Module 5: Urban Form and the Social Geography of the City

central business district (CBD)

The social, cultural, commercial, and political centre of the city; usually characterized by high-rise office and residential towers, key municipal government buildings, and civic amenities.

urban structure

The arrangement of land uses in cities; related to urban morphology.

class

A large group of people of similar social status and income (and often culture); commonly used forms include upper class, middle class, and working class.

neighbourhood

A part of a city that displays some internal homogeneity regarding type of housing; may be characterized by a relatively uniform income level and/or ethnic identity and usually reflects certain shared social values.

redlining

A spatially discriminatory practice, favoured by financial institutions, that identified parts of the city regarded as high risk in terms of loans for property purchase and home improvement; affected areas were typically outlined in red on maps.

residential mobility

The individual or family decision to relocate their place of residence, usually within the context of an urban area.

filtering

A process whereby housing units transition from being occupied by members of one income group to members of a different income group over time.

downward filtering

Part of the filtering process whereby homes built for middle- or upper-income groups gradually become less expensive as they age or degrade through neglect, as the neighbourhood becomes less desirable, and as residents with greater purchasing power move toward trendier, newer homes in more desirable neighbourhoods.

upward filtering

Part of the filtering process whereby relatively inexpensive homes, often occupied by renters, become valued by middle- or upper-income groups as an investment; in aggregate, the process is usually referred to as gentrification.

gentrification

A process of neighbourhood social change resulting from the in-movement of higher-income groups.

segregation

The spatial separation of population subgroups within the wider urban population.

charter population

The dominant or majority cultural group in an urban area; the host community.

minority population

A population subgroup that is seen, or that views itself, as somehow different from the general (charter) population; this difference is normally expressed by ethnicity, language, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, lifestyle, or even income (as in the case of people experiencing homelessness or the extremely wealthy).

congregation

The residential clustering of specific populations (minority groups), usually as a matter of choice or preference; a form of segregation.

involuntary segregation

The residential clustering of specific populations (minority groups), usually as a result of discrimination; a form of segregation.

visible minority

A member of a minority group whose minority status is based wholly on the colour of their skin; the Canadian government recognizes anyone that is neither white nor Indigenous as a visible minority.

cultural minority

A member of a minority group whose minority status is based on factors other than skin colour, such as language, religion, lifestyle, ethnic origin, etc.

suburbanization

A process through which land on the periphery of an urban area (the rural–urban fringe) becomes urbanized over time, as people and businesses move there; the process of suburban development.

conurbation

A continuously built-up area formed by the coalescing of several expanding cities that were originally separate.

edge city

A centre of office and retail activities located on the edge of a large urban centre.

producer services

Activities that offer a wide range of services to multinational and other companies that need to respond quickly to changing circumstances, including banking, insurance, marketing, accountancy, advertising, legal matters, consultancy, and innovation services; in recent years, the fastest-growing sector of national economies in most of the more developed countries.

gated community

A high-status residential subdivision or community with access limited to residents and other authorized people such as domestic workers, tradespeople, and visitors; often surrounded by a perimeter wall, fence, or buffer zone such as a golf course.

cycle of poverty

The idea that poverty and deprivation are transmitted intergenerationally, reflecting home background and spatial variations in opportunities.

homelessness

The circumstance of being without a permanent dwelling, such as a house or apartment.

mobility

The ability to move from one location to another.

back-off activities

Repetitive office operations, usually clerical in nature and performed using telecommunications, that can be located anywhere in or out of the city, including relatively low-rent areas.

front-office activities

Skilled occupations requiring an educated, well-paid workforce; because image and face-to-face contact with others is important, these activities favour prestige locations in major office buildings in city centres.

urban planning

The political and technical process concerned with the development, design, and use of land within the built environment; typically involves the organization of different land uses, the planning of current and future transportation and social services, and improving the built, economic, social, and natural environments of communities; sometimes referred to as city planning, town planning, or regional planning.

garden city

A planned settlement designed to combine the advantages of urban and rural living; an urban centre emphasizing spaciousness and quality of life.

greenbelt

A planned area of open, partially rural land surrounding an urban area; an area where urban development is restricted.

zoning

Legal restrictions on land use that determine what types of urban activity (residential, commercial, industrial, and so on) and building form are allowed to take place on particular parcels of land.

informal settlement

A concentration of temporary dwellings, neither owned nor rented, at the city’s periphery; related to rural-to-urban migration, especially in less developed countries; sometimes referred to as a squatter settlement or shanty town.

slum

A heavily populated informal settlement, usually located within the urban core and characterized by poverty, substandard housing, crime, and a lack of sanitation, water, electricity, or other basic services; common in less developed world cities today and in more developed world cities in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

informal sector

A part of a national economy involved in productive paid labour but without any formal recognition, governmental control, or remuneration.