APHUG - Unit 6 Test: Study Guide

What is the difference between site and situation in urban geography?

Site refers to the physical characteristics of a place (land, water, resources). Situation is a city’s location relative to other places and connections (trade routes, nearby cities).

Why is the world more urban than before?

Industrialization, migration from rural areas to cities for jobs, better access to services, and global economic opportunities have increased urban populations worldwide.

What are the main causes of urbanization?

Economic opportunities, industrial growth, access to services, improved infrastructure, and migration from rural to urban areas.

Define megacity

A city with over 10 million residents. Initially in developed countries, now mostly in LDCs.

Causes of rapid urbanization in LDCs?

Job opportunities, better education and healthcare, infrastructure, and access to services.

Effects of rapid urbanization in LDCs?

Overcrowding, overwhelmed infrastructure, pollution, traffic congestion, and informal settlements.

Define megalopolis

Large chain of metropolitan areas growing together

Define conurbation

a megalopolis or continuous, extended urban area formed by the growing together of several formerly separate, expanding cities and their suburbs with little or no rural land in between

Define built-up area.

Area covered by buildings and human development

What caused suburbs, edge cities, exurbs, and boomburgs?

• Historical: population growth, industrialization.

• Economic: lower land costs, space for businesses.

• Social: desire for family-oriented communities.

• Technological: cars, highways, telecommuting.

Sprawl/leapfrog development

Decentralization

Green belts/rural preservation

Telecommuting

What is a world city?

Urban center with global political, economic, and cultural influence (e.g., New York, London, Tokyo)

How are cities connected globally?

Through trade networks, migration, communication, infrastructure, and cultural exchange.

Explain the rank-size rule and urban primacy

• Rank-size rule: 2nd largest city is ½ the size of the largest, 3rd largest is ⅓, etc.; suggests balanced urban hierarchy.

• Urban primacy: One dominant city is disproportionately larger than others; common in small or developing countries.

What is Christaller's Central Place Theory?

Explains city distribution based on size and services. Concepts:

• Range: max distance people travel for a good/service.

• Threshold: minimum population needed to support a service.

• Shows why larger cities are rarer and spaced further apart.

How does bid-rent affect urban land use?

Land value decreases with distance from the city center; higher-paying uses (commercial) occupy central areas; lower-paying (residential) locate further out.

Name the main urban models

• Concentric zone model

• Sector model (Hoyt)

• Multiple nuclei model

• Galactic city/peripheral model

• Latin American, Southeast Asian, African city models

What are squatter settlements?

Informal, low-income settlements (favelas, disamenity zones) often lacking basic infrastructure.

Differences in residential density: low, medium, high.

• Low: single-family homes, larger lots.

• Medium: townhouses, small apartment buildings.

• High: high-rise apartments, dense urban cores.

What are infilling and filtering?

• Infilling: building on unused land in urban areas.

• Filtering: housing passes from higher-income to lower-income residents over time.

How does infrastructure affect urban life?

Access to electricity, water, sewers, roads, and public transit influences economic opportunity, health, safety, and social equity. Unequal access can create neighborhood disparities.

Key sustainability concepts?

Mixed land use, walkability, transportation-oriented development, New Urbanism, local food movements, telecommuting.

Environmental effects of cities?

Pollution, heat islands, resource consumption, waste generation; can be mitigated through planning and green infrastructure.

Difference between quantitative and qualitative data?

Quantitative = numbers/statistics. Qualitative = observations, opinions, and descriptions.

How is urban data collected and used?

Surveys, sensors, GIS mapping, censuses; used to plan infrastructure, monitor growth, and make policy decisions. Collected by governments, NGOs, researchers.

Housing discrimination and urban problems?

Racial covenants, redlining, gentrification, lack of affordable housing, slum clearance, urban renewal, filtering.

What is geographic fragmentation of government?

Government functions are divided among multiple levels (state, city, neighborhood), making coordination for urban issues harder.

How are issues addressed?

Police/fire, school districts, Chambers of Commerce, zoning policies.

Main sustainability challenges?

Suburban sprawl, poor sanitation, climate change, energy reduction, water scarcity.

What is urban decay?

Decline of city areas due to neglect, population loss, or economic downturns.