Unit 6: Cities Flashcards
(45 cards)
Blockbusting
A practice in which real estate agents illegally convince homeowners, mainly whites, to sell their property because of the fear that other minorities will move in and lower property values
Ex: Contributed to white flight
Brownfield
Former industrial sites in urban communities that have fallen into disuse and decay.
Ex: Rust Belt of US
Central Business District
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.
Ex: All US models are centered around it
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.
Ex: Larger cities in Texas attract more business services and have larger ranges of services, whereas smaller cities often feed into the larger ones.
Burgess Concentric Zone Model
Model that describes urban environments as a series of rings radiating out from a central core, or central business district.
Ex: Chicago
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.
Ex: Also known as barrios in Spanish-speaking countries or favelas in Brazil
Edge Cities
A large node of office and retail activities on the edge of an urban area.
Ex: Tysons Corner to DC
Food desert
Urban neighborhoods and rural towns without ready access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food. Instead of supermarkets and grocery stores, these communities may have no food access or are served only by fast food restaurants and convenience stores that offer few healthy, affordable food options.
Ex: Detroit and New York are common for these
Gentrification
A process of converting an urban neighborhood from a predominantly low-income renter-occupied area to a predominantly middle-class owner-occupied area.
Ex: New York City is constantly changing to maintain its reputation
Greenbelt
A ring of land maintained as parks, agriculture, or other types of open space to limit the sprawl of an urban area.
Ex: The Highline in New York City
Metropolitan Statistical Area
In the United States, a central city of at least 50,000 population, the county within which the city is located, and adjacent counties meeting one of several tests indicating a functional connection to the central city
Ex: Dallas to Fort Worth area
Multiple Nuclei Model
Type of urban form wherein cities have numerous centers of business and cultural activity instead of one central place.
Ex: Chicago
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
Ex: Against urban sprawl
Peripheral Model
A model of North American urban areas consisting of an inner city surrounded by large suburban residential and business areas tied together by a beltway or ring road
Ex: Chicago
Primate City
A country’s leading city, with a population that is disproportionately greater than other urban areas within the same country.
Ex: London, Paris, Tokyo
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.
Ex: Los Angeles is about half the size of New York
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’ name started with the red lines depicted on maps used by real estate agents
Ex: Still present in some more discreet forms
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.
Ex: Cape Town
Squatter Settlement
An area within a city in a less developed country in which people illegally establish residences on land they do not own or rent and erect homemade structures.
Ex: Often occur near primate cities
Urban Renewal
Program in which cities identify blighted inner-city neighborhoods, acquire the properties from private members, relocate the residents and businesses, clear the site, build new roads and utilities, and turn the land over to private developers.
Urban Sprawl
The process of urban areas expanding outwards, usually in the form of suburbs, and developing over fertile agricultural land.
Ex: After World Wars
World City
Centers of economic, culture, and political activity that are strongly interconnected and together control the global systems of finance and commerce. They often compete to have more influence through hosting global events like the Olympics.
Ex: London, Paris
Zone in Transition
The second ring of the concentric zone model, which surrounds the CBD.
Ex: typically contains industry and poor-quality housing
Zoning Laws
Legal land restrictions that dictate how property owners can and cannot use their land
Ex: Often restrict the types of building and economic activities that can happen
