AP Human Geography All Chapters

globalization

greater cultural and economic interaction among people all over the world

geography

The study of the earth and its features and of the distribution of life on the earth, including human life

human geography

The study of where and why human activities are located where they are

physical geography

The study where and why natural forces occur as they do

map

A two-dimension or flat scale model of something

place

A specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular characteristic

region

an area of Earth distinguished by a distinctive combination of cultural and physical features

scale

the relationship between the portion of Earth being studies and Earth as a whole

space

the physical gap or intervals between two objects

connections

relationships among people and objects across the barrier of space

cartography

the science of mapmaking

map projection

the scientific method of transferring locations on Earth’s surface to a flat map

Land Ordinance of 1785

divided much of the country into a system of townships and ranges to facilitate the sale of land to settlers

GIS (geographic information system)

a computer system that can capture, store, query, analyze, and display geographic date

remote sensing

the acquisition of data from a satellite orbiting Earth or from another long-distance method

GPS (global positioning system)

a system that accurately determines the precise position of something on Earth

location

the position that something occupies on Earth

toponym

the name given to a place on Earth

site

physical character of a place

situation

the location of a place relative to other places

meridian(longitude)

an arc drawn between North and South poles

parallel(latitude)

a circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator

prime meridian

0 degrees longitude – passes through Greenwich, England

equator

0 degrees latitude

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

master reference time for all points on Earth

Age distribution

The proportion of individuals of different ages within a population. You can use an age distribution to estimat survival by calculating the difference in proportion of individuals in succeeding age classes

Agricultural revolution

the development of farming

Arithmetic Population Density

The total number of people divided by the total land area

Capacity

the amount of people an area can support

Census

A period count of the population

Child Mortality Rate

A figure that describes the number of children that die between the first and fifth years of their lives in a given population

Chronic Diseases

Generally long – lasting afflictions now more common because of higher life expectancies

Crude Birth Rate (CBR)

The number of live births yearly per 1,000 people in a population. (natality)

Crude Death Rate (CDR)

The number of deaths yearly per 1,000 people in a population

Demographic momentum

is the tendency for growing population to continue growing after a fertility decline because of their young age distribution. This is important because once this happens a country moves to a different stage in the demographic transition model

Demographic Transition

High birth rates and death rates are followed by plunging death rates, producing a huge net population gain, this is followed by the convergence of birth rates and death rates at a low overall level

Demography

the scientific study of population characteristics

Dependency ratio

the number of people who are either too young or too old to work

Doubling Time

the time it takes for an area’s population to double

Ecumene

the area of land occupied by humans

Epidemiological transition

The a distinctive cause of death in each stage of the demographic transition. Explains how countries’ population changes

Expansive Popluation Policies

Government policies that encourage large families and raise the rate of population growth

Exponential growth

growth by a percentile instead of a static number, forms a j-curve on a graph

Infant Mortality Rate

The total number of deaths in a year among infants under one year old for every 1000 live births in a society

Life Expectancy

A figure indicating how long, on average, a person may be expected to live

Thomas Malthus

British economist of late 1700’s. considered the first to predict a population crisis

Medical Revolution

the leap of medical knowledge in stage 2 of the demographic transition

Megalopolis

Term used to designate large coalescing supercities that are forming in diverse parts of the world.

Mortality

the rate at which people die

Natality Rate (NIR)

number of birth/ year to every 1000 people in the population

Natural Increase

Population growth measured as the excess of live births over deaths; does not reflect either emigrant or immigrant movements

Natural Increase Rate (NIR)

Natural Increase Rate (NIR)

Neo-Malthusians

group who built on Malthus’ theory and suggested that people wouldn’t just starve for lack of food, but would have wars about food and other scarce resources

Overpopulation

too many people in one place for the resources available

Physiological Population Density

The number of people per unit of area of arable land, which is land suitable for agriculture

Population Composition

Structure of population in terms of age, sex and other properties such as marital status and education

Population Density

A measurement of the number of people per given unit of land

Population Distribution

Description of locations on Earth’s surface where populations live

Population Explosion

The rapid growth of the world’s human population during the past century, attended by ever- shorter doubling times and sccelerating rates of increase.

