AP Human Geography Unit 6: Cities & Urban Land Use

Vocabulary-based flashcards covering the major terms, models, and theories from Unit 6 of AP Human Geography, focusing on urban land use, hierarchy, and sustainability.

Urbanization

The process by which an increasing proportion of a population lives in cities and towns; a dominant demographic trend that surpassed $50\%$ of the global population in 2007.

Urban Area

A built-up landscape of cities and suburbs characterized by high population density, extensive infrastructure, and non-agricultural economic activity.

Rural-Urban Fringe

The transitional zone between the fully built urban area and the rural countryside, featuring mixed land uses, rapid change, and sprawl.

Megacity

A city with a total population of $10$ million or more; there are approximately $35$ globally as of 2024.

Metacity

An urban agglomeration exceeding $20$ million people, such as Tokyo.

World City (Global City)

A major node in the global economy that hosts headquarters of multinational corporations, significant financial markets, and international organizations.

Primate City

A country's largest city that is disproportionately larger than all other cities in that nation and dominates its economy, culture, and politics.

Rank-Size Rule

A pattern of city size distribution where the $n$th-largest city is $\frac{1}{n}$ the size of the largest city.

Central Place Theory

Walter Christaller's 1933 model predicting the number, size, and location of cities based on the goods and services they provide to surrounding market areas.

Central Place

A settlement that provides goods and services to its surrounding hinterland.

Hinterland (Umland)

The market area surrounding a central place from which customers are drawn and to which services are provided.

Threshold

The minimum number of customers needed for a business or service to be financially viable.

Range

The maximum distance consumers are willing to travel to obtain a specific good or service.

Order of Goods/Services

Low-order goods have low thresholds and ranges (e.g., groceries), while high-order goods have high thresholds and ranges (e.g., specialized hospitals).

Concentric Zone Model

Ernest Burgess's 1925 model depicting urban land use as five concentric rings expanding outward from the Central Business District (CBD).

Sector Model

Homer Hoyt's 1939 model proposing urban growth extends outward from the CBD in wedge-shaped sectors along transportation routes.

Multiple Nuclei Model

Chauncy Harris and Edward Ullman's 1945 model suggesting cities develop around multiple nodes rather than a single CBD.

Latin American City Model

The Griffin-Ford model featuring a commercial spine extending from the CBD, with wealth increasing along the spine and squatter settlements at the periphery.

Southeast Asian City Model

The McGee model centered on a port zone with no traditional CBD, featuring alien commercial zones and growing suburbanization.

Sub-Saharan African City Model

A model characterized by three coexisting CBDs (colonial, traditional market, and Western-style), ethnic neighborhoods, and peripheral shanty towns.

Central Business District (CBD)

The commercial core of a city with high land values, vertical development, and concentrated financial and retail services.

Zone in Transition

The ring immediately surrounding the CBD in the Burgess model, characterized by industry, warehouses, and deteriorating housing.

Edge City

A large node of office and retail space located outside the traditional CBD, typically at freeway interchanges in suburban areas.

Suburb

A residential community on the outer edge of a city, typically lower-density and automobile-dependent.

Exurb

A very low-density community located beyond the suburbs, often retaining agricultural character and requiring long commutes.

Boomburb

A rapidly growing suburban city with over $100,000$ residents that has maintained double-digit growth rates recently.

Greenfield Development

New construction on previously undeveloped land, such as agricultural fields, at the urban fringe.

Brownfield

A previously developed and often industrially contaminated urban site that is currently abandoned or underused.

Urban Sprawl

The unplanned, low-density, and auto-dependent expansion of urban development onto rural land.

Suburbanization

The movement of people, businesses, and investment from central cities to suburban areas, accelerated in the US after World War II.

White Flight

The large-scale migration of white middle-class residents from racially mixed urban neighborhoods to the suburbs in the mid-20th century.

Redlining

The systematic denial of mortgages and investment by banks and government agencies to residents of minority neighborhoods between the 1930s and 1960s.

Blockbusting

A discriminatory practice where real estate agents stoked fears of minority neighbors to persuade white homeowners to sell their homes at low prices.

Gentrification

The process where wealthier residents move into lower-income neighborhoods, renovating property and often displacing existing residents.

Urban Renewal

Government-led programs to redevelop deteriorated urban areas, historically involving the demolition of existing low-income neighborhoods.

Counterurbanization

The movement of people away from urban areas towards rural or suburban settings for quality of life or affordability.

Reurbanization

The return of population and economic activity to the urban core after a period of decline.

Urban Heat Island

A phenomenon where urban areas are $2\text{-}10\,^\circ\text{F}$ warmer than surrounding rural areas due to concentrated impervious surfaces and buildings.

Food Desert

An area, typically in low-income urban neighborhoods, where residents lack access to affordable, healthy food options due to a lack of grocery stores.

Smart Growth

Planning policies that promote compact, mixed-use development, walkability, and open space preservation to reduce sprawl.

New Urbanism

An urban design movement advocating for walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods with a traditional town center feel and reduced car dependence.

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD)

Mixed-use residential and commercial development clustered within walking distance of public transit stations.

Infill Development

Construction on vacant or underused parcels within already-developed urban areas to use existing infrastructure.

Zoning

Legal regulations that divide land into designated uses and control the intensity of development in specific areas.

Exclusionary Zoning

Regulations that exclude certain income or minority groups, often by requiring large minimum lot sizes that increase housing costs.

Mixed-Use Development

A development combining residential, commercial, and office uses in the same building or block to promote walkability.

Informal Settlement (Squatter Settlement)

Urban housing built without legal permission on land residents do not own, often lacking basic services like water and electricity.

Favela

The term used in Brazil for an informal urban settlement, typically located on hillsides or the periphery of cities.

Overurbanization

A condition where cities grow faster than the formal economy can support them, leading to massive informal employment and housing.

Site and Service Schemes

Government programs providing squatter residents with legal land titles, infrastructure connections, and materials to upgrade their own homes.

Urban Hierarchy

The ranking of settlements by size and function, ranging from hamlets and villages at the base to megacities and world cities at the top.

Hamlet

The smallest settlement type, consisting of a small cluster of residences with virtually no services.

Village

A small settlement with a population range of $100\text{-}2,500$ providing basic services like a church or small store.

Town

A settlement with a population of $2,500\text{-}50,000$ offering high schools, hospitals, and local government functions.

City

A large settlement ($50,000\text{-}500,000$) with a full range of services, including universities and specialty retail.

Metropolis

A large urban area ($500,000\text{-}10$ million) serving as a major regional hub with airports and corporate headquarters.

Megalopolis

A continuous urban corridor formed by the merging of multiple metropolitan areas, such as the BosWash corridor.