Unit 6 - Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes Flashcards
permanently inhabited portion of the earth’s surface
ecumene
areas (cities) with high concentrations of people
Urban
primarily residential areas near cities
Suburbs
areas (farms and villages) with low concentrations of people
Rural
a place with a permanent human population
settlement
the process of developing towns and cities which is an ongoing process that does not end once a city is formed
urbanization
an indicator or the proportion of the population that lives in cities and towns as compared to those that live in rural areas
percent (%) urban
the process of people moving, usually from cities, to residential areas on the outskirts of cities
suburbanization
suburbanites that return to live in the city
reurbanization
people moving farther out into rural areas and work remotely
exurbanization
an established town near a very large city grows into a city independent of the larger one
satellite city
the most prosperous of the earliest agricultural settlements that grew into urban centers shortly after the Neolithic Revolution
city-states
early city-states emerged in several locations around the globe and were areas generally associated with river valleys in which seasonal floods and fertile soil aided the production of an agricultural surplus
urban hearths
a collection of adjacent cities across which population density is high and continuous
metropolitan area or metro area
An MSA consists of a city of at least 50,000 people, the county in which it is located, and adjacent counties that have a high degree of social and economic integration or connection with the urban core.
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Cities that are more than 10,000 inhabitants (but less than 50,000), the county in which they are located, and surrounding counties with a high degree of integration.
Micropolitan Statistical Area
a region organized around a focal point and are defined by an activity that occurs across that region
nodal region (functional region)
social characteristics of an urban area (meaning the population of cities (plural) as compared to other areas) that contains a great variety of people
social heterogeneity
the shrinking “time distance” between locations because of improved methods of transportation and communication
time-space compression
an urban model that describes urban growth based on transportation technology
Borchert’s Model
a city shaped by the distances people could walk
pedestrian city
communities that grew up along rail lines often creating a pinwheel shaped city
streetcar suburbs
a model stating that places that are larger and closer together will have a greater interaction than places that are smaller and farther away from each other
Gravity Model
One way to describe how the sizes of cities within a region may develop. The “n”th largest city in any region will be 1/”n” the size of the largest city
rank-size rule
The largest city in an urban system that is more than twice as large as the next largest city and is usually a social, political, or economic hub for the system offering wider services than do the many smaller cities.
primate city
A theory proposed by German geographer Walter Christaller in 1933 that was developed to explain the distribution of cities of different sizes across a region.
Central Place Theory
a place where people go to receive goods and services
central place
the area surrounding a central place from which people are attracted to use the place’s goods and services
market area (or hinterland)
Christaller chose to depict these market areas as these because this shape was a compromise between a square (in which people living in the corners would be farther from the central place) and a circle (in which there would be overlapping areas of service).
hexagonal hinterlands
the size of population necessary for any particular service to exist and remain profitable
threshold
the distance people will travel to obtain specific goods and services
range
the world’s largest cities that typically have more than ten million people
megacities
cities that exert influence far beyond their national boundaries
world cities or global cities
a continuously developed string of cities or a chain of connected cities
megalopolis
the merging of cities into a single, uninterrupted urban area
conurbation
portions of an urban area–regions, or zones, within the city–have specific and distinct purposes.
functional zonation
Often the commercial heart of a city and is the central focus of transportation and services.
central business district (CBD)
A model that describes the city as a series of rings that surround a central business district.
concentric zone model or Burgess Model
The first ring around the CBD in the Burgess Model that includes industrial uses mixed with poor quality housing.
zone of transition
A model that describes sectors of land use for low-, medium-, and high-income housing. There is also a transportation sector extending from the edge to the center of the city.
sector model or Hoyt’s Model
This model suggested that functional zonation occurred around multiple centers or nodes. The characteristics of each node either attracted or repelled certain types of activities.
multiple-nuclei model
