Concepts and Theory in Urban Geography

Vocabulary flashcards covering core concepts, analytical definitions, and theoretical perspectives in urban geography.

Urban Geography

The study of cities as systems within a system of cities.

Under-bounding

A condition where the built-up area of a city extends beyond its urban administrative boundary.

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

A Core Based Statistical Area defined around at least one Census Bureau-defined urbanised area of $50,000$ or more population.

Micropolitan Statistical Area

A Core Based Statistical Area defined around at least one urban cluster of at least $10,000$ and less than $50,000$ population.

Standard Metropolitan Labour Area (SMLA)

A UK daily urban system definition comprising a core plus ring with a combined population of at least $70,000$.

Local Labour Market Area (LLMA)

A UK urban framework consisting of a Standard Metropolitan Labour Area plus an outer ring of all local authorities sending more commuters to that core than to any other core.

Cognitive Mapping

Mental map techniques employed by geographers, planners, and environmental psychologists to explore the subjective spatial representations and meanings of urban environments.

Rural-Urban Continuum

A concept introduced by Wirth ($1938$) proposing that as the size, density, and heterogeneity of places increase, so does the level of economic and social disorganisation.

Urbanism

A way of life associated with residence in an urban area.

Place

A unique and special location in space notable for being the site where regular human activities occur and where intimate and enduring connections are formed.

Spatial Fetishism

The practice of assigning causal power to space per se in determining human action.

Positivism

A philosophy characterized by adherence to the scientific method of investigation based on hypothesis testing, statistical inference, and theory construction.

Exceptionalism

The geographical approach focused on the study of the unique and particular.

Nomothetic Approach

An analytical approach aimed at the search for abstract or universal laws.

Distance Decay

The attenuation of a spatial pattern or process over distance.

Homo Economicus

The assumption of economic rationality of human behaviour, stating that individual decisions are based on utility maximisation.

Behaviouralism

An approach in urban geography highlighting the role of cognitive processes and decision-making in mediating the relationship between the urban environment and human spatial behaviour.

Humanism

A perspective viewing the individual as a purposeful agent of change in the city, according central importance to human awareness, agency, consciousness, and creativity.

Structuralism

A generic term for principles and procedures designed to expose the underlying causes of human behaviour by examining prevailing social, economic, and political structures.

Mode of Production

A set of institutional practices by which a society organises its productive activities, provides for its material needs, and reproduces its socio-economic structure.

Accumulation

The process by which the value of capital is increased through the continual reinvestment of profits from earlier investments.

Social Closure

Weber's concept describing a process by which social groups seek to maximise their benefits by restricting access to resources and opportunities to a limited circle of eligibles.

Urban Managerialism

A perspective focusing attention on the power of urban managers, such as professionals and bureaucrats, to influence the socio-spatial structure of cities through their control of resource allocation.

Postmodernism

A theoretical perspective in urban geography characterized by the rejection of grand theory and an emphasis on human difference, uniqueness, and individuality.

Normative Judgement

A concept in moral philosophy focusing on what should be rather than what is.

Neighbourhood

The area immediately around one's home that usually displays homogeneity in terms of housing type, ethnicity, or socio-cultural values.