Urban Matching

World Cities: These are defined as centers of economic, culture, and political activity. They are characterized by being strongly interconnected and together they exert control over the global systems of finance and commerce.
Primate City: A country's leading city. It is characterized by having a population that is disproportionately greater than other urban areas within the same country.
Megalopolis: This formation consists of several, metropolitan areas there were originally separate that have joined together to form a large, sprawling urban complex.
Gateway City: Cities that act as ports of entry and distribution centers for large geographic areas. This function is a result of their specific geographic location.

Rank-size Rule: A rule stating that the population of any given town should be inversely proportional to its rank in the country's hierarchy following a certain pattern.
Central Place Theory: A geographic theory that explains how services are districted and identifies why there are distinct patterns in this distribution.
Hinterland: The specific market area surrounding an urban center which that urban center serves.
Threshold: Defined as the minimum number of people needed to support a given service.

Central Business District (CBD): The downtown nucleus of a city. It is the area where retail, offices, and cultural activities are concentrated.
Concentric Zone Model: This model describes urban environments as a series of rings, each characterized by distinct land use.
Sector Model: An urban land use model that places the Central Business District (CBD) in the middle, with wedge-shaped sectors radiating outwards along various transportation corridors.
Multiple Nuclei Model: A type of urban formation wherein cities possess numerous centers of business and cultural activities rather than a single central core.

Bid-rent Theory: A theory stating that the price/demand for land increases as distance to the Central Business District (CBD) decreases (closer to the CBD).
Economic Base: This is determined by the ratio of basic to non-basic workers within a city's economy.
Urban Morphology: Referring to the physical form of a city or an urban area.
Edge City: Cities located on the outskirts of larger cities that service many of the same functions as urban areas.

Gentrification: The process in which neighborhoods that were previously low cost are renovated by the middle class to increase property values.
Blockbusting: The process of white families selling their homes because of fears that blacks would move in and lower the property value.

Favela: A specific term used for a shantytown or slum located in Brazil.
Squatter Settlements: Residential developments characterized by extreme poverty. These usually exist on land outside of cities that is not owned or legally rented by its occupants.