Population Projection

Estimation of future population growth, by extrapolating current trends and known growth factors

Population Pyramids

A bar graph representing the distribution of population by age and sex

Restrictive Popluation Policies

Government policies designed to reduce the rate of natural increase

Sex ratio

the ratio of men to women

Standard of living

The goods a services and their distribution within a population

Stationary Population Level

The level at which a national population ceases to grow

Sustainability

The level of development that can be maintained without depleting resources

Total Fertility rate

the average number of children a woman has

underpopulation

A drop or decrease in a region’s population

Zero population growth (ZPG)

Where natural birth rate declines to equal crude birth rate and the natural rate of population approaches 0

Activity Space

the space within which daily activity occurs

Brain Drain

Large-scale emigration by talented people.

Chain Migration

migration of people to a specific location because relatives or members of the same nationality previously migrated there

circulation

short-term, repetitive, or cyclical movements that recur on a regular basis

distance decay function

The diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin

emigration

migration from a location

immigration

migration to a location

forced migration

permanent movement compelled usually by cultural factors

voluntary migration

permanent movement undertaken by choice

gravity model

A mathematical formula that describes the level of interaction between two places, based on the size of their populations and their distance from each other

guest worker

a person with temporary permission to work in another country

internal migration

permanent movement within the same country

international migration

permanent movement from one country to another

intervening obstacle

An environmental or cultural feature of the landscape that hinders migration

migration transition

change in the migration pattern in a society that results from industrialization, population growth, and other social and economic changes that also produce the demographic transition

migration stream

A constant flow of migrants from the same origin to the same destination

migration selectivity

Only people exhibiting certain characteristics in a population choosing to migrate

mobility

the quality of moving freely

net migration

the difference between the level of immigration and the level of emigration

push factors

factors that induce people to leave old residences

pull factors

factors that induce people to move to a new location

refugee

people who are forced to migrate from thier home country and cannot return for fear of persecution because of thier race, religion, nationality, membership of a social group, of political opinion

urbanization

an increase in the percentage and in the number of people living in urban settlements

suburbanization

The process of population movement from within towns and cities to the rural-urban fringe

counterurbanization

Net migration from urban to rural areas in more developed countries

interregional migration

movement from one region of a country to another

intraregional migration

movement within a region

Artifact

Any item, made by humans, that represents a material aspect of culture

Built environment

The man-made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from personal shelter to neighborhoods to the large-scale civic surroundings

Core-domain-sphere model

The place where concentration of culture traits that characterizes a region is greatest

Cultural convergence

The contact and interaction of one culture to another

Cultural/environmental perception

The concept that people of different culture will definitely observe and interpret their environment and make different decision about its nature, potentiality and use

Cultural landscape

Modifications to the environment by humans, including the built environment and agricultural systems, that reflect aspects if their culture

Cultural realm

The entire region throughout which a culture prevails. Criteria that may be chosen to define culture realms include religion, language, diet, customs, or economic development

Cultural hearth

Locations on earth’s surface where specific cultures first arose

Cultural complex

The group of traits that define a particular culture

Cultural trait

The specific customs that are part of the everyday life of a particular culture, such as language, religion, ethnicity, social institutions, and aspects of popular culture

Cultural region

a region defined by similar culture traits and cultural landscape features

Custom

Practices followed by the people of a particular cultural group

Environmental determinism

A doctrine that claims that cultural traits are formed and controlled by environmental conditions

Folk culture (folkways)

Culture traditionally practiced by a small, homogeneous, rural group living in relative isolation from other groups

Food attraction

Reasons certain culture/region eat certain types of food

Habit

a repetitive act that a particular individual performs

Material culture

The physical manifestations of human activities; includes tools ,campsites, art, and structures. The most durable aspects of culture

Mentifact

The central, enduring elements of a culture expressing its values and beliefs, including language, religion, folklore, and etc.

