1. APHG Review Unit 7: Urban Geography

2. Key Terms

3. Action Space (Activity Space)
The geographical area that contains the space an individual interacts with on a daily basis.

4. Beaux Arts
This movement within city planning and urban design that stressed the marriage of older, classical forms with newer, industrial ones. Common characteristics of this period include wide thoroughfares, spacious parks, and civic monuments that stressed progress, freedom, and national unity.

5. Blockbusting
As early as 1900, real estate agents and developers encouraged affluent white property owners to sell their homes and business at a loss by stoking fears that their neighborhoods were being overtaken by racial or ethnic minorities.

6. Borchert’s Epochs
According to the geographer John R. Borchert, American cities have undergone five major epochs, or periods, of development shaped by the dominant forms of transportation and communication at the time. These include sail-wagon ( ), iron horse epoch ( ), steel rail epoch ( ), auto-air-amenity epoch ( ), and satellite-electronic-jet propulsion and high-technology epoch (1970-present).

7. Central Business District (CBD)
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.

8. Central Place Theory
A theory formulated by Walter Christaller in the early 1900s that explains the size and distribution of cities in terms of a competitive supply of goods and services to dispersed populations.

9. City Beautiful Movement
Movement in environmental design that drew directly from the beaux arts school. Architects from this movement strove to impart order on hectic, industrial centers by creating urban spaces that conveyed a sense of morality and civic pride, which many feared was absent from the frenzied new industrial world.

10. Colonial City
Cities established by colonizing empires as administrative centers. Often they were established on already existing native cities, completely overtaking their infrastructure.

11. Concentric Zone Model
Model that describes urban environments as a series of rings of district land uses radiating out from a central core, or central business district.

12. Edge City
Cities that are located on the outskirts of larger cities and serve many of the same functions of urban areas, but in a sprawling, decentralized suburban environment.

13. Environmental Justice
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”

14. European Cities
Cities in Europe that were mostly developed during the Medieval Period and that retain many of the same characteristics such as extreme density of development with narrow buildings and winding streets, an ornate church that prominently marks the city center, and high walls surrounding the city center that provided defense against attack.

15. Exurbanite
Person who has left the inner city and moved to outlying suburbs or rural areas.

16. Feudal City
Cities that arose during the Middle Ages and that actually represent a time of relative stagnation in urban growth. This system fostered a dependent relationship between wealthy landowners and peasants who worked their land, providing very little alternative economic opportunities.

17. Forward Capital
A capital city placed in a remote or peripheral area for economic, strategic, or symbolic reasons.

18. Gateway City
Cities that, because of their geographic location, act as ports of entry and distribution centers for large geographic areas.

19. Gentrification
The trend of middle-and upper-income Americans moving into city centers and rehabilitating much of the architecture but also replacing low-income populations, and changing the social character of certain neighborhoods.

20. Ghettoization
A process occurring in many inner cities in which they become dilapidated centers of poverty, as affluent whites move out to the suburbs and immigrants and people of color vie for scarce jobs and resources.

21. Great Migration
An early 20th century mass movement of African Americans from the Deep South to the industrial North, particularly Chicago.

22. Hinterland
The market area surrounding and urban center, which that urban center serves.

23. Inner-city Decay
Those parts of large urban areas that lose significant portions of their populations as a result of change in industry or migration to suburbs. Because of these changes, the inner city loses its tax base and becomes a center of poverty.

24. Islamic Cities
Cities that owe their structure to their religious beliefs and contain mosques at their center and walls guarding their perimeter. Open-air markets, courtyards surrounded by high walls, and dead-end streets, which limit foot traffic in residential neighborhoods, also characterize these cities.

25. Latin American Cities
Cities that owe much of their structure to colonialism, the rapid rise of industrialization, and continual rapid increases in population. Similar to other colonial cities, they also demonstrate distinctive sectors of industrial or residential development radiating out from the CBD, where most industrial and financial activity occurs.

26. Medieval Cities
Cities that developed in Europe during the years from AD that contain such unique features as extreme density of development with narrow buildings and winding streets, an ornate church that predominantly marks the city center, and high walls surrounding the city center that provided defense against attack.

27. Megacities
Cities, mostly characteristic of the developing world, where high population growth and migration have caused them to explode in population since WWII. All of these cities are plagued by chaotic and unplanned growth, terrible pollution, and widespread poverty.

28. Megalopolis
Several metropolitan areas that were originally separate but that have joined together to form a large, sprawling urban complex.

