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AP Human Geography Chapter 9 - Urban Geography

Terms in this set (54)

Urban Morphology
study of the physical form and structure of urban places
City
conglomeration of people and buildings clustered together to serve as a center of politics, culture, and economics
Urban
entire built-up, nonrural area and its population, including the most recently constructed suburban appendages
Agricultural Village
a relatively small, egalitarian village, where most of the population was involved in agriculture. Starting over 10,000 years ago, people began to cluster in agricultural villages as they stayed in one place to tend their crops
Agricultural Surplus
agricultural production in excess of that which the producer needs for his or her own sustenance and that of their family and which is then sold for consumption by others
Social Stratification
differentiation of society into classes based on wealth, power, production, and prestige
Leadership Class
group of decision-makers and organizers in early cities who controlled the resources, and often the lives of others
First Urban Revolution
innovation of the city, which occurred independently in five separate hearths
Mesopotamia
region of great cities located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; chronologically the first urban heart, dating to 3500 BCE, and which was founded in the Fertile Crescent
Nile River Valley
2nd urban hearth, dating to 3200 BCE
Indus River Valley
3rd urban hearth, dating to 2200 BCE
Huang He and Wei
rivers in China; confluence of the Huang He and Wei RIvers where the 4th urban hearth was established around 1500 BCE
Mesoamerica
5th urban hearth, dating to 200 BCE
Acropolis
upper fortified part of an ancient Greek city; usually devoted to religious purposes
Agora
in ancient Greece, public spaces where citizens debated, lectured, judged each other, planned military campaigns, socialized, and traded
Site
The internal physical attributes of a place, including its absolute location, its spatial character and physical setting
Forum
The focal point of ancient Roman life combining the functions of the ancient Greek acropolis and agora
Situation
The external locational attributes of a place; its relative location or regional position with reference to other nonlocal places
Trade Area
Region adjacent to every town and city within it which its influence is dominant
Rank-Size Rule
In a model urban hierarchy, the idea that the population of the city or town will be inversely proportional to its rank in the hierarchy
Central Place Theory
Theory proposed by Walter Christaller that explains how and where central places in the urban hierarchy should be functionally and spatially distributed with respect to one another
Sunbelt Phenomenon
The movement of millions of Americans from northern and northeastern States to the South and Southwest regions of the United States
Functional Zonation
The division of the city into different regions or zones for certain purposes or functions
Zone
Area of the city with a relatively uniform land use
Central Business District
The downtown part of the central city, the CBD is marked by high land values, a concentration of business and commerce, and the clustering of the tallest buildings
Central City
The urban area that is not suburban; generally, the older or original city that is surrounded by newer suburbs
Suburb
A subsidiary urban area surrounding and connecting to the central city. Many are exclusively residential; others have their own commercial centers or shopping malls
Suburbanization
Movement of upper and middle class people from urban core areas to the surrounding outskirts to escape pollution as well as the deteriorating social conditions.
Edge Cities
A term introduced by Joel Garreau in order to describe the shifting focus of urbanization in the United States away from the 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
Urban Realm
a spatial generalization of the large, late-20th-century city in the US. It is shown to be a widely dispersed, multicentered metropolis consisting of increasingly independent zones or realms, each focused on its own suburban downtown
Griffin-Ford Model
developed by Ernst Griffin and Larry Ford, a model of the Latin American city showing a blend of traditional elements of culture with the forces of globalization that are reshaping the urban scene. AKA - Latin American model
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 T.G. McGee, a model showing similar land-use patterns among the medium-sized cities of SE 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.
Redlining
discriminatory real estate practice in NA in which members of minority groups are prevented from obtaining money to purchase property in white dominant neighborhoods
Blockbusting
rapid change in the racial composition of residential blocks in American cities that occurs when real estate agents stir up fears of neighborhood decline after encouraging people of color to move to previously white neighborhoods
Commercialization
transformation of an area of a city into an area attractive to residents and tourists alike in terms of economic activity
Gentrification
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
McMansions
homes referred to as such because of their super size and similarity in appearance to other such homes; often built in place of tear-downs
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 Communitites
restricted neighborhoods or subdivisions, often fenced in, where entry is limited to residents and their guests
Informal Economy
economic activity that is neither taxed nor monitored by a gov; and is not included in that gov's gross national product
World City
dominant city in terms of its roles in the global political economy. World's biggest city in terms of strategic control of the world economy
Primate City
a country's largest city most expressive of the national culture and usually 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 primarily by the global media industry
Peru
6th urban hearth, developed around 900 BCE
Secondary hearth
Greece is an example of this because the Greek city influenced urban developments in Europe and beyond, however it developed as a result of diffusion from Mesopotamia.
galactic city
a modern city in which the old downtown plays the role of a festival or recreational area, and widely dispersed industrial parks, shopping centers, high-tech industrial spaces, edge-city downtowns, and industrial suburbs are the new centers of economic activity.
megacities
cities with 10 million or more residents
Sector Model
a structural model of the American city that suggests that low rent and other types of areas can extend from the CDB to the city's outer edge, created zones that are shaped like a pie piece
multiple nuclei model
a structural model of the American city that suggests a decline in significance of the CBD and the associated rise in significance of regions within metropolitan areas with their own nuclei.
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