Chapter 9 Vocabulary: Urban Geography

nonbasic sector

(also called the service sector); responsible for the functioning of the city itself

functional specialization

A characteristic of European cities even before the Industrial Revolution, but the Industrial Revolution gave it new meaning; some cities are dominated by one particular activity.

primate city

A country's largest city- ranking atop the urban hierarchy- most expressive of the national culture and usually (but not always) the capital city as well.

redlining

A discriminatory real estate practice in North America in which members of minority groups are prevented from obtaining money to purchase homes or property in predominantly white neighborhoods.

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.

concentric zone model

A structural model of the American central city that suggests the existence of five concentric land-use rings arranged around a common center.

suburb

A subsidiary urban area surrounding and connected to the central city. Many are exclusively residential; others have their own commercial centers or shopping malls.

secondary hearth

An early adopter of a cultural practice or trait that becomes a central locale from which the practice or trait further diffuses.

zone

Area of a city with a relatively uniform land use (e.g. an industrial ____ or a residential ____.)

spaces of consumption

Areas of a city, the main purpose of which is to encourage people to consume goods and services; driven primarily the global media industry.

Nile River Valley

Chronologically the second urban hearth, dating to 3200 BCE.

Mesoamerica

Chronologically, the fifth urban hearth, dating to 200 BCE.

Indus River Valley

Chronologically, the third urban hearth, dating to 2200 BCE.

city

Conglomeration of people and buildings clustered together to serve as a center for politics, culture, and economics.

McGee Model

Developed by geographer T.G. McGee, a model showing similar land-use patterns among the medium-sized cities of Southeast Asia.

Griffin-Ford Model

Developed by geographers Ernst Griffin and Larry Ford, a model of the Latin American city showing a blend of traditional elements of Latin American culture with the forces of globalization that are reshaping the urban scene.

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.

informal economy

Economy activity that is neither taxed, nor monitored by a government; and is not included in that government's Gross National Product (GNP); as opposed to a formal economy

leadership class

Group of decision-makers and organizers in early cities who controlled the resources, and often the lives, of others.

teardowns

Homes bought in many American suburbs with the intent of tearing them down and replacing them with much larger homes often referred to as McMansions.

McMansions

Homes referred to as such because of their "super size" and similarity in appearance to other such homes; homes often built in place of tear-downs in American suburbs.

rank-size rule

In a model urban hierarchy, the idea that the population of a city or town will be inversely proportional to its rank in the hierarchy.

agora

In ancient Greece, public spaces where citizens debated, lectured, judged each other, planned military campaigns, socialized and traded.

zoning laws

Legal restrictions on land use that determine what types of buildings and economic activities are allowed to take place in certain areas. In the United States, areas most commonly divided into separate zones of residential, retail, or industrial use.

acropolis

Literally "high point of the city." The upper fortified part of an ancient Greek city, usually devoted to religious purposes.

suburbanization

Movement of upper- and middle-class people from urban core areas to the surrounding outskirts to escape pollution as well as deteriorating social conditions (perceived and actual). In North America, the process began in the early 19th century and became a mass phenomenon by the second half of the 20th century.

social stratification

One of two components, together with agricultural surplus, that enable the formation of cities; the differentiation of society into classes based on wealth, power, production, and prestige.

agricultural surplus

One of two components, together with social stratification, that enable the formation of cities; agricultural production in excess of that which the producer needs for his or her own sustenance and that of his or her family and which is then sold for consumption by others.

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.

blockbusting

Rapid change in the racial composition of residential blocks in American cities that occurs when when real estate agents and others stir up fears or neighborhood decline after encouraging people of color to move to previously white neighborhoods. In the resulting outmigration, real estate agents profit through the turnover of properties.

Mesopotamia

Region of great cities (e.g. Ur and Babylon) located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; chronologically the first urban hearth, dating back to 3500 BCE, and which was founded in the Fertile Crescent.

gated communities

Restricted neighborhoods or subdivisions, often literally fenced in, where entry is limited to residents and their guests. Although predominantly high-income based, in North America gated communities are increasingly a middle-class phenomenon.

Huang He and Wei River Valleys

Rivers in present-day China; it was at the confluence of the Huang He and Wei Rivers where chronologically the fourth urban hearth was established around 1500 BCE.

functional zonation

The division of a city into different regions or zones (e.g. residential or industrial) for certain purposes or functions (e.g. housing or manufacturing)

central business district (CBD)

The downtown heart of a central city, the CBD is marked by high land values, a concentration of business and commerce, and the clustering of the tallest buildings.

urban(area)

The entire built-up, nonrural area and its population, including the most recently constricted suburban appendages. Provides a better picture of the dimensions and population of such an area than the delimited municipality (central city) that forms its heart.

situation

The external location attributes of a place; its relative location or regional position with reference to other nonlocal places.

Forum

The focal point of ancient Roman life combining the functions of the ancient Greek acropolis and agora.

first urban revolution

The innovation of the city, which occurred independently in five separate hearths.

site

The internal physical attributes of a place, including its absolute location, its spatial character and physical surroundings.

Sun Belt phenomenon

The movement of millions of Americans from northern and northeastern States to the South and Southwest regions of the United States.

gentrification

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

urban morphology

The study of the physical form and structure of urban places.

commercialization

The transformation of an area of a city into an area attractive to residents and tourists alike in terms of economic activity.

central city

The urban area that is not suburban; generally, the older or original city that is surrounded by newer suburbs.

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.

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.

edge cities

These cities are characterized by extensive amounts of office and retail space, few residential areas, and modern buildings( less than 30 years old).

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.

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.

trade area

adjacent to every town and city within which its influence is dominant.

megacities

cities with 10 million or more residents

synekism

the possibility of change that results from people living together in cities.

basic sector

work that produces goods for export and generates an inflow of money