Unit 6: Urban Patterns

Question 1

Blockbusting

Answer 1

a business process in which U.S. real estate agents and building developers convince white property owners to sell their houses at low prices, which they do by telling house owners that racial minorities will soon move into their neighborhoods in order to instill fear in them
ex: panic peddling

Question 2

Boomburbs

Answer 2

a municipality of more than 100,000 people that has been growing at a double-digit pace for three consecutive decades and that is not the major city of any metropolitan area
ex: Irvine, California; Irving, Texas; Lakewood, Colorado

Question 3

Bosnywash

Answer 3

a long, heavily populated chain of cities on the east coast of the united states that stretches from boston in the north to new york and down to washington d.c.
ex: including New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore

Question 4

Brownfields

Answer 4

a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant
ex: abandoned gas stations, dry cleaners, industrial properties

Question 5

Census tract

Answer 5

small, relatively permanent statistical subdivisions of a county or equivalent entity that are updated by local participants prior to each decennial census as part of the Census Bureau’s Participant Statistical Areas Program
ex: generally encompass a population between 2,500 to 8,000 people

Question 6

Central Business District

Answer 6

the main business and commercial area of a town or city

ex: London has Docklands area containing Canary Wharf

Question 7

Central city

Answer 7

a city that constitutes the densely populated center of a metropolitan area
ex: core city

Question 8

Central Place Theory (Christaller)

Answer 8

a spatial theory in urban geography that attempts to explain the reasons behind the distribution patterns, size, and a number of cities and towns around the world as well as provide a framework by which those areas can be studied both for historical reasons and for the locational patterns of areas today
ex: Hamlet, Village, Town, City, Regional Capital

Question 9

Commercial suburb

Answer 9

characterized by higher-density apartment housing and greater integration between commercial and residential areas
ex: commercial activities that cater to resident

Question 10

Commuter zone

Answer 10

a geographic area used in population and economic analysis, contains the surrounding travel-to-work areas of a city where at least 15 % of employed residents are working in the city
ex: industry does not tend to develop next to high-income housing

Question 11

Concentric zone

Answer 11

in urban development model based on human ecology theory that views cities as a series of five circular rings or zones, originating with a central business district (CBD)
ex: the central business district, the zone in transition, the zone of working persons’ homes, the zone of better residences, and the commuters’ zone

Question 12

Density gradient

Answer 12

a spatial variation in density over an area. The term is used in the natural sciences to describe varying density of matter, but can apply to any quantity whose density can be measured
ex: most cities’ density gradient is most at the center and declines as one moves outwards…Denver exemplifies this

Question 13

Edge city

Answer 13

a relatively large urban area situated on the outskirts of a city, typically beside a major road
ex: Lone Tree, CO

Question 14

Exurbs

Answer 14

a district outside a city, especially a prosperous area beyond the suburbs
ex: Siming and Huli / Haicang and Jimei

Question 15

Filtering (housing)

Answer 15

the idea that, as new market-rate housing is built, higher-income people move into it, leaving behind older housing stock for lower-income people
ex: Inner-city homes were/are strongly affected by filtering

Question 16

Galactic city model

Answer 16

a circular city model that has a commercial and economic central area which is often called the central business district or CBD is at the center of the city
ex: popular with post-industrial cities

Question 17

Gentrification

Answer 17

a process in which a poor area (as of a city) experiences an influx of middle-class or wealthy people who renovate and rebuild homes and businesses and which often results in an increase in property values and the displacement of earlier, usually poorer residents
ex: Atlanta and Boston

Question 18

Ghettoization

Answer 18

to treat a particular group in society as if they are different from the other parts of society and as if their activities and interests are not important to other people
ex: Birmingham, Alabama’s interstate highway system attempted to maintain the racial boundaries

Question 19

Greenbelts & green spaces

Answer 19

a general term that refers to natural, undeveloped, and/or agricultural lands that surround urban areas as designated by cities, counties, special districts, and other jurisdictions
ex: open spaces, parks, farms and ranches, wildlands

Question 20

Historic preservation & landmarks

Answer 20

a structure that has significant historical, architectural, or cultural meaning and that has been given legal protection from alteration and destruction
ex: Alcatraz Island, Lincoln Memorial, Statue of Liberty

Question 21

Inclusionary zoning

Answer 21

refers to municipal and county planning ordinances that require a given share of new construction to be affordable by people with low to moderate incomes
ex: Burlington, Vermont, was an early adopter of IZ, launching its policy in 1990

Question 22

Industrial suburbs

Answer 22

a community, near a large city, with an industrial economy

ex: established tax havens

Question 23

Infrastructure

Answer 23

the basic services, equipment and facilities needed for an area’s economy to function
ex: housing, bridges, military installations

Question 24

Local economic development

Answer 24

an approach to economic development, of note in the developing world that, as its name implies, places importance on activities in and by cities, districts and regions
ex: protected bicycle parking, outdoor seating, non-slip pedestrian surfaces or public art

Question 25

Megacities

Answer 25

a very large city, typically one with a population of over ten million people ex: Tokyo

Question 26

Megalopolis/conurbation

Answer 26

an extensive metropolitan area or a long chain of continuous metropolitan areas ex: NYC

Question 27

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

Answer 27

large population areas as defined by the government for the purpose of gathering data ex: New York City-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA MSA

Question 28

Mixed-land use zoning

Answer 28

a complementary mix of residential, commercial, and/or industrial uses in a single district ex: blends residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment

