People Of The Planet Glossary

Question 1

Advanced country (AC)

Answer 1

countries that share a number of important economic development characteristics including well-developed financial markets, high degrees of financial intermediation and diversified economic structures with rapidly growing service sectors; ACs are classified by the IMF

Question 2

Aid

Answer 2

a transfer of resources from one country to another, typically from a more economically developed country to a less economically developed country

Question 3

Conurbation

Answer 3

a large urban agglomeration that results from several cities merging over time, forming a continuous urban area

Question 4

Development

Answer 4

the state of growth or advancement whereby people and places improve over time

Question 5

Emerging and developing country (EDC)

Answer 5

countries which neither share all the economic development characteristics required to be advanced or are eligible for the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust; EDCs are classified by the IMF

Question 6

Function

Answer 6

a role performed by something; in the case of a city, this may be administrative or related to a sphere of activity

Question 7

Globalisation

Answer 7

the process whereby places become interconnected by trade and culture

Question 8

Gross domestic product (GDP)

Answer 8

the total value of the goods and services produced in a country

Question 9

Human Development Index (HDI)

Answer 9

A scale that measures development and gives a score from 0 to 1, with 1 being the highest

Question 10

Industrialisation

Answer 10

the process whereby factories, industry and manufacturing increase and dominate

Question 11

Informal sector

Answer 11

refers to jobs that don’t offer regular contracted hours, salary, pensions or other features of more formal employment; may refer to illegal or unlicensed activity

Question 12

Infrastructure

Answer 12

the basic structures and facilities needed for a society to function, such as buildings, roads and power supplies

Question 13

Internal growth

Answer 13

growth within a city that results from births among the resident population rather than people moving into the city

Question 14

Low-income developing country (LIDC)

Answer 14

countries that are eligible for the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust from the IMF; LIDCs are classified by the IMF

Question 15

Megacity

Answer 15

usually defined as a city that has a population of over 10 million, although the exact number varies

Question 16

Migration

Answer 16

the movement of people from one place to another; may be voluntary or forced, permanent or temporary, domestic or international

Question 17

Multiplier effect

Answer 17

the chain of consequences in which investment leads to wealth, which leads to more investment, leading to more wealth; a spiral of improvement

Question 18

Population density

Answer 18

the number of people in an area, usually expressed as people per square kilometre

Question 19

Primary industries

Answer 19

an economic activity that involves collecting raw materials, such as fishing, farming or mining

Question 20

Pull factor

Answer 20

a positive factor that attracts people into an urban/rural area

Question 21

Push factor

Answer 21

a negative factor that results in the movement of people away from an urban/rural area

Question 22

Quaternary industry

Answer 22

work in the ‘knowledge economy’ that involves providing information and the development of new ideas

Question 23

Rural-urban migration

Answer 23

the movement of people from the countryside into towns and cities; occurs as a result of push and pull factors relevant to both locations

Question 24

Secondary industries

Answer 24

manufacturing industries; the number of people employed in this sector increases as a country develops

Question 25

Services

Answer 25

a function, or ‘job’, that an ecosystem provides

Question 26

Subsistence

Answer 26

only producing enough goods to meet your own basic needs, with no extra to trade

Question 27

Tertiary industries

Answer 27

service industries and jobs such as teaching; very few people are employed in this sector in a developing country

Question 28

Urban (built)

Answer 28

Refers to areas that have been built by people; towns and cities

Question 29

Urban belt

Answer 29

an area of land which has become more urban in character

Question 30

Urban forestry

Answer 30

the management of tree populations in urban environments

Question 31

Urbanisation

Answer 31

the process of towns and cities developing and becoming bigger as their population increases

Question 32

World city

Answer 32

a city considered to be an important node in the global economic system, and one which has iconic status and buildings, e.g. London and New York; also known as a global or alpha city