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.