.

Bid-rent Theory

Explains the relationship between land value, commercial location, and transportation, indicating that land cost is highest near the CBD and decreases as distance increases.

Central Business District (CBD)

The commercial and often geographic heart of a city, containing a concentration of offices and public, business, and consumer services.

Concentric-zone Model

A model visualizing cities developed in rings around a central business district, based on the growth of Chicago in the $1920s$.

Sector Model

Also known as the Hoyt sector model, it envisions cities developed in wedge-shaped divisions emanating from the CBD, heavily influenced by transportation routes.

Multiple-nuclei Model

A model proposed by Harris and Ullman where cities have multiple commercial and residential nodes rather than a single central business district.

Galactic City Model

Also called the peripheral model, it represents decentralized cities where economic activity moves away from the CBD toward the urban fringe or suburbs.

Edge Cities

Commercial centers with office space, retail complexes, and typical urban amenities located on the outskirts of a larger city.

Latin American City Model

Also called the Griffin-Ford model, it features a traditional market sharing the CBD with a modern business center and a high-end commercial 'spine'.

Disamenity Zones

High-poverty urban areas in disadvantaged locations containing steep slopes, flood-prone ground, rail lines, landfills, or industry.

Squatter Settlements

Informal housing areas, also called shantytowns, featuring temporary homes made of scrap materials and lacking basic services like water or electricity.

African City Model

Developed by Harm de Blij, this model often features three unique CBDs: a colonial CBD, a traditional CBD, and a market zone.

Southeast Asian City Model

A model created by T.G. McGee representing cities that grew around ports during the colonial era and typically lack a clearly defined CBD.

Infilling

A redevelopment strategy that identifies and develops vacant or underused parcels of land within previously built-up urban areas.

Zoning

The legislative process of dividing an urban area into specific zones where only certain land uses (residential, industrial, commercial) are permitted.

Infrastructure

The essential framework of a modern society, including mass-transit, energy facilities, water supply, sewage systems, and roads.

Qualitative Research

Research based on descriptions, field studies, narratives, and interviews about people's experiences and perceptions of an area.

Quantitative Research

Research based on quantifiable data that can be measured and put into a numerical context, such as traffic counts or census results.

Ecological Footprint

A measure of a city's impact on the environment expressed as the amount of land required to sustain its use of natural resources.

Mixed-use Development (MUD)

A single planned development designed to include multiple functions, such as residential, retail, educational, and office spaces, in one area.

Walkability

A measure of how safe, convenient, and efficient it is to travel on foot in an urban environment.

New Urbanism

An urban design philosophy aimed at limiting sprawl and creating walkable, sustainable neighborhoods that include diverse housing and public spaces.

Greenbelt

A ring of parkland, agricultural land, or open space maintained around an urban area to limit sprawl and protect the environment.

Urban Growth Boundary

A government-defined border separating urban land uses from rural land uses to limit how far a city can expand.

Redlining

A discriminatory practice where lending institutions refuse to offer home loans based on the racial or ethnic makeup of a neighborhood.

Blockbusting

A historical practice where real estate agents convinced White owners to sell homes cheaply by stirring fear that minority families would move in.

Gentrification

The process where developers or middle- and upper-income people buy and renovate deteriorated buildings in inner-city neighborhoods, often raising property values.

Urban Renewal

A historical movement involving the large-scale demolition of older declining neighborhoods to rebuild downtowns or infrastructure.

Guerrilla Geography

A term used by Daniel Raven-Ellison for creative, radical ways to encourage people to see their geographic surroundings differently.

Land Tenure

The legal rights associated with owning or occupying land, defining who can use it and under what conditions.

Brownfields

Abandoned and often polluted former industrial sites in urban areas that require remediation before being redeveloped.