APHUG Period 6

Site

the physical geographical location where a city is built.

includes latitude/longitude coordinates & physical landscapes such as rivers

Situation

where an urban area is located in relation to other urban areas

Suburbs

an area outside of a major city

T or F; urban cities are busier, more populated and most things are in walking distance

TRUE

T or F; suburbs are quiet, less populated, cheaper and requires more driving

TRUE

What technology allowed people to move from urban cities to the suburbs?

Transportation: cars, buses, trains

Edge city

semi-independent communities at the edge of cities with downtown areas, housing, officies and hotels

World (global) cities

Urban cities that wield significant influence over politics, culture and economics

• EX: NYC bc it has the NY Stock Exchange, & is home of UN

Mega cities

has over 10 million people in the population

Meta cities

has over 20 million people in the population

What is a primate city?

A city that is much larger and more influential than any other city in that country

Where are primate cities usually found?

Seen in developing countries

Central Place Theory

Explains why cities are arranged the way they are. Determined by threshold (number of people needed to support a good/service) & range (distance people are willing to travel to spend money on a good/service) 

Rank Size Rule

Explains the distribution of a country’s cities based on proportional population

• city with the highest population is ranked as most important

• 2nd largest city has ½ the population

• 3rd largest 1/3 the population

Characteristics of the galactic urban model

• developed as a response to urban sprawl

• shows both the CBD & suburbs

New Urbanism

• Focused on small portions of neighborhoods

• Create european-style neighborhoods

• Focus on pretty architecture & public transportation for long distances

Greenbelts

a circular areas of forests that surrounds a city

Squatter settlements

• temporary or illegal housing found in the outskirts of urban areas

• used by very poor people in poor countries

Gentrification

when deteriorating areas are rebuilt and renewed to offer high quality housing

Pros of gentrification:

• revitalizes struggling urban areas

• as wealthier people move to cities, gov collects more taxes

• gov can provide better services to a community

Cons of gentrification;

• majority of displaced are low income minorities

• residents forced to relocate to areas far away from amenities

What are some urban sustainability initiatives to make city life better?

Protecting farmland, creating legislation to prevent cities from growing too big, creating greenbelts 

What information does census data provide about cities?

It’s a type of quantitative data that provides information about how the populations has changed over a 10 year period- gives info such as people’s race, job, income

Things that led to the trend of minorities living in urban areas, while whites live in suburban areas;

1. Transportation got better & people to moved to suburbs

2. Redlining

3. Blockbusting- contributed to “white flight”

4. Land was cheaper & neighborhoods were quieter in the suburbs