Urban Environments Flashcards
Accessibility
The ease with which one location can be reached from another;the degree to which people are able to obtain goods and services such as housing and healthcare
Agglomeration
The concentration of people and their activities at particular locations
Brownfield sites
Land that has previously been used/built on,abandoned and now awaits a new use
Commute
The daily movement of people from there homes to their places of work
Commuter settlements
Towns or villages where a significant proportion of the residents work elsewhere
Congestion
Acute overcrowding caused by high densities of traffic,business and people
Conurbation
Extensive urban areas resulting from the expansion of several towns or cities so that they merge together but maintain their separate identities
Core
The most important economic, political and social area of a country or global region - a centre of power
Counter urbanisation
The movement of people and employment from major cities to smaller cities and towns, as well as to rural areas
Dereliction
Abondoned buildings and wasteland
Environmental quality
The degree to which an area is free from air, water, noise and visual pollution
Ethnicity
Belonging to an ethnic group, united by a common characteristic such as race, language or religion
Formal economy
The type of employment where people work to receive a regular wage, pay tax and have certain rights e.g. paid holidays, sick leave
Greenfield sites
Land not used for urban development/ has not been built on before
Industrialisation
The process by which an increasing proportion of the population are employed in the manufacturing sector of the economy
Informal economy
Employment outside the official knowledge of the government
Infrastructure
The transport networks and the water, sewage and communication systems that are vital to people and their settlements and businesses
Land use
The types of buildings or other features that are found in the area
Land values
The market price of a piece of land; what people or businesses are prepared to pay for owning and occupying it
Mega city
A city or urban area with a population larger than 10 million
Periphery
An area remote or isolated from the centre (core) of a country, it generally lags in terms of development and influence
Physical infrastructure
The services such as transport, telecommunications, water and sewage disposal, that are vital for people and businesses
Pollution
Chemicals, noise, dirt or other substances which have harmful or poisonous effects on an environment
Population density
The number of people in relation to the space that they occupy, normally the number of people per km2
Poverty
Where people are seriously lacking in terms of income, food,housing ,basic services, and access to to education and healthcare
Push-pull factors
The things that encourage people to migrate from one area to another;the negative in the area of departure (push) are balanced against the positives of the destination(pull)
Sanitation
Measures designed to protect public health, including the provision of clean water and the disposal of sewage and waste
Service provision
Making available commercial and social services, such as shops and schools
Settlement
A place where people live
Shanty towns/ squatter settlements
An area of slums built by salvaged materials; found either on the city edge or within the city, often on ground previously avoided by urban development
Social deprivation
When the well- being and quality of life of people begins to fall below a minimum level
Social polarisation
The process of segregation within a society based on income inequality and socio-economic status
Socio - economic group
A group of people sharing the same characteristics such as income level, type of employment and class
Suburbanisation
The outward spread of the urban area, often at lower densities compared with older parts of the city or town
Sustainability
Meeting the needs of the present without comprising the needs of future generations
Urban fringe
The outer edge of a town or city when the built up area gives way to the countryside
Urban re- branding
Developing a town or city to re-image it and change people’s idea of it; promoting a town or city to a target audience or market
Urban regeneration
The investment of capital in the revival of older urban areas by either improving what is already there or clearing it away and rebuilding
Urban re-imaging
Changing the image of an urban area and the way people view it
Urban sprawl
Unplanned growth of urban areas into the surrounding rural areas
Urbanisation
The process by which an increasing proportion or percentage of a population live in urban areas
