Unit 7: Cities and Urban Land Use

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers key concepts of urban geography, including Central Place Theory, various urban models, and settlement hierarchies based on the Unit 7 lecture notes.

Central-place theory

A spatial theory in urban geography that attempts to explain the distribution patterns, size, and number of cities and towns around the world, as well as how settlements locate in relation to one another.

Threshold

The minimum number of people needed for a business to operate.

Range

The maximum distance people are willing to travel to get a product or service.

Concentric Zone Model

A US city model containing five zones: Central business district, Zone of transition, Zone of independent workers' homes, Zone of better residences, and Commuters zone.

Sector Model

A US city model featuring a Central business district and Transportation core, with low-rent, intermediate-rent, and high-rent residential areas organized in sectors.

Multiple Nuclei Model

A US city model characterizing urban structure through various nodes including the CBD, wholesale/light manufacturing, heavy manufacturing, outlying business districts, and residential or industrial suburbs.

Latin American City Structure components

Key elements include the Spine, Mall, Periférico, Disamenity zones, Zone of Maturity, and Zone of peripheral squatter settlements.

African City Model CBDs

A city structure often containing three distinct centers: a Colonial CBD, a Traditional CBD, and a Market Zone.

City Issues

Common urban challenges such as Race relations, Traffic, Water delivery, Pollution, Urban sprawl, and Spatial inequality.

World Cities

Global “hearths” of culture, economics, and politics, specifically New York, London, and Tokyo.

Settlement Hierarchy

The ranking of settlements from smallest to largest: Hamlet, Village, Town, City, Metropolis, and Megalopolis.

BosWash

The major megalopolis located in the United States.

Primate City

The largest and most important city in a country that acts as the center of economic power and national culture, possessing at least $2$ times the population of the next largest city.