Cities & Urban Land Use

• Borchert's epochs

  John Borchert proposed a four-stage model of transportation and how that contributed to the growth of urban cities

  
• examples of site factors

  Reasons a city would be settled in a particular place: bridging site, dry point, wet point, conflux, defensive

  
• situation factors

  what a place is near (transportation networks, proximity to other settlements)

  
• site factors

  the location of a place (climate, water availability, soil quality)

  
• Gentrification


  The renovation of deteriorated, often abandoned, housing of low-income inner-city residents.

  
• Brownfields


  contaminated industrial or commercial sites that may require environmental cleanup before they can be redeveloped or expanded

  
• urban renewal

  rebuilding of the poor areas of a city

  
• land tenure


  the rules and arrangements connected with owning land, especially land that is used for farming

  
• 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.

  
• zone of abandonment

  areas that have been deserted in a city for economic or environmental reasons

  
• disamenity zone

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


  refers to how minorities and the poor are harmed the most by environmental pollution in urban areas

  
• housing affordability

  an increase in cost that occurs in urban areas that usually affects minority groups

  
• blockbusting


  A process by which real estate agents convince white property owners to sell their houses at low prices because of fear that persons of color will soon move into the neighborhood

  
• redlining


  A process by which banks draw lines on a map and refuse to lend money to purchase, usually to minority groups

  
• housing discrimination


  The illegal practice of denying an individual or group the right to buy or rent a home based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability or family status.

  
• field narrative


  conducting field study by looking at journals, photos, or narratives of other individuals
• field study


  a research investigation carried out by visiting a location and investigating
• qualitative data


  Data associated with a more humanistic approach to geography, often collected through interviews, empirical observations

  
• survey data

  A poll in which researchers ask respondents a series of questions about a specific topic and record their responses

  
• census data

  Geospatial and demographic data collected through the quantification of a population

  
• quantitative data

  Data that usually is associated with numbers, such as the census

  
• historical character


  A site that is historical in nature that can often be marginalized because of new urban designs

  
• de facto segregation

  Indirect segregation that occurs because of social and economic differences, NOT by laws

  
• slow-growth cities

  urban communities where the planners have put into place smart growth initiatives to decrease the rate it sprawls

  
• greenbelts

  A ring of land maintained as parks, agriculture, or other types of open space to limit the sprawl of an urban area.

  
• New Urbanism


  A movement in urban planning to promote mixed use commercial and residential development and pedestrian friendly, community orientated cities.

  
• smart growth policies

  Legislation and regulations to limit suburban sprawl and preserve farmland.

  
• transportation-oriented development

  A mixed-use residential and commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership.

  
• urban walkability


  The process of making an urban area friendly for walking

  
• mixed land use


  More than one type of zoning, such as a condominium that has residential and commercial units.

  
• sustainable design zoning

  The implementation of sustainable and environmentally friendly methods into zoning
• zoning

  A planning tool used to separate industry and business from residential neighborhoods.

  
• Sustainable Design Initiatives


  Communities that use smart growth and green building techniques to create neighborhoods that are economically thriving and environmentally responsible

  
• infrastructure


  Fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or area, as transportation and communication systems, power plants, and schools

  
• infilling


  The process by which population density in an urban center is increased by building on waste land or underused land.

  
• African City Model

  De Blij: A model that suggests that African cities have more than one CBD, heavily influenced by colonial powers

  
• Southeast Asian City Model

  Terry (T.G.) McGee: A theory on SE Asian cities, where its focal point is the old colonial port zone. The model also does not find any CBD in Asia, but rather he found elements of the CBD present as separate clusters surrounding the port zone.

  
• Latin American City Model

  Griffin-Ford: The CBD is dominant; it is divided into a market sector and a modern high-rise sector. The elite residential sector is on the extension of the CBD in the "spine". The further out, less wealthy it gets. The poorest are on the outer edge.

  
• bid-rent theory

  a geographical economic theory to how the price and demand on real estate changes as the distance towards the CBD increases