Popular culture

Dynamic culture based in large, heterogeneous societies permitting considerable individualism, innovation, and change; having a money-based economy, division of labor into professions, secular institutions of control, and weak interpersonal ties; and producing and consuming machine-made goods

Possibilism

The theory that the physical may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives

Sociofact

The institutions and links between individuals and groups that unite a culture, including family structure and political, educational and religious institutions

Taboo

a restriction on a behavior imposed by a social custom

Uniform Landscape

the spatial expression of a popular custom in one location that will be similar to another

Expansion diffusion

the spread of an innovation or an idea through a population in an area

Relocation diffusion

sequential diffusion process in which the items being diffused are transmitted by their carrier agents as they evacuate the old areas and relocate the new ones

Ebonics

a dialect spoken by some African Americans

Franglais

the widespread use of english in the french language, A term used by the French for English words that have entered the French language, a combination of franfais and anglai." the French words for "French" and "English," respectively

Spanglish

Combination of Spanish and English, spoken by Hispanic-Americans

Lingua Franca

A language mutually understood and commonly used in trade by people who have different native languages

Pidgin language

A form of speech that adopts a simplified grammar and limited vocabulary of a lingua franca, used for communications among speakers of two different languages

accent

the manner in which people speak and the way words are pronounced in different parts of the world

dialect

A regional variety of a language distinguished by vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation

extinct language

A language that was once used by people in daily activities but is no longer used

ideogram

symbol that stands for a concept rather than a word

isogloss

A boundary that separates regions in which different language usages predominate

isolated language

A language that is unrelated to any other languages and therefore not attached to any language family

language branch

A collection of languages related through a common ancestor that existed several thousand years ago. Differences are not as extensive or old as with language families, and archaeological evidence can confirm that these derived from the same family

language

A system of communication through the use of speech, a collection of sounds understood by a group of people to have the same meaning

language group

A collection of languages within a branch that share a common origin in the relatively recent past and display relatively few differences in grammar and vocabulary

language family

a collection of languages related to each other through a commmon ancestor long before recorded history

literary tradition

A language that is written as well as spoken

mono-linguality

Speaking only one language

bi-linguality

Speaking two languages

multi-linguality

Speaking several languages

official language

The language adopted for use by the government for the conduct of business and publication of documents

orthography

the study of where languages are found/located

standard language

The form of a language used for official government business, education, and mass communications

toponym

the name by which a geographical place is known

trade language

A language used between native speakers of different languages to allow them to communicate so that they can trade with each other

vernacular

the everyday speech of the people (as distinguished from literary language) My Example = SWAG rather than CHARISMATIC CONFIDENCE!

BRP

British Received Pronounciation. The dialect of English assosciated with upper class britons living in the london area now considered a standard

creole

a language that results from the th mixing of a colonizer’s langage with the indigenous language of the people being dominated

Vulgar Latin

nonclassical Latin dialects spoken in the Roman Empire

Esperanto

A made-up Latin-based language, which its European proponents in the early twentieth century hoped would become a global language

linguistics

study of language

Animism

belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life

Autonomous religion

a religion that does not have a central authority but shares ideas and cooperates informally

Branch

a large and fundamental division within a religion

Caste

the class or distinct hereditary order into which a Hindu is assigned according to religious law

Cosmogony

a set of religious beliefs concerning the origin of the universe

Denomination

a division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations in a single legal and administrative body

Diocese

the basic unit of geographic organization in the Roman Catholic Church

Ethnic religion

a religion with a relatively concentrated spatial distribution whose principle are likely to be based on the physical characteristics of the particular location in which its adherents are concentrated

Fundamentalism

literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic principles of a religion (or a religious branch, denomination, or sect)

Ghetto

during the Middle Ages, a neighborhood in a city set up by law to be inhabited only by Jews; now used to denote a section of the city in which members of any minority group live because of social, legal, or economic pressure

Hierarchical religion

a religion in which a central authority exercises a high degree of control

Missionary

an individual who helps to diffuse a universalizing religion

Monotheism

the doctrine or belief of the existence of only one god

Pagan

a follower of a polytheistic religion in ancient times

Pilgrimage

a journey to a place considered sacred for religious purposes

Polytheism

belief in or worship of more than one god

Sect

a relatively small group that has broken away from an established denomination

Solstice

time when the Sun is farthest from the equator

Universalizing religion

a religion that attempts to appeal to all people, not just those living in a particular location

Apartheid

Laws (no longer in effect) in South Africa that physically separated different races into different geographic areas

