Key Terms - Changing Urban Environments Flashcards
Homogenisation (def)
The process of people, products and places becoming the same (in this case city landscapes which have become indistinct from one another).
Megacity (def)
A city or urban agglomeration with a population of more than 10 million people.
Metacity (def)
A conurbation with more than 20 million people.
Million city (def)
A city with a population of more than 1 million.
Natural increase (def)
The birth rate - death rate per 1000 per year being positive.
Pull factor (def)
Positive reasons why people are attracted to an area.
Push factor (def)
Negative reasons why people move away from an area.
Rural-urban migration (def)
The movement of people from rural to urban areas.
Under-employment (def)
When a person is not doing work that makes full use of their skills and abilities. May occur when a migrant moves to anew city.
Urban growth (def)
An increase in the number of urban dwellers.
Urbanisation and causes (def)
An increase in the proportion of a country’s population living in towns and cities. Caused by natural population growth and rural to urban migration.
Urban sprawl (def)
The spread of an urban area into the surrounding countryside.
Green belt (def)
An area of land usually surrounding an urban area, where development is restricted. Prevents urban sprawl.
Greenfield site (def)
An area which has not previously been built on - often in the rural urban fringe.
Ribbon development (def)
Urban growth and the expansion of suburbs, along routes into the CBD.
Suburbanisation (def)
Movement of people living in inner parts of the city to the outskirts. Facilitated by development of transport networks and increased car ownership.
Urban sprawl (def)
The spread of an urban area into the surrounding countryside. This happens if there are no planning controls.
Counter-urbanisation (def)
The movement of people from larger urban areas into smaller urban areas or rural areas, leapfrogging the rural urban fringe.
Rural urban fringe (def)
The area beyond the built up area of the town/city.
Suburbanised village (def)
A village within commuting distance of an urban place which receives newcomers due to counter-urbanisation. Shares suburban characteristics.
‘Dead-heart’ syndrome (def)
The result of loss of manufacturing and retail from the ‘downtown’ areas of cities, which leaves a ‘dead heart’.
Deindustrialisation (def)
The loss of jobs in the manufacturing sector, which occurred in the UK in the second half of the 20th century.
Gentrification (def)
The process by which wealthy individuals or groups of individuals buy and renovate properties in run down areas.
Urban resurgence (def)
The economic and structural regeneration of urban area previously suffering from urban decline. Initiated by redevelopment schemes.
World city (def)
An urban area that has influence over the whole world, acting as global centres for finance, trade, business, politics and culture.
Decentralisation (def)
The movement of population and industry from the urban centre to outlying areas. May involve processes of suburbanisation and counter-urbanisation.
De-multiplier effect (def)
Opposite to the multiplier effect, where a withdrawal of income and investment leads to the closure of activity such as a factory. The loss of jobs means less money is spent in the economy, causing further job losses.
Quaternary sector (def)
The sector of the economy where knowledge or ideas are the main output, such as advertising, computer programming and software design.
Service/tertiary sector (def)
The sector of the economy providing services, such as in retail.
Bottom up (def)
When local people are consulted and supported in making decisions to undertake projects or developments that meet specific needs.
Devolution (def)
The transfer of delegation of power to a local level, usually by central government to local or regional administration.
Top down (def)
When the decision to undertake projects or developments is made by central authority with little or no consultation with the people it affects.
Urban policy (def)
Strategies chosen by local or central government to manage the development of urban areas and reduce urban problems.
Albedo (def)
The reflectivity of a surface. The ratio between amount of incoming insolation and amount of energy reflected back to the atmosphere.
Anticyclonic (def)
High atmosphere pressure = fine weather. Dry, calm conditions. In summer can lead to heatwave conditions. In winter, will be cold clear and blue skies.
Channelling (def)
Wind directed down long, straight, canyon-like streets where there is less friction. Referred to as urban canyons.
Hygroscopic (nuclei) (def)
Water-attracting eg. dust in the atmosphere around which raindrops can form.
Insolation (def)
Incoming solar radiation.
Isotherm (def)
A line joining places with equal temperature (like contours joining places of equal height).