rank-size rule
The rule that describes the relationship between the population size of a city and its rank in the urban system
primate city
A city that far exceeds the population and influence of the next largest city
gravity model
Determines the degree of interaction between two places based on size and distance
Christaller’s Central Place Theory
Theory that Illustrates the hierarchical spatial patterns/order of cities and settlements.
Central Buisness District
The area where retail stores, offices, and cultural activities are concentrated
Burgess concentric-zone model
A model that shows the land use patterns and growth of a city outside of its CBD
Hoyt sector Model
Model that improves on Burgess’s model by adding direction and spatial arrangement in the form of wedge-shaped sections
Harris and Ullman multiple nuclei model
Model that proposes patches of land use patterns each with their own small CBD(nodes) around the main CBD
Galactic City Model
A CBD surrounded by nodes with some CBD functions. The nodes are located in a circle near transportation routes around the CBD
Latin American City Model
A city model with a split CBD, one side with all the businesses and one side with the religious and governmental buildings
Southeast Asian city model
A city model based around the ports and does not have a clearly defined CBD
African City Model
A city model that consists of three different CBDs clustered together and surrounded by squatter settlements
periferico
The outer ring beyond the highway that consists of poverty areas and squatter settlements
Infilling
The process of replacing open space and vacant housing with residencies to reduce urban sprawl and improve the surrounding area
Urban Planning
The process of controlling the growth and changing land use to improve human settlements
filtering
The process where social groups move from one residential area to another, changing the use of the residency(single family home to apartments)
Infrastructure
The basic systems that are needed to support the society and serve the population
Municipality
A local entity all under the same jurisdiction
mixed land use
A land that includes residential and retail spaces
urban walkability
How safe, convenient, and efficient it is to walk in an urban environment
transportation-oriented development
The creation of pedestrian oriented mixed use communities near mass transit stops
smart-growth policies
Policies to combat urban sprawl and create new sustainable cities that are also equitable
sustainable design initiatives
Initiatives to promote smart growth and green building
sustainable design zoning
Creating zones of areas with smart growth and green building(sustainability)
Greenbelts
Areas of underdeveloped land around an urban area usually created to limit growth and preserve farmland
New Urbanism
A movement that encourages local community development and sustainable growth in urban areas
slow-growth cities
Cities that adopt policies for smart growth to slow and limit the outward spread of urban areas(creates a denser city)
de facto segregation
Segregation that occurs from residential segregation patterns
housing discrimination
The attempts to prevent a person from buying or renting a property because of that person’s race, gender, social class, etc.
redlining
When banks refuse to give loans based on social class, gender, religion, ethnicity, etc.
blockbusting
Usually used by real estate agents, the process was used to rapidly sell white-owned homes at below market prices after black people started to move into the neighborhood.
housing affordability
How easy it is for people of one section of society to afford a housing unit
environmental injustice
The disproportionate exposure of colored people and the poor to environmental burdens like pollution
disamenity zone
The poorest parts of cities that are physically unsafe and disconnected from city services
zone of abandonment
Areas that have been abandoned due to lack of jobs, decline in land values, and falling demand
squatter settlement
residential areas built on undesired/abandoned land and disconnected from city services
land tenure
The legal rights associated with owning land or structures
inclusionary zoning
Where land developers are required set aside a percentage of their housing options in their projects for low-income renters or buyers to receive a building permit
urban renewal
Government policies after WWII to clear out the inner-city slums and build new development projects
gentrification
The process of converting an urban inner-city neighborhood from a low income renter area to a wealthier owner-occupied area of the city
urban sustainability
The ability of a urban area to use its resources responsibly so that future generations can also use those resources
ecological footprint
The impact of human activity on the environment
suburban sprawl
The rapid spread and development outward from the inner city
urban canyons
Streets with tall buildings that intensify wind currents and prevent natural sunlight from reaching the ground
Urban Heat Islands
an area of a city that is warmer than its surrounding areas
Brownfields
Abandoned industrial sites in central cities and suburbs due to the shift from manufacturing to service based economies
Urban redevelopment
Renovating a site within a city by removing its existing landscape and rebuilding the site from the ground up