UNIT 6 VOCAB PART 1

Central Place Theory

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

Site

A way of describing where a place is based on the physical characteristics of the surrounding area.

Situation

A way of describing where a place is based on its relationships with the surrounding areas.

Urbanization

Population shift from rural to urban areas.

Boomburbs

A suburban city that is rapidly growing, is as large as a major city, but retains its suburban feel.

Edge city

A relatively large urban area situated on the outskirts of a city, typically beside a major road.

Exurbs

An area outside of the denser inner suburban area which has an economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing density, and growth.

Urban Renewal

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

Megacity

A large metropolitan area with a population higher than 10 million.

Metacity

A large metropolitan area with a population higher than 20 million.

Suburbanization

A population shift from central urban areas into suburbs.

Inclusionary Zoning

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

World Cities

A large city that is very important to the global economy.

Primate City

The largest city in its country or region, disproportionately larger than any others in the urban hierarchy.

Rank-size Rule

The nth largest city in a given country will have 1/n of the population of the largest city in that country.

Range

The maximum distance that someone is willing to travel to receive a specific service.

Threshold

The minimum number of people needed for a service to be worthwhile.

Market Area (or hinterland)

Geographic zone containing the people who are likely to purchase a firm's goods or services.

Central business district (CBD)

The main business and commercial area of a town or city.

Infilling

New development that is placed on vacant or undeveloped land within an existing community.

De Facto Segregation

Racial segregation that happens organically instead of being enforced by law.

Greenbelt

An area of open land around a city where development is prohibited.

Mixed Land Use

That blends a combination of residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or industrial uses that provides pedestrian connections.

New Urbanism

An urban design movement which promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating walkable neighborhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types.

Placelessness

When places begin to feel the same due to loss of cultural and historical ties.