Unit 6 Full Guide

Urbanization

The movement of people from rural areas to cities.

Urban

Related to a city; typically densely populated.

Rural

Areas outside cities or towns; sparsely populated.

City

A large, permanent human settlement that acts as a commercial, cultural, and political center.

Site

The absolute location and physical characteristics of a city (e.g., rivers, hills).

Situation

The city's relative location to other places or features (e.g., proximity to trade routes).

Socioeconomic Stratification

The division of society into classes based on wealth, power, and status.

First Urban Revolution

The first emergence of cities due to agricultural surplus and social classes.

Urban Hearth

The origin points of early cities (e.g., Mesopotamia, Nile Valley).

Suburbanization

The movement of people from city centers to the suburbs.

Urban Sprawl

The unchecked outward expansion of a city.

Decentralization

The movement of economic and business activity from the city center to outer areas.

Edge City

A suburban area with a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment.

Boomburb

A rapidly growing suburban city that maintains suburban characteristics but has a large population.

Exurb

A distant area beyond the suburbs, often rural, populated by wealthier families.

World City (Global City)

A city that is a major node in the global economic system, influencing international trade, finance, and culture.

Globalization

The process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or operate on a global scale.

Urban System

A network of interdependent cities across a region or country.

Urban Hierarchy

A ranking of cities based on size and functional complexity.

Rank-Size Rule

A pattern where the second-largest city has half the population of the largest, the third one-third, etc.

Primate City

A city that is disproportionately large and dominant over others in a country.

Central Place Theory

A model that explains the spatial distribution of cities based on the availability of goods and services.

Threshold

The minimum number of people needed to support a service.

Range

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

Gravity Model

The concept that interaction between two places decreases as distance increases but increases with population size.

Concentric Zone Model

A model showing city growth in rings outward from the CBD.

Sector Model

A model that shows cities growing in wedges along transport routes.

Multiple-Nuclei Model

A model suggesting cities grow from multiple centers or nodes.

Galactic City Model

A post-industrial model showing cities with decentralized edge cities and car-dependent areas.

Bid-Rent Theory

Theory stating that land value and rent decrease the further from the CBD.

Infrastructure

The basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society (e.g., transportation, communication, sewage, water, and electric systems).

Density

The number of people or buildings in a given area.

Urban Sustainability

Focusing on designing and managing cities to meet current needs without compromising future generations.

Green Infrastructure

Parks, green roofs, rain gardens, aimed at improving urban sustainability.

Gentrification

Displacement of lower-income residents by wealthier newcomers, which revitalizes an area but also raises rents.

Food Desert

Areas with limited access to affordable, nutritious food—often found in low-income neighborhoods.