Unit 6 - AP Human Geography Vocabulary

an ever-growing flashcard deck with definitions from the textbook "Human Geography for the AP Course"

city

a relatively large, densely populated settlement with a much larger population than rural towns and villages; these serve as important commercial, governmental, and cultural hubs for their surrounding regions

urban

relating to a city

agricultural surplus

crop yields that are sufficient to feed more people that the farmer and his family

socioeconomic stratification

the structuring of a society into distinct socioeconomic classes, including leadership (for instance, a government or ruling class) that exercise control over goods and people

first urban revolution

the agricultural and socioeconomic innovations that led to the rise of the earliest ciites

urban hearth areas

regions in which the world’s first cities evolved

site

an absolute location of a place on Earth

situation

the relative location of a place in reference to its surrounding features, or it’s regional position with reference to other places

capitalism

an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit rather than owned and run by the state

communism

an economic and political system in which all property is publicly owned and managed

streetcar suburbs

a settlement outside of a city with streetcar lines; the streetcars take residents into and out of the city easily

second urban revolution

period that brought improved methods of cultivation, harvesting, and storage of farm produce that began in the late 1600s and continued through the 1930s

redevelopment

a set of activities intended to revitalize an area that has fallen on hard times

metropolis

a very large and densely populated city, particularly the capital or major city of a country or region

urban area

any self-governing place in the United States that contains at least 2500 people (according to the US census)

metropolitan statistical area

in the United States, a region with at least one urbanized area at its core

micropolitan statistical area

in the United States, a region with one or more urban clusters of at least 10,000 people at its cores

suburbs

a populated area on the outskirts of a city

sprawl

the tendency of cities to grow in an unchecked manneroften leading to urban expansion into rural areas.

automobile cities

cities whose shape and size are dictated by and almost require individual automobile ownership

decentralize

in an urban context, to move business operations from core city areas into outlying areas such as suburbs

edge city

a concentration of businesses, shopping, and entertainment that developed in the suburbs, outside of a city’s traditional downtown or central business district

boomburg

a place with more than 100,000 residents that is not a core city in a metropolitan area; a large suburb with its own government

infill development

the building of new retail, business, or residential spaces on vacant or underused parcels in already developed areas

exurb

a semirural district located beyond the suburbs that is often inhabited by well-to-do families

world city

a world center for trade, finance, information, and migration

gated community

privately governed and highly secure residential area within the bounds of a city; often has a fence or a gate surrounding it

urban hierarchy

a ranking of cities with the largest and most powerful cities at the top of the hierarchy

rank-size rule

“the population of a settlement is inversely proportional to its rank in the urban hierarchy”

primate city

a city that is much larger than any other city in the country and that dominates the country’s economic, political, and cultural life

central place theory

a model, developed by Walter Christaller, that attempts to understand why cities are located where they are

central place

a settlement that makes certain types of products and services available to consumers

threshold

in central place theory, the number of people required to support businesses

range

in central place theory, the distance people will travel to acquire a good

gravity model

the idea that the close two places are, the more they will influence each other

concentric zone model

a model of a city’s internal organization developed by EQ Burgess that shows rings of factory productions and different residential zones radiating outwards from a central business district

hoyt model (sector model)

a model of a city’s internal organization, developed bt Homer Hoyt, tyat focuses on communication and transportation as the drivers of a city’s layout

multiple nuclei model

a model of a city’s internal organization, developed by Chauncy Harris and Edward Ullman, showing residential districts organized around central nodes/nuclei rather than one central business district

galactic city model (peripheral)

a model of a city’s internal organization in which the central business district remains central, but multiple shopping areas, office parks, and industrial districts are scattered throughout the surrounding suburbs

bid-rent theory

explains how the demand for and price of land decrease as its distance from the central business district increases

latin america model

a model of the internal structure of the Latin American city developed by Ernest Griffin and Larry Ford

gentrification

the displacement of lower-income residents by higher-income residents as an area or neighborhood improves

southeast asian city model

model developed by Terrance Garry McGee explaining high-class residential areas are in inner city areas and in suburbs, and low-income areas are in periphery

percieved density

the general impression of the estimated number of people present in a given area

zoning regulations

laws that dictate how land can be used

fiscal squeeze

occurs when city revenues cannot keep up with increasing demands for city services and expenditures on decaying urban infrastructure

built environment

the human-made space in which people live, work, and engage in leisure activities on a daily basis

smart growth

policies that combat regional sprawl by addressing issues of population density and transportation

compact design

development that grows up (in the form of taller buildings) rather than out (in the form of urban sprawl)

diverse housing options

policy that encourages building quality housing for people and families of all life stages and income levels in a range of prices within a neighborhood

new urbanism

an approach to city planning that focuses on fostering European-style cities of dense settlements, attractive architecture, and housing of different types of and prices within walking distance to shopping, restaurants, jobs, and public transportation

greenbelt

a zone of grassy, forested, or agricultural land separating urban areas

zoning

the classification of land according to restrictions on its use and development

slow-growth city

a city that changes its zoning laws to decrease the rate at which the city spreads horizontally, with the goal of avoiding the negative effects of sprawl

de facto segregation

racial segregation that is not supported by law, but is still prevalent

qualitative data

data representing info and concepts that can’t be depicted by numbers

quantitative data

data representing information that is expressed with numbers

mortgage

a loan that is taken out to purchase a home

redlining

the practice of identifying high-risk neighborhoods on a city map and refusing to lend money to people who want to buy property in those neighborhoods

blockbusting

a practice in which realtors persuade white homeowners in a neighborhood to sell their homes by convincing them that the neighborhood is declining due to black families moving in

white flight

the mass movement of white people from the city to the suburbs

affordability

the maximum price that a buyer can afford to pay for a house or even an apartment

housing choice voucher program

a federal government program to assist very-low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled with affordable, safe, and sanitary housing

environmental injustice

when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses for which they do not benefit

environmental justice

the movement to fix environmental discrimination

environmental racism

occurs when areas inhabited by low-income people of color are targeted for environmental contamination

squatter settlement

an area of degraded, seemingly temporary, inadequate, and often illegal housing

land tenure

the right to own/hold property; it defines the ways in which rights to that property are managed

inclusionary zoning (housing)

municipal and county planning ordinances that require a given share of new construction to be affordable for people with low- to moderate- incomes

exclusionary zoning (housing)

zoning that attempts to keep low- and moderate- income people out of a neighborhood

NIMBYs

abbreviation for “not in my backyard”; term for a person who tries to prevent the construction of affordable housing and other types of development in their neighborhood

urban renewal

large-scale redevelopment of the built environment in downtown and older inner-city neighborhoods

fiscal zoning

the practice of using local land-use regulations to preserve and possibly enhance the local property tax base

ecological footprint

the total amount of natural resources used and their impact on the natural environment

urban heat island

a mass of warm air in cities, generated by urban building materials and human activities, that sits over a city

urban risk divide

the ideas that disasters and disaster risk become urban phenomena as the world’s population becomes increasingly concentrated in large cities

brownfield

a property whose use or development may be complicated by the potential presence of hazardous substances or pollutants

farmland protection policy act

US law that grants municipalities oversight over federally funded development projects on farmland

scattered developments

subdivisions of developments that do not abut existing settlements and that remove agricultural land from production

fiscal

relating to government revenue, especially taxes