urban morphology
the study of the physical form and structure of urban places
city
conglomeration of people and buildings clustered together to serve as a center of politics, culture, and economics
urban
the entire build-up, non-rural area and its population, including the most recently constructed suburban appendages. Provides a better picture of the dimensions and populations of such an area than the delimited municipality (central city) that forms its
agricultural village
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
agricultural surplus
one of two components, together with social stratification, that enable the formation of cities; agricultural productionin exess 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 sonsum
social stratification
one of two components, together with agricultural surplus, which enables the formation of cities; the differentiation of society into classes based on wealth, power, production, and prestige
leadership class
group of decision-makers and organizers in early cities who controlled the resources, and often the lives, of others
first urban revolution
the innovation of the city, which occurred independently in five separate hearths
Mesopotamia
Region of great cities (e.g Ur and Babylong) located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; chronologically the first urban hearth, dating to 3500 BCE, and which as founded in the Fertile Crescent.
Nile River Valley
chronologically the second urban hearth, dating to 3200 bce
Indus River Valley
chronologically, the third urgan hearth, dating to 2200 bc
Huang He and Wei River Valley
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
Mesoamerica
chronologically the fifth urban hearth, dating to 200 bce
acropolis
literally "high point of the city." The upper fortified part of an ancient Greek city, usually devoted to religious purposes.
agora
in ancient Greece, public spaces where citizens debated, lectured, judged each other, planned military campaigns, socialized, and traded
site
the internal physical attributes of a place, including its absolute location, its spatial character and physical setting.
Forum
the focal point of ancient roman life combining the functions of the ancient greek acropolis and agora
situation
the external location attributes of a place; its relative location or regional position with reference to other nonlocal places
trade area
region adjacent to every town and city within which its influence is dominant
rank-size rule
in model urban hierarchy, the idea that the population of a city or town will be inversely proportional to its rank in the hierarchy
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
Sunbelt phenomenon
the movement of millions of Americans from northern and northeastern States to the South and Southwest regions(Sunbelt) of the United States
functional zonation
division of a city into different regions or zones for certain purposes or functions
zone
area of a city with a relatively uniform land use
central business district
the downtown heart of a central city, the Central Business District is marked by high land values, a concentration of business and commerce, and the clustering of the tallest buildings
central city
the urban area that is not suburban; generally, the older or original city that is surrounded by newer suburbs
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
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 nineteenth century and bec
concentric zone model
a structural model of the American central city that suggests the existence of five concentric land-use rights arranged around a common center
edge cities
a term introduced by american journalist joel garreau in order to describe the shifting focus of urbanization in the united states away from the central business district (CBD) toward the loci of economic activity at the urban fringe (extensive amounts of
urban realm
a spatial generalization of the large, late-twentieth-century city in the United States. It is shown to be a widely dispersed, multicentered metropolis consisting of increasingly independent zones or realms, each focused on its own suburban downtown; the
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
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
McGee model
developed by geographer T.G. McGee, a model showing similar land-use patterns among the medium-sized cities of Southeast Asia
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
zoning laws
legal restrictions on land use that determine what types of building and economic activities are allowed to take place in certain areas. In the U.S., areas are most commonly divided into separate zones of residential, retail, or industrial use
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. The practice derived its name from the red lines depicted on
blockbusting
rapid change in the racial composition of residential blocks in American cities that occurs when real estate agents and others stir up fears of neighborhood decline after encouraging people of color to move to previously white neighborhoods. In the result
commercialization
the transformation of an area of a city into an area attractive to residents and tourists alike in terms of economic activity
gentrification
the rehabilitation of deteriorated, often abandoned, housing of low-income inner-city residents
tear- downs
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
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
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
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
informal economy
economic activity that is neither taxed nor monitored by a government; and is not included in that government's Gross National Product; as opposed to a formal economy
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
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
spaces of consumption
areas of a city, the main purpose of which to encourage people to consume goods and services; driven primarily by the global media industry