AP Human Geography Unit 6 Vocabulary

relating to a city

crop yields that are sufficient to feed more people than the people than the farmer and his/her family

the structuring of society into distinct socioeconomic classes, including leadership (for instance, a government or ruling class) that exercise control over goods and people

agricultural and socioeconomic innovations that led to the rise of early cities.

regions in which the world's first cities evolved

an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than owned and run by the state.

a relatively large, densely populated settlement with a much larger population than rural towns and villages; these serve as important commercial, governmental, and cultural hubs for their surrounding regions

an absolute location of a place on Earth

the relative location of a place in reference to its surrounding features, or its regional position with reference to other places

an economic and political system in which all property is publicly owned and managed (usually by the state/government)

A settlement outside a city with streetcar lines; the streetcars take residents into and out of the city easily.

The industrial innovations in mining and manufacturing that led to increased urban growth.

a set of activities intended to revitalize an area that has fallen on hard times

a very large and densely populated city, particularly the capital or major city of a country or region

any self-governing place in the United States that contains at least 2500 people

In the United States, an urban area with at least 50,000 inhabitants.

In the United States, an urban area with between 2,500 and 50,000 inhabitants.

a populated area on the outskirts of a city

The percentage of a nation's population living in towns and cities

is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on

the movement of people from urban core areas to the surrounding outskirts of a city

The tendency of cities to grow outward in an unchecked manner

cities whose size and shape are dictated by and almost require individual automobile ownership

In an urban context, to move business operations from core city areas into outlying areas such as suburbs

a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment that developed in the suburbs, outside of a city's traditional downtown or central business district

a place with more than 100,000 residents that is NOT a core city in a metropolitan areas; a large suburb with its own government

the building of new retail, business, or residential spaces on vacant or underused parcels in already-developed areas

a semi-rural district located beyond the suburbs that is often inhabited by well-to-do families

a city that is a control center of the global economy, in which major decisions are made about the world's commercial networks and financial markets (also called a global city)

privately governed and highly secure residential area within the bounds of a city; often has a fence or a gate surrounding it

a set of interdependent cities or urban places connected by networks

a ranking of cities, with the largest and most powerful cities at the top of the hierarchy

the population of a settlement is inversely proportional to its rank in the urban hierarchy

a city that is much larger than any other city in the country and that dominates the country's economic, political, and cultural life

a model, developed by Walter Christaller, that attempts to understand why cities are located where they are

a settlement that makes certain types of products and services available to consumers

in central place theory, the number of people required to support businesses

in central place theory, the distance people will travel to acquire a good

a model of a city's internal organization developed by E.W. Burgess organized in five concentric rings that model the arrangement of different residential zones radiating outward from a central business district

a model of a city's internal organization, developed by Homer Hoyt, that focuses on transportation and communication as the drivers of the city's layout and organizes residential areas as wedges radiating outward from a central business district

a model of a city's internal organization, developed by Chauncy Harris and Edward Ullman, showing residential districts organized around several nodes rather than one central business district

a model of a city's internal organization in which the central business district remains central, but multiple shopping areas, office parks, and the industrial districts are scattered throughout the surrounding suburbs and linked metropolitan expressway systems (such as a beltway or highway)

A model of the internal structure of cities in less developed countries; developed by Ernst Griffin and Larry Ford; cities were planned and designed using the Law of Indies, are built around a central plaza/market place, include a spine where the wealthy live in the interior of the city, and includes squatter settlements along the periphery of the city

a model of the internal structure of cities in less developed countries; developed by Harm De Blij; unique characteristics include three central business districts - colonial business district, original business district, and informal marketplace business district; there are no distinct residential zones for the wealthy/poor due to poor economics for the entire city, people are separated more by ethnicities/tribal connections, large squatter settlements on the periphery of the city

a model of the internal structure of cities in less developed countries; developed by Terrance McGee; unique characteristics include no central business district, but a port zone instead; separate residential and commercial zones for foreigners, new industrial estates on the outskirts of the city due to increased industrialization and manufacturing in more recent times

the displacement of lower-income residents by higher-income residents as an area or neighborhood improves

the general impression of the estimated number of people present in a given area

laws that dictate how land can be used

occurs when city revenues cannot keep up with increasing demands for city services and expenditures on decaying urban infrastructure

the human-made space in which people live, work, and engage in leisure activities on a daily basis

policies that combat regional sprawl by addressing issues of population density and transportation

Development that grows up (in the form of taller buildings) rather than out (in the form of urban sprawl)

policy that encourages building quality housing for people and families of all life stages and income levels in a range of prices within a neighborhood

an approach to city planning that focuses on fostering European-style cities of dense settlements, attractive architecture, and housing of different types and prices within walking distance to shopping, restaurants, jobs, and public transportation

a zone of grassy, forested, or agricultural land separating urban areas

the classification of land according to restrictions on its use and development

A city that changes its zoning laws to decrease the rate at which the city spreads horizontally, with the goal of avoiding the negative effects of sprawl

Advocates for poor and working-class residents who are at risk of losing their affordable housing to new development

racial segregation that is not supported by law but is still apparent

a loan that is taken out to purchase a home

the practice of identifying high-risk neighborhoods on a city map and refusing to lend money to people who want to buy property in those neighborhoods

a practice in which realtors persuade white homeowners in a neighborhood to sell their homes by convincing them that the neighborhood is declining due to black families moving in

the mass movement of white people from the city to the suburbs

the maximum price that a buyer can afford to pay for a house or apartment

a federal government program to assist very-low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled with affordable, decent, safe, and sanitary housing

a category of crime that includes murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault

formal and informal institutions that help to maintain law and order in place

occurs when certain groups carry a larger share of environmental risks and hazards than groups who have the power to influence decisions about the environment

occurs when areas inhabited by low-income people of color are targeted for environmental contamination

the movement to fix environmental discrimination

An area of degraded, seemingly temporary, inadequate, and often illegal housing

the right to own or hold property; it defines the ways in which rights to that property are managed

municipal and county planning ordinances that require a given share of new construction to be affordable for people with low to moderate incomes

Zoning that attempts to keep low- to moderate-income people out of a neighborhood

Abbreviation for "not in my backyard"; term for people who try to prevent the construction of affordable housing and other types of development in their neighborhood

Housing that costs much less than the going rate

large-scale, government-funded redevelopment of the built environment in downtown and older inner-city neighborhoods

occurs when a government must spend more than it receives in taxes

the practice of using local land-use regulation to preserve and possibly enhance the local property tax base

the total amount of natural resources used and their impact on the natural environment

a mass of warm air in cities, generated by urban building materials and human activities, that sits over a city

The spatial extent of the impacts of urban areas on the natural environment.

the idea that disasters and disaster risk become urban phenomena as the world's population becomes increasingly concentrated in large cities

properties whose use or development may be complicated by the potential presence of hazardous substances or pollutants

The process of removing or sealing off contaminants so that a site may be used again without any health concerns

the removal of contaminants with plant species that react with or degrade contaminants or draw up contaminants from the soil into shoots and leave (Ex: sunflowers)

U.S. law that grants municipalities oversight over federally funded development projects on farmland

Subdivisions or developments that do not border on existing settlements and that remove agricultural land from production