APHuG Unit 6 Vocab

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to urbanization, city structures, and urban planning.

Urbanization

The ongoing process of developing towns and cities. It involves both the causes and effects of city growth.

• Example: In 2008, the world passed a milestone where more than half the population was urban.

Site

The specific characteristics at an immediate location. This includes physical features, climate, labor force, and human structures.

• Example: Cincinnati's site includes being on the north bank of the Ohio River in a valley surrounded by hills with a temperate climate and fertile soil.

Situation

The location of a place relative to its surroundings and connectivity.

• Example: Cincinnati's situation changed as it emerged as a river port after 1811. Chicago became central due to being a meeting point for railroads.

City-state

An urban center and its surrounding territory that functions as an independent political system.

• Example: Classical Greece (Athens, Sparta, Corinth), Venice, Renaissance Italian city-states, Monaco, Vatican City, Singapore, and the ancient Babylonian Empire.

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

A U.S. designation for a city of at least 50,000 people, its county, and adjacent highly integrated counties.

• Example: The Denver-Aurora-Bloomfield area.

Micropolitan Statistical Area

A U.S. designation for cities with 10,000 to 50,000 inhabitants and their integrated surrounding counties.

Borchert’s Transportation Model

A model describing urban growth based on transportation technology across four epochs: Sail-Wagon (1790–1830), Iron Horse (1830–1870), Steel Rail (1870–1920), Auto-Air-Amenity (1920–1970).

• Example: Water ports became very important during the Sail-Wagon epoch, while the Iron Horse brought steam engines and rail connectivity.

Suburbanization

People moving from cities to residential areas on the outskirts.

• Example: The massive growth of U.S. suburbs after World War II facilitated by the GI Bill and the Federal Aid Highway Act.

Boomburbs

Suburbs that have grown rapidly (over 10% every 10 years) into large cities with more than 100,000 residents, but are not the largest city in their metro area.

• Example: Mesa, Arizona; Plano, Texas; and Riverside, California.

Edge Cities

Nodes of economic activity (office, retail, hotels) on the periphery of large cities near major transportation junctions with few residences.

• Example: Tysons Corner near Washington, D.C.; Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Norcross, and Smyrna near Atlanta.

Megacities

Metropolitan areas with more than 10 million people.

• Example: Cairo, Moscow, Beijing, Dhaka, Shanghai, Guangzhou-Foshan, Kolkata, Shenzhen, Manila, Jakarta, and Buenos Aires.

Metacities (Hypercities)

Continuous urban areas or networks with more than 20 million people.

• Example: Tokyo (37 million), New York City (20 million+), Seoul-Incheon, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Mumbai, Osaka, and Delhi.

Megalopolis

A chain of connected cities that have essentially merged.

• Example: The "Bos-Wash Corridor" (Boston through NYC, Philadelphia, and Baltimore to Washington, D.C.); the California corridor (San Diego to San Francisco); and Tokyo through Yokohama.

Conurbation

An uninterrupted urban area made of merged towns, suburbs, and cities.

• Example: The Bos-Wash Corridor.

Exurbs

Prosperous, low-density residential districts beyond the suburbs, often populated by remote workers.

• Example: Cherokee, Forsyth, Henry, and Habersham counties near Atlanta.

Deurbanization (Counter-urbanization)

The flow of urban residents leaving cities for more rural or exurban areas.

World Cities (Global Cities)

Media hubs and financial centers that exert influence far beyond national boundaries.

• Example: London, New York City, Tokyo, Paris, Singapore, Amsterdam, Berlin, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.

Urban Hierarchy

A ranking of settlements based on influence or population.

• Example: Global Cities, Regional/Nodal Cities, Cities, Towns, Villages, and Hamlets.

Rank-Size Rule

The nth largest city in a region will be 1/n the size of the largest city.

• Example: The United States, Canada, Australia, and India demonstrate this rule. Ohio cities (Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, etc.) roughly demonstrate this.

Primate City

The largest city is more than twice as large as the next largest and is disproportionately powerful.

• Example: London (UK), Mexico City (Mexico), and Paris (France).

Gravity Model

Larger and closer places have more interaction (flows of people, trade, etc.).

• Example: Interactions between New York City, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati; Orlando, Las Vegas, and Washington, D.C. distort the model as major destinations.

Central Place Theory

Walter Christaller's theory explaining the distribution of settlements based on consumer behavior.

• Example: The distribution of medium cities between Chicago and Atlanta.

Threshold

The minimum population needed to support a service and keep it profitable.

• Example: Low: Gas stations and convenience stores. High: Hospitals, stock market exchanges, sports teams, and symphony orchestras.

Range

The maximum distance people will travel for a service.

• Example: High: Wedding rings and heart transplants. Low: Fast food and toothpaste.

High-order services

Expensive, unique services with large thresholds and ranges.

• Example: Sports arenas, specialty doctors, concerts, and elite research centers.

Low-order services

Common, inexpensive services used frequently with smaller thresholds.

• Example: Grocery stores, hair salons, and small restaurants.

Hexagonal Hinterlands

The hexagonal shape used to depict market areas as a compromise between a square and a circle.

