AP Human Cities and Urban Land Use Vocab

Municipality

A local entity that is all under the same jurisdiction

Urban Planning

A process of promoting growth and controlling change in land use

Brownfields

Abandoned polluted industrial sites in central cities, many of which are today being cleaned and redeveloped

Greenbelts

An area of green space such as a park, agricultural land, or forest around an urban area intended to limit urban sprawl

Conurbation

An uninterrupted urban area made of towns, suburbs and cities

Inclusionary Zoning

Areas where city governments require that developers must include low and medium income housing options in their projects to obtain building permits

Smart Growth Policies

Attempt to reduce urban sprawl and develop urban spaces that are sustainable, efficient and environmentally conscious EX: New Jersey, Rhode Island, Washington, Tennessee and Oregon

Concentric Zone Model

Based on development of Chicago in 1920s and concentric rings are used to classify each type of land use pattern Ring #1 - Bid - Rent Theory - The CBD is the location of major economic activity and the most expensive land Ring #2 - Zone of Transition - Factories and industry with a mix of low income apartments Ring #3 - Another ring of low income housing with high population density and poor living conditions Rings #4 & 5 - As distance from the CBD increases, the cost of land is less expensive, larger plots of land, low population density, single family homes

Hexagonal Hinterlands

Based on economic functions/consumer behavior - the "central place" is the large city that provides the most goods and services for the surrounding areas and smaller settlements organize around the "central place" and nesting hexagons assure that no surface area's left out or overlapped

Hoyt Sector Model

Based on improving the Concentric Zone Model and is the use of sectors/wedges to classify each type of land use pattern and sectors develop along transportation routes, low income housing develops surrounding industry and major transportation routes and middle and high-income housing develops further from the city center and manufacturing so as not to experience heavy traffic, pollution, etc.

African City Model

Characterized by 3 CBDs and reflects the influence of colonialism throughout the continent and is mostly outdated but the 3 CBDs can still be seen on the cultural landscape today in some African countries

Southeast Asian City Model

Characterized by a port zone, which was the center of commerce in colonial SE Asia - export oriented so no CBD

Latin American City Model

Characterized by the "spine" that runs from the modernized CBD in the center, through wealthy housing and connects to a secondary urban center called the mall and as distance from the CBD increases, housing becomes less expensive due to lack of critical infrastructure available in those areas

Multiple Nuclei Model

Cities develop around multiple focal points and build outwards to create a functional region, site and situational factors influence land-use patterns, CBD remains an important location but there are other, smaller business districts in various locations and manufacturing and industry are located near transportation routes for easier shipping

Micropolitan Statistical Area

Cities of more than 10,000 inhabitants (but less than 50K), the county in which they are located and surrounding counties with a high degree of integration

Edge Cities

Community located on the outskirts of a larger city with commercial centers, office space, retail complexes and amenities typically found in an urban center EX: Tysons Corner, Virginia

Exurbs

Community on the outside edge of traditional suburbs "exurban" that functions like a suburb, but more rural and less connected to the central city core

City-state

Consisted of an urban center (the city) and its surrounding territory and agricultural villages and had its own political system and functioned independently from other city-states EX: Vatican City and Singapore

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

Consists of a city of at least 50,000 people, the county in which it's located and adjacent counties that have a high degree of social and economic integration (connection) with the urban core

Qualitative Data

Data that involves descriptive depictions or characteristics of a research topic - often based on people's perceptions or opinions EX: fieldwork, narratives, personal interviews, photographs, open-ended questions about how people feel about urban change and conditions (growth, zoning changes, crime rates, traffic, etc.)

Quantitative Data

Data that involves numbers and statistics - can be measured EX: the Census and other surveys as well as population or development statistics

Informal Settlements

Densely populated areas built without coordinated planning and without sufficient public services for electricity, water and sewage

Borchert's Transportation Model

Describes urban growth based on transportation technology and he divided urban history into 4 periods called epochs

Galactic City Model

Developed in the 1980s (most modern) and focuses on the decentralization and suburbanization of urban environments and as suburbanization and the ownership of cars increased in 1950s, urban areas developed differently than in the past, includes edge cities that are like mini-CBDs (shopping, entertainment and offices) and are typically located along transportation routes

Traditional CBD

Existed before European colonization and has small shops clustered along narrow, twisting streets and includes the formal economy - permanent stores filled with full-time jobs that comply with local regulations and have set wages

High Order Services

Expensive, desirable or unique-large threshold and range and typically found in higher-order locations like major cities EX: Sports arenas, speciality doctors, concerts and universities

Colonial CBD

Has broad, straight avenues and large homes, parks and administrative centers

Blockbusting

Housing discimination maintained by real estate industry - white families were encouraged to rapidly sell when African-American families moved into neighborhoods

