Urban Environments- unit vocabulary

Question 1

Accessibility

Answer 1

After the center the most accessible locations are found beside major transport routes. Ring roads and arterial roads.

Question 2

Acute shock

Answer 2

A sudden incident (negative) experienced to a severe degree.

Question 3

Albedo

Answer 3

(linked to UHI): a measure of the reflectivity of the earth’s surface. Light surfaces like snow/ice have a high albedo (reflectivity); dark surfaces like pavement have a low albedo (reflectivity). Therefore, urban areas with many dark surfaces do not reflect, but rather ABSORB a lot of heat.

Question 4

Amenities

Answer 4

Urban services which satisfy people’s needs or improve the quality of life and the environment.

Question 5

Atmospheric Pollution

Answer 5

Occurs when harmful substances, including particulates, are introduced into Earth’s atmosphere. Eg. PM2.5, nitrous oxides

Question 6

Bid Rent theory

Answer 6

As distance from the CBD increases, availability of land increases & cost decreases
Basic assumption is that accessibility/desirability increases with centrality. Yeet, different sectors of the economy are prepared to pay more for land close to the CBD
Eg.retail can pay a high price for land in the CBD (needs foot traffic)

Question 7

Brownfields

Answer 7

Properties that are complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.

Question 8

Centrality

Answer 8

In theory the center is the most accessible location.

Question 9

Central Business District (CBD)

Answer 9

The CBD is at the heart of a city or town and usually has great accessibility, large shopping and banking areas, and government buildings. Characterized by: Banks/Businesses/Offices; Old Core (historic center, narrow streets)/government buildings; Some vertical zoning (mixed use on ground, 1st, 2nd floors, etc.); Department stores/chain stores/specialty shops; Little or no residential population; High level of pedestrians – sometimes ‘pedestrianized’ areas; Transport hubs/terminals; Limited/light manufacturing; High value land/High quality shopping; Entertainment venues

Question 10

Centrifugal Movement

Answer 10

Outward Movement (Centrifugal). Eg. Suburbanisation, urban sprawl, counter-urbanisation

Question 11

Centripetal Movement

Answer 11

Inward Movement (Centripetal). Eg. Rural to urban migration, gentrification, re-urbanisation, urban renewal

Question 12

Chronic stress

Answer 12

The long-term or even permanent state of stress.

Question 13

Climate

Answer 13

The long term behavior of the atmosphere in a specific area, with characteristics such as temperature, pressure, wind, precipitation, cloud cover and humidity etc.

Question 14

Clustering

Answer 14

Similar land uses may cluster together. Similar shops (jewelers) or leisure facilities (bars and nightclubs). Also residential areas with ethnic grouping or lifestyle or income grouping.

Question 15

Contested Land

Answer 15

A disagreement over the possession/control of land between two or more interest groups with varying levels of power.

Question 16

Counter-urbanization

Answer 16

Movement of people away from inner urban areas to new towns, commuter towns, villages, or the rural-urban fringe.

Question 17

Cycle of Deprivation

Answer 17

Poverty is passed from generation to generation by values, attitudes, and behaviors, mainly in families but reinforced by the communities in which they live.

Question 18

Deindustrialization

Answer 18

A process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry.

Question 19

Depletion of green space

Answer 19

Getting rid of parks and other green spaces in order to develop that land into something else. In other words a switch to residential, commercial, transport, or industrial land use.

Question 20

Deprivation

Answer 20

The lack or denial of something considered to be a necessity. Below, we focus on housing deprivation, which is characterized by insufficient quantity or quality of housing.

Question 21

Deprivation (urban social deprivation)

Answer 21

A standard of living below that of the majority in a particular society that involves hardships and lack of access to services and amenities.

Question 22

Externalities

Answer 22

The results of activities by an individual, group or institution which affect the welfare of others are known as externalities. Can be positive or negative. Eg. a bar that creates noise pollution or a park that produces nice trees for neighbors to look at.

Question 23

Function

Answer 23

Dominant economic or political activity that characterizes the role of the urban area. Eg. industrial, service, residential, leisure, administrative (government). Urban areas are multifunctional. Agricultural function?

Question 24

Gentrification

Answer 24

The reinvestment of capital into post-industrial inner-city areas. Improvements to residential areas – rehabilitation and upgrading, which attracts businesses to the area. The character of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in.
Common in brownfield sites – abandoned, derelict or underused industrial buildings and land – can lead to economic development Impact: Gentrification is a kind of ‘filtering’ that may lead to displacement of poor people.

Question 25

Geopolitical

Answer 25

Relating to politics, especially international relations, as influenced by geographical factors.

Question 26

Inner City

Answer 26

The land zone around the city center, also known as the zone of transition. Characterized by: Crowded with little open space; High density; Land values cheaper than CBD but still high; Can be run-down, can have more crime (cities in earlier stages of development); Experienced gentrification in modern times

Question 27

Interest group

Answer 27

Similar to stakeholder. A group of people that seeks to influence public policy on the basis of a particular common interest or concern.

Question 28

Hierarchy of Settlement

Answer 28

Order of importance of settlements.

Question 29

Informal Economy

Answer 29

Also called the “off-the-books economy” or “shadow economy” is the part of an economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government. Although the informal sector makes up a significant portion of the economies in developing countries, it is often stigmatized as troublesome and unmanageable. It exists in both LICs and HICs.

Question 30

Land Tenure

Answer 30

Land ownership

Question 31

Land Use

Answer 31

Land is designated for different purposes such as:
Residential (apartments, detached/ row houses)
Industrial (power plants, ports, factories)
Entertainment (eg. movie theaters, nightclubs)
Open Space (recreation)
Commercial (businesses, shopping centers)
Services (metro stations, schools, clinics)
Transport zones (train stations

Question 32

Megacity

Answer 32

City of 10 million or more inhabitants

Question 33

Microclimate (urban)

Answer 33

The distinctive climate of a small area. Can describe temperatures, air quality (pollution), wind speed, and precipitation.

Question 34

Mobility

Answer 34

Depends on type of transport used. Car, bicycle, public transport.

Question 35

Natural increase

Answer 35

The difference between the number of live births and deaths in an area (not including migration). The people migrating to cities and towns tend to be young, resulting in high levels of natural increase. High percentage of young adults = high levels of birth

Question 36

NIMBYism

Answer 36

“Not in my backyard.” People avoiding proximity to disamenities and other features which they feel reduces the satisfaction they get from living in a place.

Question 37

Photochemical Smog

Answer 37

A type of smog produced when ultraviolet light from the sun reacts with nitrogen oxides (from automobiles and coal-fired power plants) and other chemicals in the atmosphere.

Question 38

PM2.5

Answer 38

(Particulate Matter) “PM2.5” refers to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) that have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, which is about 3% the diameter of a human hair.

Question 39

Proximity

Answer 39

Some land uses repel or deter others. For example, those who can afford to may locate away from polluting factories.

Question 40

Ring Road

Answer 40

Loops around an inner city. Used by through traffic to avoid congestion in the center. Some cities have multiple rings roads within each other.

Question 41

Rural to urban Migration

Answer 41

People relocating to the city from rural areas (moving residence)