Unit 6 🏙️

Urbanization and suburbanization processes

Population growth, migration, economic development, transportation and communication advancements, and government policies.

Site and situation in city development

Site refers to physical characteristics; situation refers to a city's relative location. Both impact origin, function, and growth.

Megacities and metacities

Megacities have over 10 million people; metacities exceed 20 million. Both are often found in periphery and semiperiphery countries.

Edge cities, exurbs, and boomburbs

Edge cities are economic hubs outside the CBD, exurbs are low-density areas beyond suburbs, and boomburbs are fast-growing suburban cities.

Cities and globalization

Cities connect global networks through trade, communication, and culture. World cities drive global economic and political systems.

Urban size and distribution concepts

Hierarchy, interdependence, spacing, rank-size rule, primate city rule, gravity model, and central place theory.

Burgess concentric-zone model

A model where cities expand in rings from a central business district outward.

Hoyt sector model

Cities develop in sectors or wedges based on transport lines, not concentric circles.

Multiple-nuclei model

Cities have multiple centers (nuclei) of activity rather than a single CBD.

Galactic city model

A post-industrial model with decentralized nodes like edge cities connected by ring roads.

Bid-rent theory

Land cost decreases with distance from the CBD; different land uses compete for space.

Low-, medium-, and high-density housing

They reflect residential land use patterns and levels of urban development and socio-economic status.

Infrastructure's effect on urban areas

It shapes spatial patterns, access to services, economic development, and environmental quality.

Sustainable urban design initiatives

Mixed land use, walkability, transit-oriented development, greenbelts, New Urbanism, and slow-growth policies.

Criticisms of sustainable urban design

Higher housing costs, potential segregation, and loss of historical character.

Data showing urban change

Quantitative data (census/surveys) and qualitative data (interviews/field studies).

Causes and effects of urban geographic change

Movement within cities causes changes in housing, access to services, crime rates, environmental issues, and disamenity zones.

Major urban sustainability challenges

Sprawl, climate change, pollution, sanitation, ecological footprint, and energy use.

Addressing urban sustainability challenges

Through regional planning, brownfield redevelopment, urban growth boundaries, and farmland protection.