AP Human Geo Unit 6 Vocab

site

The physical character of a place

situation

the location of a place relative to other places

urbanization

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

megacities

Cities, mostly characteristic of the developing world, where high population growth and migration have caused them to explode in population since World War II. All megacities are plagued by chaotic and unplanned growth, pollution, and widespread poverty.

metacities

A new term used to describe cities that have 20 million or more people

periphery countries

countries with low levels of economic development; often exploited for resource by core (more developed) countries

semi-periphery countries

the industrializing, mostly capitalist countries which are positioned between the periphery and core countries

core countries

countries with high levels of economic development; often acquire resources for periphery countries

suburbanization

The process of population movement from within towns and cities to the rural-urban fringe; most common after World War II

urban sprawl

The process of urban areas expanding outwards, usually in the form of suburbs, and developing over fertile agricultural land.

urban decentralization

when metropolitan areas sprawl in all directions and suburbs take on many of the characteristics of traditional downtowns

edge city

cities that are located on the outskirts of larger cities and serve many of the same functions of urban areas, but in a sprawling, decentralized suburban environment

exurb

an area similar to a suburb, but unconnected to any central city or densely populated area

boomburb

a suburban area experiencing significant growth in population and prosperity

world city (global city)

Centers of economic, culture, and political activity that are strongly interconnected and together control the global systems of finance and commerce.

urban hierarchy

A ranking of settlements according to their size and economic functions.

globalization

Actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope.

rank-size rule

A pattern of settlements in a country, such that the nth largest settlement is 1/n the population of the largest settlement.

primate city

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

gravity model

A model that holds that the potential use of a service at a particular location is directly related to the number of people in a location and inversely related to the distance people must travel to reach the service.

Christaller's 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.

Burgess's Concentric Zone Theory

Views cities as growing outward in concentric rings.

Made up of 5 Zones:

1.) Central Business District

2.) Zone of Transition

3.) Zone of Independent workers' homes

4.) Zone of better residences

5.) Commuters Zone

Hoyt's Sector Model

argues that the city grows outward from the center, so a low-rent area could extend all the way from the CBD to the city's outer edge, creating zones which are shaped like pieces of a pie.

Harris-Ullman 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 City Model (Peripheral Model)

This model features a ring road and modern amenities like airports. It argues that edge cities are likely to pop-up around the ring road.

Bid-Rent Theory

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.

Central Business District (CBD)

The downtown or nucleus of a city where retail stores, offices, and cultural activities are concentrated; building densities are usually quite high; and transportation systems converge.

Latin American City Model

Combines elements of Latin American Culture and globalization by combining radial sectors and concentric zones. Includes a thriving CBD with a commercial spine. The quality of houses decreases as one moves outward away from the CBD, and the areas of worse housing occurs in the Disamenity sectors.

Southeast Asian City Model

Terry (T.G.) McGee developed a model showing similar land-use patterns among medium sized cities of Southeast Asia. Its focal point is the old colonial port zone. The model also does not find any CBD in Asia, but rather he found elements of the CBD present as separate clusters surrounding the port zone.

Sub-Saharan African City Model

The Europeans created prominent urban centers including ports along the coast. Africa also has certain cities that are neither traditional nor colonial such as South Africa's major urban centers that are mostly Western, with elements of European and American models, including high-rise central business districts and suburbs. Due to the diversity of its cities, it is complicated to develop an African City Model.

infilling

the use of vacant land and property within a built-up area for further construction or development

infrastructure

the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (e.g., buildings, roads, and power supplies) needed for the operation of a society or enterprise.

sustainable design initiatives

Communities that use smart growth and green building techniques to create neighborhoods that are economically thriving and environmentally responsible

mixed land use

Using land for different reasons including residential and commercial, multiple goals accomplished

urban walkability

the degree to which services in an urban area can be accessed by walking

transportation-oriented development

type of urban development that maximizes the amount of residential, business and leisure space within walking distance of public transport

smart growth policies

Legislation and regulations to limit suburban sprawl and preserve farmland.

New Urbanism

A movement in urban planning to promote mixed use commercial and residential development and pedestrian friendly, community orientated cities. New urbanism is a reaction to the sprawling, automobile centered cities of the mid twentieth century.

greenbelts

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

slow-growth cities

urban communities where the planners have put into place smart growth initiatives to decrease the rate at which the city grows horizontally to avoid the adverse affects of sprawl

de facto segregation

Racial segregation that occurs in schools, not as a result of the law, but as a result of patterns of residential settlement

quantitative data

numerical data

census data

information collected from the census; ethnicity, gender, migration, socioeconomic status

survey data

Data produced by recording respondents answers to questions

qualitative data

descriptive data

field study

scientific study that takes place in a natural setting

housing discrimination

The illegal practice of denying an individual or group the right to buy or rent a home based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability or family status.

redlining

A process by which banks draw lines on a map and refuse to lend money to purchase or improve property within the boundaries; typically the lines were drawn to disadvantage non-white areas

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

housing affordability

A measure of how easy it is for people to buy their own house (based on factors such as average house prices, average incomes and interest rates)

environmental injustice

when people in poorer communities are more likely to be subjected to negative environmental impacts to their health and well-being

disamenity zone

The very poorest parts of cities that are not connected to regular city services

zone of abandonment

areas that have been deserted in a city for economic or environmental reasons

squatter settlement

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.

land tenure

refers to the way land is owned and distributed in a region

inclusionary zoning

zoning regulations that create incentives or requirements for affordable housing development

local food movement

Purchasing food from nearby farms because you want to minimize the pollution created from the transportation of food around the world

urban renewal

rebuilding of the poor areas of a city

gentrification

the restoration of run-down urban areas by the middle class (resulting in the displacement of lower-income people)

fragmentation of local government

a large number of local governments with authority over a variety of issues sometimes resulting in overlap of duties, confusion and slow processes

urban sustainability

The goal of improving the social and economic conditions of an increasingly urbanized population while maintaining environmental quality

ecological footprint

A measure of how much an individual consumes, expressed in area of land

redevelopment

reusing previously developed land

brownfields

abandoned polluted industrial sites in central cities, many of which are today being cleaned and redeveloped

urban growth policy

plans for managing the way urban areas grow to achieve specific goals like limiting sprawl or increasing environmental sustainability

farmland protection policy

policy that aims to protect prime agricultural land from non-agricultural development

conurbanization

the process that the metropolitan area grows so outward that it merges with other metropolitan areas.

white flight

working and middle-class white people move away from racial-minority suburbs or inner-city neighborhoods to white suburbs and exurbs

public housing

housing provided to low-income households, who pay 30% of their income as rent for the housing

annexation

Legally adding land area to a city in the United States