29. Metropolitan Area
Within the United States, an urban area consisting of one or more whole country units, usually containing several urbanized areas, or suburbs, that all act together as a coherent economic whole.

30. Modern Architecture
Point of view, wherein cities and buildings are thought to act like well-oiled machines, with little energy spent on frivolous details or ornate designs. Efficient, geometrical structures made of concrete and glass dominated urban forms for half a century while this view prevailed.

31. Multiple Nuclei Model
Type of urban form wherein cities have numerous centers of business and cultural activity instead of one central place.

32. New Urbanism
A movement in urban planning to promote mixed-use commercial and residential development and pedestrian-friendly, community-oriented cities. New urbanism is a reaction to the sprawling, automobile- centered cities of the mid-twentieth century.

33. Node
Geographical centers of activity. A large city, such as Los Angeles, has numerous nodes.

34. Postmodern Architecture
A reaction in architectural design to the feeling of sterile alienation that many people get from modern architecture. Postmodernism uses older, historical styles and a sense of lightheartedness and eclecticism. Buildings combine pleasant- looking forms and playful colors to convey new ideas and to create spaces that are more people-friendly than their modernist predecessors.

35. Primate City
A country’s leading city, with a population that is disproportionately greater than other urban areas within the same country.

36. Rank-size Rule
Rule that states that the population of any given town should be inversely proportional to its rank in the country’s hierarchy when the distribution of cities according to their sizes follows a certain pattern.

37. Sector Model
A model or urban land use that places the CBD in the middle with wedge-shaped sectors radiating outwards from the center along transportation corridors.

38. Segregation
The process that results from suburbanization when affluent individuals leave the city center for homogenous suburban neighborhoods. This process isolates those individuals who cannot afford to consider relocating to suburban neighborhoods and must remain in certain pockets of the central city.

39. Squatter Settlements
Residential developments characterized by extreme poverty that usually exist on land just outside of cities that is neither owned nor rented by its occupants.

40. Suburb
Residential communities, located outside of city centers, that are usually relatively homogenous in terms of population.

41. Urban Growth Boundary
Geographical boundaries places around a city to limit suburban growth within that city.

42. Urban Morphology
The physical form of a city or urban region.

43. Urban Realization
The process occurring in some urban areas experiencing inner city decay that usually involves the construction of new shopping districts, entertainment venues, and cultural attractions to entice young urban professionals back into the cities where nightlife and culture are more accessible.

44. Urban Sprawl
The process of expansive suburban development over large areas spreading out from a city, in which the automobile provides the primary source of transportation.

45. White Flight
The abandonment of cities by affluent or middle-class white residents. This was particularly problematic during the mid 20th century because it resulted in the loss of tax revenues to cities, which led to inner-city decay. This process reversed itself somewhat during the 1990’s and 2000’s with urban revitalization projects.

46. World City
Centers of economic, cultural, and political activity that are strongly interconnected and together control the global systems of finance and commerce.

47. Multiple Choice Questions

48. Section 1: Historical Geography of Urban Environments
1. The first cities arose in A. ancient Greece. B. hearths of early agriculture. C. the Indian subcontinent. D. central Mexico. E. near the equator.

49. Section 1: Historical Geography of Urban Environments
2. Some prominent Native American cities later became A. manufacturing hubs. B. agricultural distribution centers. C. gateway cities. D. colonial cities. E. export processing zones.

50. Section 1: Historical Geography of Urban Environments
3. The Industrial Revolution A. had little impact on urban areas. B. spawned vast manufacturing centers. C. began in the Great Lakes region. D. made factory workers obsolete. E. caused an urban to rural migration.

51. Section 1: Historical Geography of Urban Environments
4. ________, is an important gateway city. A. Oslo, Norway B. Perth, Australia C. Nairobi, Kenya D. Honolulu, Hawaii E. Denver, Colorado

52. Section 1: Historical Geography of Urban Environments
5. During the Middle Ages, _____ dramatically slowed the growth of urban areas. A. feudalism B. colonialism C. Black Death D. Renaissance E. the Industrial Revolution

53. Section 2: Culture and Urban Form
1. Classic ______ cities have narrow, winding streets, open-air markets, many dead-ends, and courtyards surrounded by high walls. A. medieval European B. Hindu C. Latin American D. Islamic E. colonial

54. Section 2: Culture and Urban Form
2. Architects and planners from the _____ strove to introduce beauty and impose order on chaotic industrial cities. A. postmodern school B. modernist tradition C. City Beautiful movement D. beaux arts school E. classical movement

55. Section 2: Culture and Urban Form
3. Modernist architecture A. stressed efficiency and geometrical order. B. uses eclectic and classic forms. C. stress the ornate. D. is limited to newer American cities. E. is characterized by skyscrapers.