Question 29

New Urbanism

Answer 29

mixed-use developments that include residential & commercial areas within the same space ex: walkways, bike lanes

Question 30

Outlying business district

Answer 30

the portion of an urban area that is normally separated from the central business district and fringe area but that supports considerable business activity and has its own traffic circulation, superimposed on some through traffic ex: downtown shopping venues

Question 31

Primate city (urban primacy)

Answer 31

the largest settlement in a country, if it has more than twice as many people as the second-ranking settlement ex: Bangkok

Question 32

Public housing

Answer 32

housing owned by the government; in the United States, it is rented to low-income residents, and the rents are set at 30 percent of the families' incomes ex: apartment area by fisherman's park

Question 33

Public (civic) spaces

Answer 33

the places in which a community performs or engages in some part of its political or social life ex: spaces used for community activities, including open-air environments where public activities such as assemblies or speeches occur

Question 34

Public transportation

Answer 34

a system of vehicles that operate at regular times on fixed routes and are used by the public as run by the government ex: trains, buses

Question 35

Rank-size rule

Answer 35

A pattern of settlements in a country such that the largest settlement is 1/n the population of the largest settlement ex: the largest city has a population 1,000,000, and we want to know the population of the fourth largest city, it will have 1/4 of the population of the largest city

Question 36

Residential suburbs

Answer 36

a residential area contains houses rather than offices or factories ex: incorporated into a city or the outskirts

Question 37

Slow-growth cities

Answer 37

urban communities where the planners have put into place smart growth initiatives to decrease the rate at which the city grows horizontally to avoid the adverse affects of sprawl ex: Detroit, Baltimore, Milwaukee

Question 38

Smart growth policies (cities)

Answer 38

an approach to development that encourages a mix of building types and uses, diverse housing and transportation options, development within existing neighborhoods, and community engagement ex: Arlington, Virginia

Question 39

Social heterogeneity (in cities)

Answer 39

a society or group that includes individuals of differing ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, sexes, or ages ex: ethnic enclave neighborhoods

Question 40

Spatial margin of profitability

Answer 40

a line that separates the profitable spaces from the unprofitable spaces. It defines the spatial boundary within which a company can be profitable ex: Texas-based company decides to locate its manufacturing operations in Mexico, several locations within a certain distance from the Texas-Mexico border could be within its spatial margin of profitability

Question 41

Squatter settlements/shantytowns

Answer 41

a settlement of improvised buildings known as shanties or shacks, typically made of materials such as mud and wood; typically begins due to inadequate infrastructure ex: poor sanitation, street drainage, no electricity

Question 42

Suburbanization

Answer 42

process in which lands outside urban areas become urbanized as people and businesses from the city move to these spaces ex: Bastrop

Question 43

Sustainable design initiatives

Answer 43

the intention to reduce or completely eliminate negative environmental impacts through thoughtful designs ex: fields of design such as designing buildings or products

Question 44

Sustainability practices (cities)

Answer 44

a city designed with consideration for social, economic, environmental impact (commonly referred to as the triple bottom line), and resilient habitat for existing populations, without compromising the ability of future generations to experience ex: planting trees, reducing carbon footprint

Question 45

Threshold and range

Answer 45

the minimum market (population or income) needed to bring about the selling of a particular good or service and the maximum distance consumers are prepared to travel to acquire goods - at some point the cost or inconvenience will outweigh the need for the good ex: A threshold may be as low as 250 people for a convenience store or as high as 150,000 people for a theater

Question 46

[The] underclass

Answer 46

a group in society prevented from participating in the material benefits of a more developed society because of a variety of social and economic characteristics ex: formerly, black slaves in the US

Question 47

Urban blight/decay

Answer 47

the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude ex: abandoned buildings and empty plots, high unemployment levels, high crime rates

Question 48

Urbanized area

Answer 48

the region surrounding a city, very developed | ex: high density, commercial buildings, roads

Question 49

Urban hierarchy

Answer 49

a ranking of settlements according to their sizes and functions ex: hamlet, village, town, city, metropolis

Question 50

Urbanization

Answer 50

the process by which large numbers of people become permanently concentrated in relatively small areas, forming cities ex: influx of people moving to Texas

Question 51

Urban morphology

Answer 51

the study of the physical form and structure of urban places | ex: fringe belts

Question 52

Urban renewal

Answer 52

redevelopment and refurbishment of urban areas | ex: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Question 53

Urban sprawl

Answer 53

uncontrolled expansion of suburbs (low density areas) | ex: austin's sprawl into bastrop

Question 54

World Cities (alpha)

Answer 54

centers of economic, culture, and political activity that are strongly interconnected and together control the global systems of finance and commerce ex: London, Seoul

Question 55

Zone in transition

Answer 55

an area that is either becoming more rural or more urban | ex: ZIT

Question 56

Zone of abandonment

Answer 56

areas that have been deserted in a city for economic or environmental reasons ex: garbage, crime, and vandalism

Question 57

Zones of disamenity (disamenity zone/Sector)

Answer 57

the very poorest parts of cities that in extreme | ex: Favellas in Rio

Question 58

Zone of in situ accretion

Answer 58

a transitional area for Latin American cities that is between the zone of maturity and the zone of peripheral squatter settlements ex: modest homes, various sizes and quality materials

Question 59

Zone of maturity

Answer 59

located around the CBD and is considered an inner city location ex: better homes, middle income

Question 60

Zoning ordinances

Answer 60

a rule that defines how property in specific geographic zones can be used ex: no agriculture in city limits, no fireworks