Definitions

• Suburbanisation

  Where the suburbs on the outer edge of the settlement grow outwards as new houses and services are built to accommodate more people.
• Counter-urbanisation


  A process in which certain groups of people, often the better off, leave urban areas for rural areas.
• Urban Resurgence


  The movement of people back to an area which was previously in decline. This influx of people and investment further improves the social, economic and environmental conditions of urban areas.
• Regional economies


  The economic advantage of a geographical location and human activities of greatest height to contribute maximally to the general growth and prosperity of the region
• Changes in the city centre Cultural and Heritage Quarters 


  A model of regeneration of declining urban areas, Culturally led urban development.
• Changes in the city centre. Town centre mixed development. 


  Many city centres declined in the last 30 years dye to out of town shopping centres and decentralisation of business or residential areas. Shoppers put off, due to perception of high crime, high parking charge and dirtiness.
• Gentrified areas 


  Buying property in run down areas by the wealthy estate agents + authorities help regenerate large areas carried out by individuals.
• Fortress Landscapes


  Landscapes designed around security, protection, surveillance and exclusion. In the UK this includes.

  1. Greater use of CCTV
  2. Railings an fencing around private spaces
  3. Alarms which have a high pitched noise only heard by young people to discourage loitering
  4. effective use of street lighting
  5. speed bumps
  6. consideration of urban planning avoiding recessed doorways, downpipes and dead ends
  7. gated communities
• Edge Cities 


  Self contained settlements that have emerged beyond the original city boundary and have developed as cities in their own right.
• Postmodern Western City definition 


  Used to describe the changes that took place in western sociat and culture in the late 20th century including:

  • greater ethnic diversity
  • greater emphasis on services and knowledge based industries
  • more fragmented urban form, economies, societies and cultures
• Albedo


  The reflectivity of a surface.The ratio between the amount of incoming insolation and the amount of energy reflected back into the atmosphere.

  Light surfaces reflect more than dark surfaces so the insulation is greater.
• Microclimate


  The small-scale variations in temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind speed and evaporation that occur in a particular environment such as an urban area.
• Particulate Air Pollution 


  A form of air pollution caused by the release of particles and noxious gases into the atmosphere. Emissions of particles can occur naturally bu they are largely caused by the combusiton of fossil fuels.
• Photochemical Pollution 


  A form of air pollution that occurs mains in cities and can be dangerous to health. Exhaust fumes become trapped by temperature inversions and, in the presence of sunlight, low level ozone forms. It is associated with high-pressure weather systems.
• Temperature Inversion 


  An atmospheric condition in which temperature, unusually increases with height. Pollution is trapped in the lower layer of the atmosphere.
• Urban Heat Island


  The zone around and above an urban area which has higher temperatures than the surrounding areas.
• Channeling 


  Wind directed down straight, long canyon-like streets where there is less friction. There are sometimes referred to as urban canyons.
• Venturi Effect


  The squeezing of wind into an increasingly narrow gap resulting in a pressure decrease and velocity increase.
•  Cumulonimbus cloud


  Cumulonimbus is a dense, towering, vertical cloud, typically forming from water vapor condensing in the lower troposphere that builds upward carried by powerful buoyant air currents. It isthe only cloud type that can produce hail, thunder and lightning.
• Columbus cloud


  Cumulus clouds are detached, individual, cauliflower-shaped clouds usually spotted in fair weather conditions.
• Orographic process


  It Occurs when air masses are forced to flow over high topography. As air rises over mountains, it cools and water vapor condenses. As a result, it is common for rain to be concentrated on the windward side of mountains, and for rainfall to increase with elevation in the direction of storm tracks.
• Urban Deprivation 


  Urban deprivation is a standard of living below that of the majority in a particular society that involves hardships and lack of access to resources. Places suffering from urban deprivation have visible differences in housing and economic opportunities been the rich living alongside poor people.