56. Section 2: Culture and Urban Form
4. Asian, African, and South American cities A. contain dominant centers, usually surrounding something of religious significance. B. contain strong manufacturing and industrial sectors within the city. C. display mostly modern forms of architecture as they are recently developing themselves after colonialism. D. contain many structural relics from colonialism. E. usually have a church at the center of the city.

57. Section 2: Culture and Urban Form
5. Medieval European cities usually contain all the following characteristics EXCEPT A. winding streets and tall narrow buildings. B. large, ornate cathedrals. C. walls surrounding the city for defensive purposes. D. wide streets to accommodate large military troops. E. a high density of buildings.

58. Section 3: The Spatial Organization of Urban Environments
1. Los Angeles provides an excellent example of A. the Beaux arts tradition. B. a central business district. C. the multinucleated metropolis. D. the concentric zone model. E. disagglomeration.

59. Section 3: The Spatial Organization of Urban Environments
2. Many Latin American cities conform more or less to the A. theory of ghettoization. B. the sector model. C. the multinode model. D. inner city decay theory. E. the concentric zone model.

60. Section 3: The Spatial Organization of Urban Environments
3. In cities like Baltimore, inner-city revitalization has transformed _______ into gentrified urban neighborhoods. A. suburbs B. central business districts C. edge cities D. ghettos E. agglomerations

61. Section 3: The Spatial Organization of Urban Environments
4. Which of the following cities exemplifies an urban geography defined by railroads? A. Boston B. Mexico City C. Chicago D. San Francisco E. Los Angeles

62. Section 3: The Spatial Organization of Urban Environments
5. Which of the following best describes edge cities? A. They are located along freeways on the outskirts of major cities. B. They are usually found in Europe and Asia. C. They are small, isolated communities. D. They are designed in the Beautiful City tradition. E. They are gentrified communities.

63. Section 3: The Spatial Organization of Urban Environments
6. According to the central place theory. A. small communities bind regions together. B. most people live in mid-sized cities. C. large cities serve as economic hubs. D. regions are impossible to define. E. there are more large cities than small cities.

64. Section 3: The Spatial Organization of Urban Environments
7. The coastal southern California and northern Baja, Mexico region can be described as a A. central place. B. artificial construction. C. megacity. D. megalopolis. E. agglomeration.

65. Section 4: Urban Planning
1. Which of the following was NOT one of the main elements contributing to a city’s legibility to Kevin Lynch? A. Landmarks B. Nodes C. Links D. Edges E. Districts

66. Section 4: Urban Planning
2. Action space (activity space) consists of A. recreational facilities in an urban area. B. the space in which individual daily activity occurs. C. spaces within a city designated for transportation. D. a diagrammatic representation of the amount of time it takes to travel between activities on a particular day. E. the area surrounding the interactions a central place has with the surrounding community.

67. Section 4: Urban Planning
3. Individual spatial behavior on a daily basis A. generally involves more shorter trips than longer trips. B. can be described as that individual’s action space. C. can be limited by transportation possibilities. D. mostly involves work-related travel. E. All of the above

68. Free Response Questions

69. Section 1: Historical Geography of Urban Environments
1. The city has evolved dramatically from its original form many centuries ago. A. Describe the historical evolution of the city. B. How has the city varied in form and function across the globe throughout history?

70. Section 2: Culture and Urban Form
1. Imagine that you are a visitor in a new city. As you walk the city streets, you take careful notice of the urban landscape. A. What kind of evidence would you look for to see the influence of different urban design movements? B. What specifically would you look for to symbolize each of the following trends in urban design: beaux arts, City Beautiful movement, modernism, and postmodernism?

71. Section 3: The Spatial Organization of Urban Environments
1. Modern American cities have been highly influenced by transportation. A. Describe how different forms of transportation have affected different American cities. B. How has the automobile transformed modern American cities? Describe any differences between American cities that evolved pre-automobile with those whose inception began after the automobile.

72. Section 4: Urban Planning
1. Behavioral geographers contribute valuable insight and research to many aspects of human geography. A. What is urban planning? B. Discuss why it might be important for urban planning decisions.