Geography of Industry and Urban Patterns

These flashcards cover key concepts related to the geography of industry and urban patterns, spanning definitions and examples for critical terms.

Agglomeration industries

Industries clustered together for mutual benefits, such as shared services and labor pool.

Assembly line

A manufacturing process where a product is put together in a step-by-step sequence.

Break-of-bulk

A location where goods are transferred between different modes of transport.

Brownfield

Abandoned industrial or commercial land, often contaminated.

Bulk-gaining industry

An industry where the final product is heavier or larger than the inputs.

Bulk-reducing industry

An industry where the inputs are heavier than the final product.

Capital

The government center of a state.

Complementarity

When one area has a surplus of something that another area needs.

Cottage industry

Small-scale manufacturing based in homes before industrialization.

Deindustrialization

The decline of industrial activity in a region.

Export Processing Zone (EPZ)

Areas in developing countries where industries producing exports are given tax incentives.

Footloose industry

Industries that are not tied to resources or markets and can locate anywhere.

Fordism

Mass production using assembly lines (standardized).

Post-Fordism

Flexible production, outsourcing, with more customization.

Growth pole

Economic development occurs around a core of growth.

Industrial inertia

Industry remains in its location even if the main advantages are gone.

Industrial Revolution

The shift to mechanized factory production that began in Britain in the late 1700s.

Infrastructure

Basic systems that support industry, including transportation and utilities.

Economies of scale

Cost advantages gained from increasing the scale of production.

Labor-intensive

Production processes that require a large amount of human labor.

Weber’s least-cost theory

Industries locate where transportation, labor, and agglomeration costs are minimized.

Location theory

A theory that predicts where businesses will locate based on several factors.

Manufacturing region

Areas with concentrated industry.

Market orientation

Industry locates near the market when the product is perishable or bulky.

Mass production

Production of large quantities of standardized products.

Outsourcing

Transferring part of production to another company, often abroad.

Primary industry

Industries that extract natural resources.

Raw material orientation

Industries that are located near raw materials.

Site characteristics

Physical qualities of a location, such as land and labor.

Situation characteristics

Location in relation to transportation routes and markets.

Secondary industry

Industries involved in the manufacturing or processing of raw materials.

Special Economic Zone (SEZ)

Areas in a country with economic regulations that differ from the rest.

Basic industries

Industries that sell their products outside the community, bringing money in.

Central Place Theory

Explains how services are distributed and why settlements are spaced regularly.

City-State

An independent political unit consisting of a city and its surrounding territory.

Clustered Rural Settlement

Houses and buildings grouped together, surrounded by fields.

Dispersed Rural Settlement

Farmers live on individual farms spread out over a large area.

Enclosure Movement

Consolidation of land in England, leading to fewer farmers and urban migration.

Hierarchy of Services

Ranking of services based on the size of population they require.

Hinterland

The market area served by a settlement.

Long-Lot Settlement

Settlements with long, narrow plots stretching from rivers or roads.

Market Area

The geographic zone from which customers are attracted to a service.

Metes-and-Bounds Survey

A system using natural features to define land boundaries.

Periodic Market

An open-air market set up on certain days.

Primate City

A city that is more than twice as large as any other in the country.

Range

The maximum distance people are willing to travel for a service.

Rank-Size Rule

Describes the relationship between sizes of cities in a country.

Rectangular Survey

A land survey system based on a grid of rectangular plots.

Settlement

A permanent collection of buildings and inhabitants.

Threshold

The minimum number of people needed to support a service.

Township-and-Range Survey

A land division system dividing land into townships.

Urbanization

The growth of cities and migration of people into them.

World City

A major center for finance, trade, and culture on a global scale.

Gentrification

The renovation of urban neighborhoods by wealthier individuals, displacing lower-income residents.

Greenbelts

Rings of open space around cities to limit urban sprawl.

Megapolis

A large, sprawling urban region formed by merging multiple metropolitan areas.

Multiple Nuclei Model

A model of urban land use with multiple centers for different activities.

New Urbanism

A planning movement promoting walkable neighborhoods and sustainable design.

Redlining

Discriminatory practice of refusing loans based on neighborhood conditions.

Squatter Settlement

Informal housing areas without legal claim to land.

Sector Model

A model showing cities develop in wedges radiating from the CBD.

Suburb

A residential area on the outskirts of a city.

Sprawl

The spread of development over a landscape in a low-density way.

Urban Renewal

Programs to redevelop deteriorating inner-city areas.

Zone in Transition

An area just outside the CBD that is often in decline.