Upgrade to remove ads
Only $2.99/month

AP Human Geography: Chapter 9 - Urban Geography

Terms in this set (52)

Urban Morphology
The layout of a city, its physical form and structure.
Urbanization Hearths
Mesopotamia, Nile River Valley, Indus River Valley, Huanghe and Wei River Valleys, Mesoamerica
Mesopotamia
Chronologically, the first of the five urbanization hearths. It is located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. There is signs of social inequality from the variants in housing. There was an established priest-king class. The ancient city in this region was usually covered by a mud wall. There were many temples. The conditions were very unsanitary.
Nile River Valley
Chronologically, the second of the five urbanization hearths. The interrelationship between urbanization and irrigation in this region distinguishes it from other urban hearths. There were no walls around the individual cities because of the singular control in this region. Power of rulers was demonstrated through the building of massive structures.
Indus River Valley
Chronologically, the third of the five urbanization hearths. The two major cities were Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. There was a leadership class, but houses were equal in size.
Huanghe and Wei River Valleys
Chronologically, the fourth of the five urbanization hearths. The ancient cities were planned to center on a vertical structure with an inner wall around it for the leadership class. Power of emperors was demonstrated through the building of massive structures.
Mesoamerica
Chronologically the fifth and last of the five urbanization hearths. The ancient cities were religious centers.
Social Stratification
One of the two components that enable the formation of cities (The other being agricultural surplus). Led to the formation of the leadership class, or urban elite, who controlled the resources, and often the lives, of others.
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.
Diffusion of Urbanization
Urbanization diffused from Mesopotamia in several directions. Urbanization diffused to the Mediterranean over 3,500 years ago.
Greek Cities
By 500 B.C, Greece had become one of the most highly urbanized places on Earth. It had more than 500 cities and towns connected by trade routes. It was hilly and naturally protected. Conditions were poor. The agora (market) was the center of social and economic activity. Greece had a global impact.
Roman Cities
The Romans succeeded the Greeks. They incorporated the Mediterranean shores and a large part of interior Europe and North Africa into their empire. Rome had the largest urban system; there was extensive transportation. The Forum the centerpoint of Roman life. There were many slaves.
Urban Growth after Roman Decline
Europe entered the Middle Ages after Rome fell. There was little urban growth within Europe; most urban growth occured on the Silk Route. Urbanization continued vigorously outside of Europe.
First Urban Revolution
The innovation of the city that occured seperately in five different hearths. People became engaged in economic activities beyond agriculture, including crafts, the military, trade, and government.
Second Urban Revolution
At the end of the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain. There was soon to be massive change in Europe. Before the ____________ could take place, the second revolution in agriculture had to occur. The places most ready for industrialization have had the second agricultural revolution, surplus capital from mercantilism and colonialism, and were located near coal fields.
Problems of Industrialization
Urbanization lead to poor sanitation, pollution, and overcrowding. The invention of the railroad in the 1800s abled industrialization for cities not near coal fields, but increased instability. Living conditions were horrific.

Karl Marx and Frederick Engels lead the movement for better conditions in European manufacturing cities. Workers' rights were recognized.
Trade area
An adjacent region within which its influence is dominant.
Rank-size rule
Proposes that the population of a city or town is inversely proportional to its rank in the hierarchy.
Central Place Theory
Developed by Walter Christaller. Tried to determine where major cities would be spatially and functionally distributed. In order to determine the location of each central place, Christaller had to define the goods and services provided. Used hexagons to divide areas in accordance to the Central Place Theory.
The assumptions of an ideal place
The assumptions of an ideal place proposed by Walter Christaller were: The surface of the region would be flat. The soil fertility would be the same everywhere. The population and purchasing power would be evenly distributed. The region would have a uniform transportation network. From any given place, a good or service could be sold in all directions out to a certain distance.
Sunbelt Phenomenon
The migration of millions of Americans from northern and northeastern states to the South and Southwest. This results from deliberate governmental economic and social policies that favor "Sunbelt" cities through federal spending. The overall effect was a changed urban hierarchy in the Sunbelt region.
Functional Zonation
The division of city into certain regions for certain purposes.
Suburbanization
The process by which lands that were previously outside of the urban environment become urbanized.
Concentric Zone Model
Developed by Ernest Burgess. Model of Chicago. The model divides the city into five concentric zones, defined by their function.

