CITIES & URBAN LAND USE

These flashcards cover vocabulary related to urban land use, planning, and various urban models. They will help you understand key concepts and terminology associated with cities and urban challenges.

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

Central Business District (CBD)

Burgess Concentric Zone Model

Created by E.W. Burgess. First model to explain the distribution of different social groups within urban areas. Model suggests that a city grows outward from a central area in a series of concentric rings. CBD In the middle, followed by a zone of transition, working-class, better residences(middle-class), and finally, commuter zone on the outskirts. Families in newer houses tend to live in an outer ring and families in older houses tend to live in an inner ring.

The process of middle-class families moving into and deteriorated inner-city neighborhoods and renovate the housing.

Gentrification

Suburban areas that provide a mix of residential, commercial, and business facilities.

Edge Cities

The uncontrolled expansion of urban areas, such as cities and towns.

Urban Sprawl

The discriminatory practice of denying loans or insurance to residents in certain areas based on their race or ethnicity.

Redlining

A model describing cities as formed by a number of self-sufficient suburban sectors.

Urban Realms Model

The process of subdividing larger homes into smaller apartments for lower-income families.

Filtering

The change in population density in an urban area from its center to its periphery.

Density Gradient

The separation of social classes and land uses in suburban neighborhoods.

Suburban Segregation

Hoyt Sector Model

Created Homer Hoyt. Model that assumes a city develops in a series of sectors. Include the CBD, Transportation and Industry, low, middle, and high class sectors. As a city grows, activities expand outward in a wedge, or sector, from the center. City grows outward from the center, so a low-rent area could extend from the CBD to the city’s outer edge. Given two families who own their homes, the family with the higher income will not live in the same sector as the family with a lower income.

Ullman/Harris Multiple Nuclei Model

Created by geographers C. D. Harris and E. L. Ullman in 1945. Model assumes that a city is a complex structure that includes more than one center around which activities revolve. i.e airports, universities, parks, etc. People with same ethnic background are likely to live near each other.

Cities with a population of more than 10 million.

Megacities

A term for a continuous urban complex extending from Boston, MA to Washington, D.C.

Megalopolis

A period of economic decline often characterized by falling GDP and rising unemployment.

Economic Recession

consists of a dense core of census tracts, densely settled suburbs, and low-density land that links the dense suburbs with the core.

Urban Area

Laws that regulate how land can be used and developed in urban areas.

Zoning Ordinances

Services provided by government to its citizens, such as police, fire departments, and schools. Centrally located for ease and accessibility to residents.

Public Services

Businesses that provide services to individuals, including retail. Changing shopping habits and a shift of the more affluent to the suburbs have reduced the importance of retail services in the CBD.

Consumer Services

Services that assist businesses in their operations, like banking and advertising. Proximity to other service providers for businesses promotes collaboration and face-to-face meetings.

Business Services

The process by which a previously functioning city falls into disrepair and abandonment.

Urban Decline

Areas surrounding urban centers that have a high population density.

Densely Settled Suburbs

Urban core areas where low-income populations often reside.

Inner-City Areas

Filitering, Redlining, Public Housing, Gentrification

Physical Challenges

Underclass: Homelessness; High rates of alcoholism, drug abuse, unemployment, etc. Culture of Poverty

Social Challenges

Eroding Tax Base; Inner-city people need public services but pay little taxes to fund them. Impact of Recession: Foreclosure: When borrowers cease paying their mortgages, lenders can take over the property

Economic Challenges

A suburban center that serves as a hub for economic activity and services.

Node of Edge City

The basic physical systems and structures needed for the operation of a society.

Urban Infrastructure

The number of people living per unit of area in urban regions.

Urban Density

Urban development focused on meeting present needs without compromising future generations.

Sustainable Urban Growth

an urban settlement that has been legally incorporated into an independent, self-governing unit.

City

an urban area with between 2,500 and 50,000 inhabitants.

Urban Cluster

an urban area with at least 50,000 inhabitants.

Urbanized Area

Annexation

The process of legally adding land area to a city