Balkanization

Process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities

Balkanized

A small geographic area that could not successfully be organized into one or more stable states because it was inhabited by many ethnicities with complex, long-standing antagonisms toward each other

Blockbusting

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

Centripetal force

An attitude that tends to unify people and enhance support for a state

Ethnic cleansing

Process in which more powerful ethnic group forcible removes a less powerful one in order to create an ethnically homogenous region

Ethnicity

Identity with a group of people that share distinct physical and mental traits as a product of common heredity and cultural traditions

Multi-ethnic state

State that contains more than one ethnicity

Multinational state

State that contains two or more ethnic groups with traditions of self-determination that agree to coexist peacefully by recognizing each other as distinct nationalities

Nationalism

Loyalty and devotion to a particular nationality

Nationality

Identity with a group of people that share legal attachment and personal allegiance to a particular place as a result of being born there

Nation-state

A state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality

Race

Identity with a group of people descended from a common ancestor

Racism

Belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences product an inherent superiority of a particular race

Racist

A person who subscribes to the beliefs of racism

Self-determination

Concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves

Sharecropper

A person who works fields rented from a landowner and pays the rent and repays loans by turning over to the landowner a share of the crops

Triangular slave trade

A practice, primarily during the eighteenth century, in which European ships transported slaves from Africa to Caribbean islands, molasses from the Caribbean to Europe, and trade goods from Europe to Africa

balance of power

condition of roughly equal strength between opposing countries or alliances of countries

boundary

invisible line that marks the extent of a state’s territory

city-state

a sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate hinterland

colonialism

attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory

colony

a territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than completely independent

compact state

a state in which the distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly

elongated state

a state with a long, narrow shape

federal state

an internal organization of a state that allocates most powers to units of local government

fragmented state

a state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory

frontier

a zone separating two states in which neither state exercises political control

gerrymandering

process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power

imperialism

control of territory already occupied and organized by an indigenous society

landlocked state

a state that does not have a direct outlet to the sea

microstate

a state that encompasses a very small land area

perforated state

a state that completely surrounds another one

prorupted state

an otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension

sovereignty

ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states

state

an area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government with control over its internal and foreign affairs

unitary state

an internal organization of a state that places most power in the hands of central government officials

Developing Country

Term that analysts use instead of the term "less developed country"

Economic Development

Process of improving economic/material conditions of people through the diffusion of knowledge and technology

Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM)

Compares the ability of men and women to participate in economic and political decision making

Gender-related Development Index (GDI)

Compares the level of development of women with that of both sexes

Gross Domestic Product

Value of the total number of goods and services produced in a country in a given period of time (normally one year). Also known as GNI (Gross National Income)

Gross National Product

Like "gross domestic product," only the incomes that people earn abroad are also considered

Human Development Index (HDI)

Created by the United Nations to recognize a country’s level of development as function of three factors: economic, social, and demographic factors

Less Developed Country (LDC)

Country in an earlier stage of development. Several analysts prefer the term "developing country"

Literacy Rate

Percentage of a country’s people who can read and write

More Developed Country (MDC)

Also known as a relatively developed country or a developed country, country that has progressed further along the development continuum

Neo-colonialism

Country that displays economic dependence on another country; a country that displays so much economic independence on another country, that it seems to be a colony of the independent country

Primary Sector

Where workers extract materials from Earth through agriculture, and sometimes by mining, fishing, and forestry; the portion of the economy concerned with the direct extraction of materials from Earth’s surface, generally through agriculture, although sometimes by mining, fishing, and forestry

Productivity

Value of a particular product compared to the amount of labor needed to make it

Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)

What a state’s dollar can actually buy compared to another state’s dollar; what a country is able to buy

Quarternary Sector

Sector that includes jobs that focus on business services, such as trade, insurance, banking, advertising, and wholesaling

Rostow’s "Modernization Model"

Model created by W.W. Rostow in the 1950’s that gives an idea of where a country is in their stage of development. There are five stages in this model, including: 1. "The traditional society," 2. "The preconditions for takeoff," 3. "The takeoff," 4. "The drive to maturity," 5. "The age of mass consumption"

