AP Human Geography: Unit 6 Vocabulary: Urban Geography

automobile cities

Cities whose size and shape are dictated by and almost require individual automobile ownership

blockbusting

A practice in which realtors persuade white homeowners in a neighborhood to sell their homes by convincing them that the neighborhood is declining due to black families moving in

boomburb

A place with more than 100,000 residents that is not a core city in a metropolitan area; a large suburb with its own government

brownfields

A property whose use or development may be complicated by the potential presence of hazardous substances or pollutants

Central Place Theory

A model, developed by Walter Christaller, that attempts to understand why cities are located where they are

Concentric Zone Model

A model of a city’s internal organization developed by E. W. Burgess that shows rings of factory production and different residential zones radiating outward from a central business district

edge city

A concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment that developed in the suburbs, outside of a city’s traditional downtown or central business district

exclusionary zoning

Zoning that attempts to keep low- to moderate-income people out of a neighborhood

exurb

A semirural district located beyond the suburbs that is often inhabited by well-to-do families

First Urban Revolution

The agricultural and socioeconomic innovations that led to the rise of the earliest cities

Galactic City Model or Peripheral Model

A model of a city’s internal organization in which the central business district remains central, but multiple shopping areas, office parks, and industrial districts are scattered throughout the surrounding suburbs and linked by metropolitan expressway systems

gated community

Privately governed and highly secure residential area within the bounds of a city; often has a fence or a gate surrounding it

gentrification

The displacement of lower-income residents by higher-income residents as an area or neighborhood improves

Gravity Model

The idea that the closer two places are, the more they will influence each other

Griffin-Ford Model

A model of the internal structure of the Latin American city developed by Ernst Griffin and Larry Ford

Hoyt Model or Sector Model

A model of a city’s internal organization, developed by Homer Hoyt, that focuses on transportation and communication as the drivers of the city’s layout

inclusionary zoning

Municipal and county planning ordinances that require a given share of new construction to be affordable for people with low to moderate incomes

Multiple-Nuclei Model

A model of a city’s internal organization, developed by Chauncy Harris and Edward Ullman, showing residential districts organized around several nodes (nuclei) rather than one central business district

New Urbanism

An approach to city planning that focuses on fostering European-style cities of dense settlements, attractive architecture, and housing of different types and prices within walking distance to shopping, restaurants, jobs, and public transportation

primate city

A city that is much larger than any other city in the country and that dominates the country’s economic, political, and cultural life

range

In central place theory, the distance people will travel to acquire a good

rank-size rule

The population of a settlement is inversely proportional to its rank in the urban hierarchy

redlining

The practice of identifying high-risk neighborhoods on a city map and refusing to lend money to people who want to buy property in those neighborhoods

Second Urban Revolution

The industrial innovations in mining and manufacturing that led to increased urban growth

site

An absolute location of a place on Earth

situation

The relative location of a place in reference to its surrounding features, or its regional position with reference to other places

slow-growth city

A city that changes its zoning laws to decrease the rate at which the city spreads horizontally, with the goal of avoiding the negative effects of sprawl

smart growth

Policies that combat regional sprawl by addressing issues of population density and transportation

sprawl

The tendency of cities to grow outward in an unchecked manner

squatter settlement

An area of degraded, seemingly temporary, inadequate, and often illegal housing

streetcar suburb

A settlement outside of a city with streetcar lines; the streetcars take residents into and out of the city easily

suburb

A populated area on the outskirts of a city

suburbanization

The movement of people from urban core areas to the surrounding outskirts of a city

threshold

In central place theory, the number of people required to support businesses

urban heat island

A mass of warm air in cities, generated by urban building materials and human activities, that sits over a city

Urban Renewal

Large-scale redevelopment of the built environment in downtown and older inner-city neighborhoods

urbanization

The movement of people from rural areas to cities

white flight

The mass movement of white people from the city to the suburbs

world city

A world center of trade, finance, information, and migration

zoning

The classification of land according to restrictions on its use and development