Week 10 - Settlement Patterns Flashcards
Define Urban
different definitions across the globe
- usually a specific population density
- Western Nations are 75-80% urban
urbanization
the proportion of peope inhabiting cities
urban growth
absolute increase in urban population
how does an urban system grow? (4)
- natural increase
- migration
- immigration
- expansion of boundaries
urban sprawl
low density expansion of urban land uses into surrounding areas
Range between dispersion and nucleation depend on? (5)
- physical environment
- culture
- social organization
- political influences
- economic activities
dispersed
where buildings are spread out and scattered
nucleated
where buildings are clustered around a central point
Changing patterns of settlement (3)
- rural depopulation
- counter-urbanization
- urban-rural fridge
rural depopulation
result of urban economic concentration
counter-urbanization
decentralization of population outside of large cities
urban-rural fridge
becoming increasingly urbanized
2 forms of settlement
- dispersed
- nucleated
urban vs rural way of life
urban: mass society
rural: community
central place theory*
an attempt to explain the spatial arrangement, size, and number of settlements
- assumption that there is uniform distribution of pop/resources/settlements
rank size rule*
the resulting distribution in a state will be characterized by its largest city, with other cities decreasing in size respective to it, initially at a rapid rate and then more slowly
- primate city
- Pr = P1/R [population of largest center/rank size of center] = population of center
World City
where a disproportionate part of the world business is located (business, diversity, vert growth, high pop, cultural centers, accessible location)
- component of economic globalization
World City Characteristics (4)
economic - key centers for large corporations
gateway cities - key point of entry to major geographical region
cultural - cultural center, spectacles/events
political - influence/participate in world affairs/events
Ranking of World cities
Alpha
beta
Gamma
Define MegaCity
a cit with a population of over 10million
