site
the physical characteristics of place
situation
location of a place relative to its surroundings and connectivity to other places
urbanization
the process of developing towns and cities
suburbanization
the process of people moving, usually from cities to residential areas on the outskirts of cities
urban sprawl
the rapid expansion of the spatial extent of a city and occurs for numerous reasons
urban decentralization
the tendency of people or businesses and industries to locate outside the central city
edge cities
nodes of economic activity that have developed in the periphery of large cities
exurb
the prosperous residential districts beyond the suburbs
boomburg/boomburb
rapidly growing communities in the suburbs
megacities
cities that have a population of more than 10 million people
metacities
cities that have a population of more than 20 million people OR attributes of a network of urban areas that have grown together to form a large interconnected urban system
megalopolis
a chain of cities
world cities
cities that exert influence far beyond their national boundaries
urban hierarchy
a ranking of cities based on influence or population size
rank-size rule
describes one way in which the sizes of cities within a region may develop
primate cities
cities that are more developed than other cities in the system and are, consequently, more powerful
gravity model
states that larger and closer places will have more interactions than places that are smaller and farther away
Christaller’s Central Place Theory
explains the distribution of cities of different sizes across a region
Central Business District (CBD)
the commercial heart of a city
periférico
the outer ring of a city that shows poverty, lack of infrastructure, and areas of poorly-built housing
infilling
when open space presents an economic opportunity for landowners to build small, multi-family housing units, placing more people into existing city blocks
urban planning
a process of promoting growth and controlling change in land use
filtering
a process of change in the use of a house, from single-family owner to abandonment
infrastructure
the facilities and systems that serve the population
municipality
the local entity that is all under the same jurisdiction
mixed land use
combines residential, commercial, cultural, or institutional functions into a building, block, or neighborhood
urban walkability
the extent to which the built environment is friendly to the presence of people living, shopping, visiting, enjoying or spending time in an area
transportation-oriented development
a mixed-use residential and commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport
smart-growth politics
governmental regulations that try to prevent sprawl and retain farmland
sustainable design innitiatives
policies/approaches that take into account the human and environmental impacts of a growing city
sustainable design zoning
allows local and national authorities to regulate and control land and the property markets to ensure complementary uses
greenbelts
areas of undeveloped land around an urban area
new urbanism
the urban design movement which promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating walkable neighborhoods containing a wide range of housing and jobs
slow-growth cities
urban communities where the lanners have put into place smart growth initiatives to decrease the rate at which the city grows horizontally to avoid the adverse effects of sprawl
de facto segregation
racial segregation by the people, not by law
quantitative data
data that can be counted or measured (numbers)
qualitative data
data from surveys
census data
data from censuses
housing discrimination
discrimination of people trying to buy, sell, and/or finance a home based on certain characteristics
redlining
when banks refuse loans to those who want to purchase and improve properties in certain urban areas
blockbusting
when groups of people of the same race
housing affordability
the extent to which housing is affordable, relative to how much the buyer is willing to pay
environmental injustice
the disproportionate exposure of minorities and the poor to pollution and its impacts, plus the unequal protection of their rights under the law
disamenity zone
the lack of desirable features in a place or city (food deserts)
zone of abandonment
areas of a city that have been deserted by their owners for economic or environmental reasons
squatter settlement
any collection of buildings where people have no legal rights to the land their are built upon
land tenure
the legal protection of contracts to show ownership of the land or structures
inclusionary zoning
offers incentives for developers to set aside a percentage of housing for low-income owner-occupied area of a city
urban renewal
allows governments to clear out the blighted inner-city slums
gentrification
the process of converting an urban inner-city neighborhood from a mostly low-income, renter-occupied area to a predominantly wealthier, owner-occupied area of a city
urban sustainability
a city can be organized without reliance on the surrounding countryside and power itself with renewable energy
ecological footprint
the impact of human activity on the environment
suburban sprawl
the rapid spread of development outward from the inner-city
urban canyons
streets that are lined with tall buildings, can channel and intensify wind, and prevent natural sunlight from reaching the ground
urban heat island
an area of a city warmer than the surrounding areas
brownfields
consists of dilapidated buildings, and polluted or contaminated soils
urban redevelopment
renovating a site within a city by removing the existing landscape and rebuilding from the ground up
Industrial Revolution
a series of technological advances starting in the 18th century
industrialization
the process of economic and social change that transforms a human group from a pre-industry society to an industrial one
deindustrialize
a process of decreasing reliance on manufacturing jobs
cottage industry
small, home-based businesses that made goods
rust belt
regions that have large numbers of closed factories
primary sector
extracting natural resources from the Earth (farmers miners fishers, foresters)
secondary sector
making products from natural resources (manufacturing, building)
tertiary sector
providing information and services to people (retail sales, medicine, and housekeeping)
quaternary sector
managing and processing info (financial analysis, software development, and data science)
quinary sector
creating info and making high-level decisions
break-of-bulk point
the procedure of transferring cargo from one mode of transportation to another
least cost theory
(Alfred Weber) explains the key decisions made by businesses about where to locate factories
multiplier effect
the potential of a job to produce additional jobs
bulk-gaining industries
market-dependent industries
bulk-reducing industries
raw material-dependent industries
core
national or global regions where economic power is concentrated
semi-periphery
has standards of living a lower than core, but higher than periphery
periphery
less developed, economically poor countries
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
the amount of money, all goods and services produced within a country in a year
Gross National Product (GNP)/Gross National Income (GNI)
the amount of money all goods and services produced by a country’s citizens in a year
Gross National Income Per Capita
a measure of the total value of goods and services produced in a country divided by the country’s population
formal sector
the portion of the economy that is monitored by government, so people in it to follow regulations and pay taxes
informal sector
the portion of the economy that is not monitored by the government
GINI Coefficient/Index
One measure of the distribution of income within a population. The values range from 0 to 1. The higher the number, the higher the degree of income inequality. If the number was zero, everyone would be getting paid the same.
Gender Inequality Index (GII)
A measure of several factors, including gender disparity. The higher the number, the more potential human development lost.
Human Development Index (HDI)
Combines the GNI per capita, with life expectancy, expected years of schooling, and average years of schooling. The higher the number, the greater lovers of development.
income distribution
how income is distributed among different groups of individuals
fertility rate
an estimate of the average number of children born to each female in their childbearing years
infant mortality rate
measures how many babies person thousand births die before they age 1
access to healthcare
having access to healthcare
glass ceiling
a barrier to career advancement, usually in reference to women/minorities
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO)
organizations that empower women to find jobs outside their homes
micro loans
loans provided to woman by microcredit or micro finance programs to start or expand a business
Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth
Traditional Society
Preconditions of Take-Off
Take-Off
Drive to Maturity
High Mass Consumption
Wallerstein’s World System Theory
divided the world into core, periphery, and semi-periphery
Dependency Theory
a dependency model that suggests all countries are dependent on each other
barter
a system of exchange in which no money changes hands
comparative advantage
the ability to produce a good or service at a lower cost than others
complementarity
when a country has good or services, another country desires
neoliberal policies
a set of reforms that reduced government regulations and taxation
World Trade Organizations (WTO)
global organizations made to monitor the rules of international trade
mercosur
a trading bloc that includes several South American countries
The Organization of Petroleum Exchange Countries (OPEC)
an intergovernmental organization of 13 oil-producing countries that aim to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its members states