barridas / barrios / favelas

illegal housing settlements, usually made up of temporary shelters that surround large cities

bid-rent theory / peak land value

the amount of land different land users are prepared to pay for locations at various distances from the city center

blockbustering

the 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 ethnic minorities to move to previously white neighborhoods

CBD - Central Business District

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

census tract

small districs used by the US Census Bureau to survey the population

cityscapes

an urban landscape

colonial city

a city founded by colonialism or an indigenous city whose structure was deeply influenced by western culture

commercialization

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

commuter zone

the outermost zone of the concentric zone model that represents people who choose to live in residential surburbia and take a daily commute into the CBD to work

counter-urbanization

a demographic and social process whereby people move from urban areas to rural areas

decentralization

the tendency of people or businesses and industry to locate outside the central city

disamenity sector

The very poorest parts of cities that in extreme cases are not connected to regular city services and are controlled by gangs and drug lords.

economic base

the manufacturing and service activities preformed by the basic sector; functions of a city preformed to satisfy demands external to the cirty itself, earning income to support the urban population

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those products or services of an urban economy that are exported outside of the city itself, earning income for the community

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those economic activites of an urban unit that supply the resident population with goods and services and that have no "export" implication

edge city

distinct sizable nodal concentration of retail and office space of lower that central city densities and situated on the outer fringes of older metropolitan areas

emerging cities

a city currently without much population but is increasing in size at a fast rate

entrepot

a trading center, or simply a trading warehouse where merchandise can be imported and exported without paying for import duties, often at a profit

ethnic neighborhoods

a neighborhood, typically situated in larger metropolitan cities and constructed by or comprised of local culture, in which a local culture can practice its customs

female-headed household

a household dominated by a woman

gateway city

a city that serves as a link between one country or region and others because of its physical situation

gender

the social difference between men andwomen rather than the anatomical differences that are related to sex

gentrification

trend of mid to high-income Americans moving into city centers and rehabilitating much of the architechture and also replacing the low-income population

ghettoization

process occurring in many inner cities in which they become dilapidated center of poverty, as rich whites move out to the suburbs

global cities

centers of economic, culture and political activity that are strongly interconnected and together control the global systems of finance and commerce

great cities

cities with populations over one million

greenbelt

a ring of land maintained as parks, agricultural, or other types of open space that limit the sprawl of an urban area

high tech corridors

areas along or near major transportation arteries that are devoted to the research, development, and sale of high-technology products

hinterland

the sphere of economic influence of a town or city

indigenous city

a center of population, commerce, and culture that is native to a place

in-filling

building on empty parcels of land within a checkerboard pattern of development

informal sector

economic activities that take place beyond official record, not subject to formalized systems of regulations or remuneration

infrastructure

the underlying framework of services and amenities needed to facilitate productive activity

inner city

the central area of a major city; in the US it often applied to the poorer parts of the city center where people are less educated and wealthy where there is more crime

invasion and succession

process by which new immigrants to a city move to dominate or take over areas or neighborhoods occupied by older immigrant groups

lateral commuting

traveling from one suburb to another and going from home to work

megacities

cities with more than 10 million people

megalopolis

a very large urban complex (usually involving several cities and towns)

conurbantion

an agglomeration of towns or cities into an unbroken urban environment

metropolitan statistical area

area with a city of 50 thousand or more people, together with adjacent urban communities that have strong ties to the central city

micropolitan statistical area

an urbanized area of between 10,000 and 50,000 inhabitants, the county in which it is found, and adjacent counties tied to the city.

multiplier effect

the direct, indirect, and induced consequences of change in an activity; in urban geography, the expected addiction of nonbasic workers and dependents to a city's local employment and population that accompanies new basic sector employment

planned community

a city, town, or community that was designed from scratch, and grew up more or less following the plan

postindustrial city

a city exhibiting the characteristics of a postindustrial society

postmodern urban landscape

the material character of a postmodern urban area

primate city

a city of large size and dominant power within a country; a country's larges city, ranking atop the urban hierarchy, most expressive of the national culture and usually (but not always) the capital city as well

racial steering

the practice in which real estate brokers guide prospective home buyers towards or away from certain neighborhoods based on their race

rank-size rule

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

redlining

a practice by banks and mortgage companies of demarcating areas considered to be high risk for housing loans

restrictive covenants

a statement written into a property deed that restrics the use of land in some way

segregation

the separation of people based on racial, ethnic, or other differences

site

the physical position in relation to the surroundings

situation

the position determined by non-physical attributes in relation to its surroundings

squatter settlement

residential developments characterized by extreme poverty that usually exist on land just outside of cities that is neither owned nor rented by its occupants

street patterns

the way in which streets are designed

grid

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access

provides access to a subdivision, housing project, or highway

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

tenement

a building in which several families rent rooms or apartments, often with little sanitation or safety

threshold

in the central place theory, the size of the population required to make provision of services economically feasible

range

in central-place theory, the average maximum distance people will travel to purchase a good or service

underemployment

a situation in which people work less than full time even though they would prefer to work more hours

urban growth rate

the rate of growth of an urban population

urban hearth area

a region in which the world's first cities evolved

urban hierarchy

a ranking of settlements according to their size and economic function

under morphology

the form and structure of cities, including street patterns and the size and shape of buildings

urban realm

the spatial componenets of the modern metroplis, where each realm is a separate economic, social, and polititical entity that is linked together to form the larger metropolitian framework

urbanized population

the proportion of a country's population living in cities

world city

one of the largest cities in the world, generally with a ppulation of over 10 million

zone in transition

an area of mixed commercial and residential land uses surrounding the CBD

zoning

dividing an area into zones or sections reserved for different purposes such as residence and business and manufacturing etc