Geography: Topic G - Urban Environments

Urbanization

An increase in the proportion of people living in cities/urban areas

Settlement Hierarchy

The ranking/order of settlements according to size and/or the range of services they provide people

Bid/rent Theory

Geographical economic theory that refers to how the price and demand for real estate change as the distance from the CBD increases

Peak land value intersection (PLVI)

Most expensive part of the CBD

Brown Field

Previously developed land that currently isn’t in use, may potentially be contaminated

Green field

Land that has never been used, undeveloped

Gentrification

The process of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in

Millionaire cities

Have about 1 million people

Mega cities

More than 10 million people

Metropolitan Area

Densely populated urban core and less populated surrounding territories, Measures the amount of people in the core and the immediate surrounding suburbs

Global cities

Primary node in the global economic network

Informal economy

Activity that is not subject to government regulation or taxation

Albedo

How much a surface can reflect/absorb warmth

Urban Ecological Footprint

Total amount of Earth’s surface needed to support a city’s level of consumption

Biocapacity

Capacity of a biologically productive area to generate an ongoing supply of renewable resources

Unsustainability

If ecological footprint exceeds biocapacity

Centripetal Movements

Rural to urban migration, Reurbanization, Gentrification

Centrifugal

Urban Sprawl, Suburbanization, Counter Urbanization

Amenities

Inside; baths, toilets, hot water, Outside; parks, shops public transport

Counter-urbanization

Movement of people from MEDC cities to the countryside seeking a better quality of life

Hinterland

The area served by a port

Land use models

Theories which attempt to explain the layout of urban areas

Transect/city profile

Cross section of the city, Showing the land use from the CBD to the periphery

Settlement Hierarchy

Putting settlements in a region or country into rank order either by population or type and range of services

Sphere of Influence

Area served by a settlement

Urban Sprawl

Uncontrolled continuous expansion of the cities into the surrounding country areas

Opportunity Cost

Value of what you lose when choosing between two or more options

City Proper

Most basic measurement using the population inside the city limits

Slum

Run down area of a city characterized by substandard buildings and squalor

Squatter Settlement

Formerly populated area which is now abandoned but squatter liver there now

Anthropogenic heat

Produced by human activities, e.g. cooling and heating buildings, manufacturing, transportation, lighting

Ethnicity

Social group a person belongs to/identifies with

Gross domestic Product (GDP)

Total market value of the goods and services produced by a country’s economy during an amount of time

GNI per capita

Dollar value of a country’s final income in a year