Zone 1: CBD.
Zone 2: Zone of Transition. Characterized by residential deterioration and enroachment by business and light manufacturing.
Zone 3: Zone of independent workers' homes. Occupied by the blue-collar work force.
Zone 4: Zone of better residencies.
Zone 5: Commuters' Zone. Suburban ring.
Sector Model
Developed by Homer Hoyt. Focused on residential patterns. Proposes that the city grows outward from the center. Divided into high-rent residential, intermediate rent residential, low-rent residential, education and recreation,
Urban Realms Model
Proposes that each realm, or edge city, is a seperate economic, social, and political entity that is linked together to form the larger metropolitan framework. The CBD is losing dominance.
Latin American City Model
Griffin-Ford model. Developed by Ernst Griffin and Larry Ford. Blends traditional Latin American culture with the forces of globalization. The CBD is dominant; it is divided into a market sector and a modern high-rise sector. The elite residential sector is on the extension of the CBD in the "spine". The end of the spine of elite residency is the "mall" with high-priced residencies.

The remaining concentric zones are more poor, including the outermost zone and the disamenity sector. The disamenity sector is usually run by gangs or drug lords.

The two final sectors are the industrial park and the gentrification zone, where historic buildings are preserved.
African City Model
Africa has the world's lowest levels of urbanization yet the most fastest growing cities. African cities have a high range of diversity so formulating a model is difficult.

Often three CBDs: a remnant of the colonial CBD, an informal and sometimes periodic market zone, and a transitional business center where commerce is conducted from curbside, stalls, or storefronts. Vertical development occurse in the colonial CBD, the traditional business center consists of one-story buildings, and the mark zone tends to be informal, yet still important.

The neighborhoods are ethnic and mixed, often next to a mining and manufacturing zone. All of that is then ringed around by a zone characterized by squatter settlements and informal satellite townships.
Southeast Asian City Model
McGee model. Developed by T.G McGee. The focal point of the city is the colonial port zone combined with the large commercial district that surrounds it. McGee found no formal CBD but found seperate clusters of elements of the CBD surrounding the port zone: the government zone, the Western commercial zone, the alien commercial zone, and the mixed land-use zone with misc. economic activities.
The shaping of cities
Cities are shaped by social and cultural preferences and influence who lives where.
Making Cities in the Global Periphery and Semiperiphery
Many of the most populous cities are less prosperous. Shantytowns quickly developed from massive inmigrations. Cities in poor parts of the world lack zoning laws. There is a sharp contrast between the wealthy and the poor.
Redlining
A practice carried out by realtors before the civil rights movement of the 1960s. They would identify what they considered risky neighborhoods in the cities and refuse to offer loans to those in the districts. This, now illegal, worked against the poorer neighborhoods.
Blockbusting
A practice carried out by realtors before the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Realtors would purposefully sell a house in a white neighborhood to an African American. Then, the realtor would persuade the white residents to move because they're neighborhood was going downhill because an African American person or family had moved in.
Tear-downs and McMansions
Tear-downs are houses that new owners bought with the intention of tearing them down and building a much larger home, called a McMansion. This practice is increasing housing values, tax revenue, and the averge household income of the neighborhood. Often occurs in wealthy suburbs. Ex. Hinsdale, Illinois
Urban Sprawl
Unrestricted growth of housing, commercial developments, and roads over large expanses of land, with little concern for urban planning. A phenomenon of the automobile era. Before the automobile era, cities were built in walking-distances; there was less development. Then, when the automobile was invented, it grew "up" in the city instead of "out".
New Urbanism
A counter to urban sprawl. Development, urban revitalization, and suburban reforms that create walkable neighborhoods with a diversity of housing and jobs. New urbanists want to create neighborhoods that promote a sense of community and a sense of place.

