Urban Patterns

Annexation

Legally adding land area to a city in the United States.

Concentric Zone Model

A model of the internal structure of cities in which social groups are spatially arranged in a series of rings.

Density Gradient

The change in density in an urban area from the center to the periphery.

Edge City

A large node of office and retail activities on the edge of an urban area.

Filtering

A process of change in the use of a house, from single-family owner occupancy to abandonment.

Gentrification

A process of converting an urban neighborhood from a predominantly low-income renter-occupied area to a predominantly middle-class owner-occupied area.

Greenbelt

A ring of land maintained as parks, agricultural, or other types of open space to limit the sprawl of an urban area.

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

In the US, a central city of at least 50,000 population, the county within which the city is located, and adjacent counties meeting one of several tests indicating a functional connection to the central city.

Micropolitan Statistical Area

An urbanized area of between 10,000 and 50,000 inhabitants, the county in which it is found, and adjacent counties tied to the city.

Multiple Nuclei Model

A model of the internal structure of cities in which social groups are arranged around a collection of nodes of activities.

Galactic Model

A model of North American urban areas consisting of an inner city surrounded by large suburban residential and business areas tied together by a beltway or ring road.

Public Housing

Housing owned by the government; in the United States, it is rented to low-income residents, and the rents are set at 30 percent of the families' incomes.

Redlining

A process by which banks draw lines on a map and refuse to lend money to purchase or improve property within the boundaries.

Rush (or Peak) Hour

The four consecutive 15 minute periods in the morning and evening with the heaviest volumes of traffic.

Sector Model

A model of the internal structure of cities in which social groups are arranged around a series of sectors, or wedges, radiating out from the central business district (CBD).

Smart Growth

legislation and regulations to limit suburban sprawl and preserve farmland

Sprawl

Development of new housing sites at relatively low density and at locations that are not contiguous to the existing built-up area.

Squatter Settlements

An area within a city in a less developed country in which people illegally establish residences on land they do not own or rent and erect homemade structures, characterized by extreme poverty.

Underclass

A group in society prevented from participating in the material benefits of a more developed society because of a variety of social and economic characteristics.

Urbanization

An increase in the percentage and in the number of people living in urban settlements.

Urbanized Area

In the United States, a central city plus its contiguous built-up suburbs.

Central Business District

The downtown heart of a central city, marked by high land values, a concentration of business and commerce, and the clustering of retail and office activities.

City

A legally incorporated administrative district established by state charter; independent, self-governing.

commuter zone

the outer most zone of the Concentric Zone Model that represents people who choose to live in residential suburbia and take a daily commute in the CBD to work

entrepot

a port where merchandise can be imported and re-exported without paying import duties

favela

a slum community in a Brazilian city

inner city

urban area around the CBD; typically poorer and more run down in the US and other long-developed states; typically more rich upscale in less-developed states.

megacities

cities with more than 10 million people

multiplier effect

An effect in economics in which an increase in spending produces an increase in national income and consumption greater than the initial amount spent

tenement

a building in which several families rent rooms or apartments, often with little sanitation or safety

zone in transition

area of mixed commercial and residential land uses surrounding the CBD

bid-rent theory

W. ALONSO--- geographical economic theory that refers to how the price and demand on real estate changes as the distance towards the Central Business District (CBD) increases.

Megalopolis

A continuous urban complex in the northeastern United States.

Smart growth

legislation and regulations to limit suburban sprawl and preserve farmland.

New Urbanism

A movement to plan communities with a diversity of jobs, shops and housing that are more walkable rather than automobile dependent.

Invasion and succession

The continued expansion of the CBD and the continual push outward of the zones in the Burgess Model.

Bazaar

A street market seen in several city models

Borchert

Suggested that American cities went through distinctive stages based on the available transportation at the time.

suburbs

a residential or commercial area situated within an urban area but outside the central city

basic business

A business that sells its products or services primarily to consumers outside the settlement

non-basic business

A business that primarily serves customers living in the same settlement. Ex: Grocery stores

food desert

An area characterized by a lack of affordable, fresh and nutritious food.

Central Place Theory

A theory that explains the distribution of services, based on the fact that settlements serve as centers of market areas for services; larger settlements are fewer and farther apart than smaller settlements and provide services for a larger number of people who are willing to travel farther.

Primate city

The largest settlement in a country, if it has more than twice as many people as the second-ranking settlement.

Rank Size Rule

the country's nth-largest settlement is 1/n the population of the largest settlement

Threshold

The minimum number of people needed to support the service

Range

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

Hinterland

The market area surrounding an urban center, which that urban center serves.

The Galactic Model (Peripheral Model) Picture

Sector Model Picture

Southeast Asian City Model Picture

Latin American City Model Picture

Islamic City Model Picture

Concentric Zone Model Picture

Multi Nuclei City Model Picture

Mega City

City with more than 10 million people

Meta city

a large city with over 20 million people and found increasingly in the periphery and semi-periphery

e.g. LDCs: Delhi, Mexico City, Cairo, Beijing, Mumbai

MDCs: Tokyo

World/Global City

a city that is a control center of the global economy, in which major decisions are made about the world's commercial networks and financial markets

Blockbusting

A process by which real estate agents convince white property owners to sell their houses at low prices because of fear that persons of color will soon move into the neighborhood

Public Services

Services offered by the government to provide security and protection for citizens and businesses.

Consumer Services

Businesses that provide services primarily to individual consumers, including retail services and education, health, and leisure services

Business Services

Services that primarily meet the needs of other businesses, including professional, financial, and transportation services

Back offices

cheaper office space, communicate using internet or phone to consumers

outsourcing clerical activities (e.g. payroll, call centers, etc.) to LDCs where labor is cheaper

off shore financial Services

Offer low tax rates and privacy laws for wealthy corporations and individuals