Secondary Sector

Portion of the economy concerned with manufacturing the process, transformation, and assembly of raw materials into useful products

Structural Adjustment Programs

Economic policies that encourage international trade

Tertiary Sector

Portion of the economy concerned with the transportation, communications, and utilities, sometimes extended to the provision of all goods and services to people in exchange for payment

Value Added

Gross value of the product minus the cost of raw materials and energy

Agribusiness

system of commercial farming found in the United States and other relatively developed countries

Boserup Hypothesis

based on the observation that explains how population increase necessitates increased inputs of labor and technology to compensate for reductions in the natural yields of swidden farming

Carl Sauer

first to observe vegetable planting

Commercial Agriculture

found in more developed countries; production of food primarily for sale off the farm

Crop Rotation

practice of rotating the use of different fields from crop to crop each year to avoid exhausting the soil

Desertification

process in semiarid regions where human actions are causing land to deteriorate to a desert-like condition

Domestication

process of making something commercialized for larger production

Fallow

when farmers grow crops on a clear field for only a few years until the soil nutrients are depleted. The farmers then leave the soil for a few year so the nutrients in the soil can be restored; uncropped land

Green Revolution

invention and rapid diffusion of more productive agricultural techniques during the 1970s and 1980s

Horticulture

growing of fruits, vegetables, and flowers

Intensive Subsistence Agriculture

term applied to subsistence agriculture that means that farmers must work more intensively to subsist on a parcel of land

Luxury Crops

"hard to get" crops; delicacies; crops that you would not normally see

Market Gardening (Truck Farming)

commercial gardening and fruit farming named because "truck" means bartering

Mediterranean Agriculture

form agriculture that takes place along the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. The sea winds provide moisture for the crops and moderate winter temperatures, and this form of agriculture takes place in hilly, mountainous regions. The two primary cash crops in this form of agriculture are olives and grapes

Milkshed

ring surrounding a city from which milk can be supplied without spoiling

Paddy

inaccurate name given by Europeans and North Americans to the flooded field in which wet rice is planted; Malay word for wet rice

Pastoral Nomadism

form of agriculture based on herding domesticated animals

Plantation

large farm that specializes in one or two crops

Ranching

commercial grazing of livestock over an extensive area

Ridge Tillage

system of planting crops on ridge tops to reduce farm production costs; promotes soil conservation

Seed Agriculture

reproduction of plants through annual planting of seeds that result from sexual fertilization

Shifting Cultivation

people shift actively from one field to another

Slash-and-Burn (Swidden)

farmers clear land for planting by slashing vegetation and burning the debris. Swidden is the cleared area that is known by a variety of names in different regions (swidden is the name in one specific region)

Subsistence Agriculture

found in LDCs. Production of food primarily for consumption by the farmer’s family

Sustainable Agriculture

agricultural practice that preserves and enhances environmental quality

Thomas Malthus

first one to observe that rapidly increasing population will cause overpopulation and not enough resources for all of the people

Transhumance

seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and lowland pasture areas

Truck farms

horticultural or "market gardening" farms

Vegetative Planting

reproduction of plants by direct cloning from existing plants, such as cutting stems

von Thunen’s Model of Agriculture

model that shows that the uses to which panels were put was a function of the differing "rent" values placed on seemingly identical lands

Agglomeration

Phenomenon of economic activity congregating in or close to a single location, rather than being spread out uniformly across space

Assembly line

Arrangement of tools, machines, and workers in which a product is assembled by having each perform a specific, successive operation on an incomplete unit as it passes by in a series of stages organized in a direct line

Break-of-bulk

Point of location where transfer among transportation modes is possible

Bulk-gaining industry

Industry that makes something that gain volume or weight during production

Bulk-reducing industry

Economic activity in which the final product weighs less than its inputs

Capital

Wealth, whether in money or property, owned or employed in business by an individual, firm, or corporation

Cottage industry

Home-based manufacturing. An example of this is textile manufacturing

Export processing zone

Industrial parks for foreign companies to conduct export-oriented manufacturing

Footloose industry

Industry that locate in a wide variety of places without a significant change in its cost of transportation, land, labor, and capital

"Fordism" (post-Fordism)

Approach that explains how many industries are attracted to locations with relatively skilled labor to introduce new rules. Traditionally, in large factories, each worker was assigned one specific task to perform repeatedly. Relatively skilled workers are needed to master the wider variety of assignments given to them, which are more flexible rules under the _________ approach.

