| Term | Definition |
|---|
| concentric zone model | A structural model of the American central city that suggests the existence of five concentric land-use rings arranged around a common center |
| edge cities | A term introduced by American journalist Joel Garreau in order to describe the shifting focus of urganization in the United States away from the Central Business District (CBD) toward new loci of economic activity at the urban fringe. These cities are characterized by extensive amounts of office and retail space, few residential areas, and modern buildings (less than 30 years old). |
| urban realm | A spatial generalization of the large, late-twentieth-century city in the United States. It is shown to be a widely dispersed, multicentered metropolis consisting of increasingly independent zones or realms, each focused on its own suburban downtown; the only exception is the shrunken central realm, which is focused on the Central Business District (CBD). |
| Griffin-Ford model | Developed by geographers Ernst Griffin and Larry Ford, a model of the Latin American city showing a blend of traditional elements of Latin American culture with the forces of globalization that are reshaping the urban scene |
| disamenity sector | The very poorest parts of cities that in extreme cases are not even connected to regular city services and are controlled by gangs or drug lords. |
| McGee model | Developed by geographer T. G. McGee, a model showing similar land-use patterns among the medium-sized cities of Southeast Asia. |
| shantytowns | Unplanned slum development on the margins of cities, dominated by crude dwellings and shelters made mostly of scrap wood, iron, and even pieces of cardboard. |
| zoning laws | Legal restrictions on land use that determine what types of building and economic activities are allowed to take place in certain areas. In the United States, areas are most commonly divided into separate zones of residential, retail, or industrial use. |
| redlining | A discriminatory real estate practice in North America in which members of minority groups are prevented from obtaining money to purchase homes or property in predominantly white neighborhoods. The practice derived its name from the red lines depicted on cadastral maps used by real estate agents and developers. Today, redlining is officially illegal. |
| blockbusting | Rapid change in the racial composition of residential blocks in American cities that occurs when real estate agents and others stir up fears of neighborhood decline after encouraging people of color to move to previously white neighborhoods. In the resulting outmigration, real estate agents profit through the turnover of properties. |
| commercialization | The transformation of an area of a city into an area attractive to residents and tourists alike in terms of economic activity. |
| gentrification | The rehabilitation of deteriorated, often abandoned, housing of low-income inner-city residents. |
| tear-downs | Homes bought in many American suburbs with the intent of tearing them down and replacing them with much larger homes often referred to as McMansions. |
| McMansions | Homes referred to as such because of their "super size" ansd similarity in appearance to other such homes; homes often built in place of tear-downs in american suburbs |
| urban sprawl | Unrestricted growth in many American urban areas of housing, commercial development, and roads over large expanses of land, with little concern for urban planning. |
| new urbanism | Outlined by a group of architects, urban planners, and developers from over 20 countries, an urban design that calls for development, urban revitalization, and suburban reforms that create walkable neighborhoods with a diversity of housing and jobs. |
| gated communities | Restricted neighborhoods or subdivisions, often literally fenced in, where entry is limited to residents and their guests. Although predominantly high-income based, in North America gated communities are increasingly a middle-class phenomenon. |
| informal economy | Economic activity that is neither taxed nor monitored by a government; and is not included in that government's Gross National Product (GNP); as opposed to a form economy. |
| world city | Dominant city in terms of its role in the global political economy. Not the world's biggest city in terms of population or industrial output |
| primate city | a country's largest city-ranking atop the urban hierarchy-mostexpressive of the national culture and usually (but not always) the capital city as well |
| spaces of consumption | areas of a city, the main purpose of which is to encourage people to consume goods and services; driven primarilyby the global media industry |
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