Urbanization AP HuG

site

Physical characteristics of a location, including land, labor, capital

situation

The location of a place relative to another place

Central Business District

The area of a city where retail and office activities are clustered.

urbanization

Movement of people from rural areas to cities

megacities

Cities with more than 10 million people

metacities

A new term used to describe cities that have 20 million or more people

periphery

countries in the world systems theory that are characterized by processes that involve unskilled labor, low levels of infrastructure, and government corruption.

semi-periphery

The industrializing, mostly capitalist countries which are positioned between the periphery and core countries

suburbanization

Movement of upper and middle-class people from urban core areas to the surrounding outskirts to escape pollution and social conditions

urban sprawl

The uncontrolled expansion of urban areas.

urban decentralization

metropolitan areas sprawl in all directions and suburbs take on many of the characteristics of traditional downtowns

edge city

A large node of office and retail activities on the edge of an urban area, usually by a road.

exurb

Small communities lying beyond the suburbs of a city

boomburb

a suburban area experiencing significant growth in population and prosperity

world city

Centers of economic, culture, and political activity that are strongly interconnected and together control the global systems of finance and commerce.

urban hierarchy

A ranking of settlements according to their size and economic functions.

globalization

Actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope.

rank-size rule

A pattern of settlements in a country, such that the nth largest settlement is 1/n the population of the largest settlement.

primate city

a city that dominates a country's economy, culture, and government and in which population is concentrated; usually the capital

gravity model

A mathematical formula that describes the level of interaction between two places, based on the size of their populations and their distance from each other.

Christaller's Central Place Theory

A theory that explains the distribution of services and settlements, that larger settlements are fewer and farther apart than smaller settlements and provide services for a larger number of people who are willing to travel farther.

Concentric-zone model

A structural model of the American central city that suggests the existence of five concentric land-use rings arranged around a common center.

Sector model

A model of the internal structure of cities in which social groups are arranged around a series of sectors, or wedges, radiating out from the central business district (CBD).

Multiple Nuclei Model

A model of the internal structure of cities in which social groups are arranged around a collection of nodes of activities.

Galactic city model

A collection of urban and suburban areas, all dispersed but connected by highways, that have become highly specialized

bid-rent theory

a geographical economic theory to how the price and demand on real estate changes as the distance towards the CBD increases

Latin American City Model

Griffin-Ford: The CBD is dominant; it is divided into a market sector and a modern high-rise sector. The elite residential sector is on the extension of the CBD in the "spine". The further out, less wealthy it gets. The poorest are on the outer edge.

Southeast Asian City Model

Terry (T.G.) McGee: A theory on SE Asian cities, where its focal point is the old colonial port zone. The model also does not find any CBD in Asia, but rather he found elements of the CBD present as separate clusters surrounding the port zone.

African City Model

De Blij: A model that suggests that African cities have more than one CBD, heavily influenced by colonial powers

infilling

The process by which population density in an urban center is increased by building on waste land or underused land.

infrastructure

Fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or area, as transportation and communication systems, power plants, and schools

Sustainable Design Initiatives

Communities that use smart growth and green building techniques to create neighborhoods that are economically thriving and environmentally responsible

zoning

A planning tool used to separate industry and business from residential neighborhoods.

sustainable design zoning

The implementation of sustainable and environmentally friendly methods into zoning

mixed land use

More than one type of zoning, such as a condominium that has residential and commercial units.

urban walkability

The process of making an urban area friendly for walking

transportation-oriented development

A mixed-use residential and commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership.

smart growth policies

Legislation and regulations to limit suburban sprawl and preserve farmland.

New Urbanism

A movement in urban planning to promote mixed use commercial and residential development and pedestrian friendly, community orientated cities.

greenbelts

A ring of land maintained as parks, agriculture, or other types of open space to limit the sprawl of an urban area.

slow-growth cities

urban communities where the planners have put into place smart growth initiatives to decrease the rate it sprawls

de facto segregation

Indirect segregation that occurs because of social and economic differences, NOT by laws

historical character

A site that is historical in nature that can often be marginalized because of new urban designs

place character

A sense of uniqueness that can also be erased as a result of new urban designs

quantitative data

Data that usually is associated with numbers, such as the census

census data

Geospatial and demographic data collected through the quantification of a population

survey data

A poll in which researchers ask respondents a series of questions about a specific topic and record their responses

qualitative data

Data associated with a more humanistic approach to geography, often collected through interviews, empirical observations

field study

a research investigation carried out by visiting a location and investigating

field narrative

conducting field study by looking at journals, photos, or narratives of other individuals

housing discrimination

The illegal practice of denying an individual or group the right to buy or rent a home based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability or family status.

redlining

A process by which banks draw lines on a map and refuse to lend money to purchase, usually to minority groups

blockbusting

A process by which real estate agents convince white property owners to sell their houses at low prices because of fear that persons of color will soon move into the neighborhood

housing affordability

an increase in cost that occurs in urban areas that usually affects minority groups

environmental injustice

refers to how minorities and the poor are harmed the most by environmental pollution in urban areas

disamenity zone

The poorest parts of cities that in extreme cases are not connected to regular city services and are controlled by gangs and drug lords.

zone of abandonment

areas that have been deserted in a city for economic or environmental reasons

squatter settlement

An area within a city in a less developed country in which people illegally establish residences on land they do not own or rent and erect homemade structures.

land tenure

the rules and arrangements connected with owning land, especially land that is used for farming

Borchert's epochs

John Borchert proposed a four-stage model of transportation and how that contributed to the growth of urban cities

Brownfields

contaminated industrial or commercial sites that may require environmental cleanup before they can be redeveloped or expanded

Gentrification

The renovation of deteriorated, often abandoned, housing of low-income inner-city residents.