Concentric Zone Model (Burgess)

Describes a city as a series of rings surrounding a CBD.

• Example: Based on Chicago in the 1920s.

Hoyt Sector Model

Describes land use as wedges developing along transportation routes.

Multiple Nuclei Model (Harris and Ullman)

Suggests cities develop around multiple focal points or nodes.

Galactic City Model

A CBD surrounded by smaller nodes and edge cities along beltways.

• Example: Based on the process in Detroit.

Squatter Zones (Settlements)

Residential areas on undesirable land built with found materials and lacking services.

• Example: Favelas (Brazil), Barrios, Slums; and Kibera (Nairobi, Kenya).

Disamenity Zones

Physically unsafe locations (often steep slopes) not connected to city services and often under criminal control.

• Example: Favelas in Brazil.

Traditional CBD

Found in African cities, featuring small shops clustered along narrow, twisting streets.

Colonial CBD

Administrative centers in African cities with broad avenues and European styles.

• Example: Government House (Lagos, Nigeria), Palais de la Nation (Belgian Congo), and Cape Coast Castle (Ghana).

Latin American City Model (Griffin-Ford)

Features a CBD with a "commercial spine" and an elite residential sector.

• Example: Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City.

African City Model

Characterized by three distinct CBDs: colonial, traditional, and an informal economy zone.

Southeast Asian City Model (McGee)

Centered around a former colonial port zone with no formal CBD.

Infilling/Urban Infill

Redeveloping vacant or underused land within a city to increase density.

• Example: Longworth Hall (Cincinnati); Civita community (San Diego); and Central Park (Denver).

Zoning Ordinances

Regulations defining how property in specific regions may be used (residential, commercial, or industrial).

Urban Planning

The process of promoting growth and controlling land use change through regulations.

Infrastructure

Basic facilities and systems needed for a society and economy to function.

• Example: Roads, bridges, wifi, sewage systems, power stations, schools, police/fire departments, hospitals, museums, and sports facilities.

Municipal

Refers to the local government of a city/town and its services.

• Example: A municipal water supply.

Municipality

A local political entity all under the same jurisdiction.

• Example: Cook County has 135 municipalities, while Marion County has one.

Sustainability

Using Earth's resources without causing permanent damage to the environment.

Greenbelts

Areas of undeveloped land (parks, farmland) around a city to limit sprawl.

• Example: The greenbelt surrounding London.

New Urban Design (New Urbanism)

Strategies to create walkable, mixed-use, human-scale neighborhoods.

• Example: Central Park (Denver) and Civita (San Diego).

Mixed-Use Development

Planning that includes multiple functions (residential, retail, educational) in one area.

• Example: Longworth Hall in Cincinnati.

Smart Growth Policies

Policies to combat sprawl by creating concentrated growth in compact centers.

• Example: Enacted in New Jersey, Rhode Island, Washington, Tennessee, and Oregon.

Slow Growth Policies

Limiting building permits to slow outward spread and protect local character.

• Example: Boulder, Colorado and Portland, Oregon.

Quantitative Data

Information that can be counted, measured, or sequenced numerically.

• Example: U.S. Census data, population counts, income ranges, and age statistics.

Qualitative Data

Data based on descriptive depictions, perceptions, or opinions.

• Example: Fieldwork, narratives, personal interviews, and photographs.

Redlining

Discriminatory practice by banks refusing home loans in certain neighborhoods based on racial/ethnic composition.

• Example: Instances where banks declined mortgage applications in predominantly minority areas.

Blockbusting

Real estate practice of convincing homeowners to sell at low prices by suggesting another ethnic group is moving in.

Inclusionary Zoning

Ordinances requiring developers to include low- and medium-income housing in new projects.

• Example: Used in the United States and London.

Zones of Abandonment

Areas deserted by owners for economic or environmental reasons.

• Example: Areas in Detroit, Cleveland, Kowloon (Hong Kong), Chernobyl (Ukraine), and Fukushima (Japan).

Urban Renewal

Government programs intended to redevelop and modernize blighted areas.

• Example: Cincinnati's West End (displacing 6,713 families for I-75); and Kowloon Walled City.

Eminent Domain

Legal concept allowing government seizure of private property for public use after paying market value.

• Example: Used for highways, schools, stadiums, or hospitals.

Gentrification

Process where higher-income residents renovate buildings in low-income neighborhoods.

• Example: Over-the-Rhine (Cincinnati) and the Mission District (San Francisco).

Informal Settlements

Densely populated areas built without planning or basic services.

• Example: Favelas, Barrios, and Slums; and Mumbra, India.

Suburban Sprawl

Rapid expansion of a city's footprint horizontally.

• Example: Atlanta, Georgia, which covers over 8,300 square miles.

Ecological Footprint

A measure of the impact of human activity on the environment relative to nature's ability to regenerate resources.

Brownfields

Large, abandoned industrial sites that are polluted and require remediation.

• Example: The Crosley Radio Building (Cincinnati); abandoned auto factories in Detroit; and projects in Lawrence, MA.

Urban Redevelopment

Renovating a site by removing existing landscape and rebuilding from the ground up.

• Example: Denver's baseball stadium and the Atlanta stadium.