A general new urbanist community is designed with one central shopping center clustered around by neighborhoods. New urbanists aim to take less space.

Examples of new urbanist projects: Seaside, Florida; West Laguna, California; Kentlands, Maryland; Celebration, Florida.
Negative views on new urbanism
Spaces normally deemed public are now being privatized, such as parks, neighborhood centers, and shopping districts. Geographer David Harvey argues that new urbanism is a kind of "spatial determinism". They further racial segregation and does nothing to break down the social conditions that privelege some while disadvantaging others.
Gated Communities
Fenced-in neighborhoods with controlled access gates for people and automobiles.

The main objective of a gated community is to create a space of safety (through security camers and police). The secondary objective is to maintain or increase housing value.
Growth of Gated Communities
In the 1980s - 1990s growth of gated communities began in the U.S. By 2001, about 6 percent of Americans lived in a gated community.
Gated Communities around the globe
In poorer countries, the wealthy live in gated communities because of high crime rate. Ex. Johannesburg, South Africa.

In China, gated communities are 5-10 times more populated than those in Western society and they cross socio-economic classes.

In western society, all socio-economic classes want gated communities, especially since 9/11.
Why do urban planners want gated communities?
Urban planners have encouraged the government to recast low-income housing as small communities. Urban planners want gated communities for lower classes to lessen crime. Ex. Five Oaks District (50% White, 50% African American)
Ethnic Neighborhoods in the European City
Ethnic neighborhoods in Europe have many migrants from other colonies. For example, Algeria is a French colony, now other French cities have Algerian neighborhoods. This reflects colonial ties.

Some European countries created ties after the colonial era. For example, Germany invited young workers from Turkey after WWII.

Most migrants go to cities, mostly for global periphery or eastern Europe. Migration to Europe is being constrained by the government. Europe focuses on the social rights of the people. Europe is densely compacted due to no cars when city was built. The focal point of downtown was the historic center.
Immigration
Immigration is changing the spatial-cultural geography of cities. Immigrants settle in the zone of transition and the locals move out. Many Maghreb immigrants from Africa settle in the poor neighborhoods of Paris.
Immigrants: Brussels
Immigrants from rural regions cluster whereas immigrants from urban regions scatter. For example the Turks cluster in Brussels whereas the Moroccans scatter.
Immigrants: Amsterdam
There is much public housing in Amsterdam, so there are less ethnic neighborhoods. The government slows the development of ethnic neighborhoods through assigned housing.
Ethnic neighborhoods in the global periphery and Semiperiphery city
Ethnic neighborhoods begin where permanent buildings end. There are horrible, crowded conditions that can't be controlled by the government. Squatters still pay rent to previous farmers to still own the land.
Kibera
The worst slum in Africa. Owned by Sudanese Nubians, occupied by Luo and Luhya from Kenya. A raise in rent caused evictions which caused fighting, the rent increases were withdrawn for the time being.
Manbasa
Geography plays a major role in the relationships among ethnic components of a former colonial city. Different ethnicities have different "roles" influenced by past colonialism.
People of the slums
Extended families share earnings. Remittances are very common.
Informal economy
The economy that is not taxed and does not count in the Gross National Income.
World Cities
World cities function at the global scale. They have nodes, or places of interaction, that shapes the cities. The top world cities are New York, London, and Tokyo.

There are 10 Alpha, 10 Beta, and 10 Gamma world cities. Alpha is the strongest.
Cities as spaces of consumption
Cities are products of globalization. Global media drives the reshaping of cities, and global media has turned cities into spaces of consumption, where people go to consume products such as Walt Disney.

Examples: New York City, Potsdamer Platz
THIS SET IS OFTEN IN FOLDERS WITH...