Redlining

Housing discrimination maintained by banks - starting in the 1930s, refusal to grant home loans in certain areas because of the ethnic or racial composition

Ecological Footprint

Impact of human activity on the environment

Low Order Services

Inexpensive, common, everyday needs and SMALLER threshold and range and typically found in lower-order locations like towns, villages and hamlets EX: Grocery stores, hair salons, barber shops and gas stations

Slow Growth Policies

Intends to decrease the rate that cities grow outward in an attempt to reduce urban sprawl and can be achieved by implementing greenbelts or by using zoning policies to restrict the development of land and utilizes urban growth boundaries to place a geographic limit on development surrounding a city EX: Boulder, Colorado and Portland, Oregon

World Cities

Large cities that exert global, economic, cultural and political influence and make up a network of economic, social and information flows EX: New York, London, Tokyo and Paris

Megalopolis

Large metropolitan areas so close together that they form one continuous urban complex EX: Chicago, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Southern California and Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC

Disamenity Zones

Locations that are typically physically unsafe with dangerous terrain that are not connected to city services

Zones of Abandonment

Locations that have been abandoned due to a lack of jobs, housing opportunities, decline in land values or falling demand

Megacities

Metropolitan areas with populations of more than 10 million people EX: New York and Tokyo

Metacities

Metropolitan areas with populations of more than 20 million people EX: Peripheral and Semi-peripheral countries in Asia and Africa, Tokyo, Japan, New York City and one emerging near Shenzhen, China

Primate City

Model that illustrates disproportionate population distribution within a state and typically indicates relatively uneven development within a state EX: London and Mexico City

Central Place Theory

Model that illustrates the hierarchical spatial patterns/order of cities and settlements

Rank Size Rule

Model that illustrates the relationship between population distribution in cities that are interconnected in the urban hierarchy and typically indicates somewhat even development EX: Population of the 2nd largest city = 1/2 the population of the largest city

Gravity Model

Model that illustrates the spatial relationship/amount of interaction between locations of different sizes - flows of people, trade, communication, etc. and considers the distance between two locations and their relative sizes

Urban Hierarchy

Modern cities operate within an interconnected urban hierarchy and different cities have different functions within the system, with larger, more influential cities landing higher on the hierarchy, while cities with smaller populations and economies fall lower on the hierarchy (models/theories developed to explain the relative sizes and spatial organization of cities)

Mixed-Use Development

Planned urban development that includes multiple uses such as retail, residential, educational, recreational and businesses and is intended to increase residential density and reduce commute and travel times

Eminent Domain

Power of a government to take private property for public use

Urban Renewal

Programming funded by federal government grants after WWII intended to redevelop and modernize blighted, abandoned and/or industrial urban areas EX: Cincinnati's West End, 1958 & 2020

Suburban Sprawl

Rapid spread of development outward from the inner city

Infilling/Urban Infill

Redevelopment of vacant land to improve the surrounding area EX: Central Park, Colorado and Civita, California

Infrastructure

Refers to the basic support systems needed to keep a society and economy running smoothly EX: Transportation systems, wifi, sewage systems, etc.

Zoning Ordinances

Regulations that define how property in specific geographic regions may be used

Urban Redevelopment

Renovating a site within a city by removing the existing landscape and rebuilding from the ground up

Squatter Zones

Residential areas that are situated on undesirable/abandoned land that are built with found materials and not connected to city services EX: Kibera, located in Kenya - largest slum in Africa

Boomburbs

Suburb that has grown rapidly into a large and sprawling city with more than 100,000 residents EX: Mesa, Arizona Anaheim, California Plano, Texas

Site

The characteristics at the immediate location EX: Physical features, climate, labor force, etc.

Deurbanization

The counter-flow of urban residents leaving cities

Range

The distance that someone's willing to travel for a good or service

Municipal

The local government of a city or town and the services it provides EX: A mayor and city council make up the core of the municipal government

Situation

The location of a place relative to its surroundings and its connectivity to other places EX: Near a gold mine, on the coast, by the railroad

Threshold

The number of people needed to support a certain good or service

Gentrification

The process by which higher income residents or professional developers buy buildings in abandoned, blighted and/or industrial areas for a low cost and renovate, restore or rebuild the property

Urbanization

The process of developing towns and cities involves the causes and effects of existing cities' growth

Suburbanization

The process of people moving, usually from cities, to residential areas on the outskirts of cities

Sustainability

Using the earth's resources while not causing permanent damage to the environment

New Urban Design

Utilization of mixed-use zoning policies in order to increase the use of already existing urban structures, create walkable and liveable cities while maintaining a sense of place and increasing residential housing density EX: Central Park, Colorado and Civita, California