Unit 12/13 - Urban Patterns

Economic Base

A community's collection of basic industries

Sector Model

A description of urban land uses as wedge-shaped sectors radiating outward from the CBD along transportation corridors. The radial access routes attract particular uses to certain sectors, with high-status residential uses occupying the most desirable wedges. Each sector develops independently from the CBD

Gated Community

A fenced or walled residential area where access is limited to designated individuals

Peripheral Model (Galactic City Model)

A model of North American urban areas consisting of an central city (no CBD) surrounded by large suburban residential and business areas tied together by a beltway or ring road.

Concentric Zone Model

A model of the internal structure of cities in which social groups are spatially arranged in a series of rings

New Urbanism

A movement in urban planning to promote mixed use commercial and residential development and pedestrian friendly, community orientated cities. New urbanism is a reaction to the sprawling, automobile centered cities of the mid twentieth century

Town

A nucleated settlement that contains a CBD but that is small and less functionally complex than a city

Rank-Size Rule

A pattern of settlements in a country, such that the nth largest settlement is 1/n the population of the largest settlement.

Redlining

A process by which banks draw lines on a map and refuse to lend money to purchase or improve property within the boundaries

Brownfield

A property which has the presence or potential to be a hazardous waste, pollutant or contaminant.

Central Place Theory

A theory that explains the distribution of services, based on the fact that settlements serve as centers of market areas for services; larger settlements are fewer and farther apart than smaller settlements and provide services for a larger number of people who are willing to travel farther

Multiplier Effect

An effect in economics in which an increase in spending produces an increase in national income and consumption greater than the initial amount spent. The direct, indirect, and induced consequences of change in an activity

Suburb

An outlying urban area on the outskirts of the central city and connected to the central city. Many are exclusively residential; others have their own commercial centers or shopping malls.

City

An urban settlement that has been legally incorporated into an independent, self-governing unit

Edge City

Cities that develop around a metropolitan area, usually around a beltway

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, but rather centers of strategic control of the world economy.

Christaller, Walter

German geographer credited with development central place theory

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 further out, less wealthy it gets. The poorest are on the outer edge.

Metropolitan Area

Region that includes a central city and its surrounding suburbs

Central City

That part of the metropolitan area contained within the boundaries of the main city around which suburbs have developed

Hinterland

The area outside of the cities, the rural areas

Central Business District (CBD)

The downtown or nucleus of a city where retail stores, offices, and cultural activities are concentrated; building densities are usually quite high; and transportation systems converge

Basic Sector

The goods or services sold to people living outside the city

Nonbasic Sector

The goods or services sold to the people living within the city

Primate City

The largest settlement in a country, if it has more than twice as many people as the second-ranking settlement

Peak land value intersection

The region within a settlement with the greatest land value and commerce. As such, it is usually located in the central business district of a town or city, and has the greatest density of transport links such as roads and rail

Gentrification

The rehabilitation of deteriorated, often abandoned, housing of low-income inner-city residents

Network City

Two or more nearby cities, potentially or actually complementary in function, that cooperate by developing transportation links and communications infrastructure joining them

Multiple Nuclei Model

Type of urban form wherein cities have numerous centers of business and cultural activity instead of one central place.