Industrial Revolution

Revolution that transformed how goods are produced for a society and the way people obtain food, clothing, and shelter

Infrastructure

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

Labor-intensive

Type of industry in which labor cost is a high percentage of expense

Least-cost theory

States that optimum location of a manufacturing firm is explained in terms of cost minimization

Site characteristics

Characteristics that result from the unique characteristics of a location, such as land, labor, and capital

Situation characteristics

Characteristics that involve transporting materials to and from a factory

Weber, Alfred (Alfred Weber)

Creator of the model that states that the optimum location of a manufacturing firm is explained in terms of cost minimization

right-to-work state

State that has prevented a union or company from negotiating a contract that requires workers to join a union as a condition of employment

trading bloc

Type of "industrial competition" in which the countries within a group cooperate through trade, and these groups compete against the other two (there are three total)

new international division of labor

Selective transfer of skilled jobs in MDCs to LDCs that still allow skilled jobs to exist in MDCs

basic industry

Industry producing goods or services for sale to other regions

economies of scale

Lower production costs as a result of larger volume of production

nonbasic industry

Industry producing goods or services for sale within the local region

primary industry/activity

Economic activity that directly extracts or harvests resources from the Earth

secondary industry/activity

Economic activity that transforms raw materials into usable products, adding value in the process

raw material oriented

Tendency for an industry to locate near the source of raw materials in order to save on transport costs, which usually occurs when raw materials lose weight in the production process

tertiary industry/activity

Economic activity that links the primary and secondary sectors to the consumers and other businesses either by selling goods directly or by performing services utilizing those goods

Basic industries

industries that sell their products or services primarily to consumers outside the settlement

business services

services that primarily meet the needs of other businesses

central business district (CBD)

the area of the cty where retail and office activities are clustered

central place

a market center for the exchange of services by people attracted from the surrounding area

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

city-state

a sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate hinterland

clustered rural settlement

a rural settlement in which the houses and farm buildings of each family are situated close to each other and fields surround the settlement

consumer services

businesses that provide services primarily to individual consumers, including retail services and personal services

dispersed rural settlement

a rural settlement pattern characterized by isolated farms rather than clustered villages

economic base

a community’s collection of basic industries

enclosure movement

the process of consolidating small landholdings into a smaller number of larger farms in England during the eighteenth century

gravity model

a model that holds that the potential use of a service at a particular location is directly related to the number of people in a location and inversely related to the distance people must travel to reach this service

market area (hinterland)

the area surrounding a central place, from which people are attracted to use the place’s goods and services

nonbasic industries

industries that sell their products primarily to consumers in the community

personal services

services that provide for the well-being and personal improvement of individual consumers

primate city

the largest settlement in a country, if it has more than twice as many people as the second-ranking settlement

primate city rule

a pattern of settlements in a country, such that the largest settlement has more than twice as many people as the second-ranking settlement

producer services

services that primarily help people conduct business

public services

services offered by the government to provide security and protection for citizens and businesses

range (of a service)

the maximum distance people are willing to travel to use a service

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

retail services

services that provide goods for sale to consumers

service

any activity that fulfills a human want or need and returns money to those who provide it

settlement

a permanent collection of buildings and inhabitants

threshold

the minimum number of people needed to support the service

transportation and information services

services that diffuse and distribute other services

Annexation

process of legally adding land area to a city

Concentric zone model

model created by EW Burgess in 1923, which explains that a city grows outward from a central area in a series of concentric rings, like the growth rings on a tree

Density gradient

density change in an urban area

Edge city

city around a beltway that is a node of consumer and business services

Filtering

process of subdivision of houses and occupancy by successive waves of lower-income people

Gentrification

process by which middle-class people move into deteriorated inner-city neighborhoods and renovate the housing

Greenbelts

rings of open space. New housing is built in the older suburbs within the rings and planned extensions, small towns, and new towns are built beyond the rings

Megalopolis

Greek word for "great city." Region described as an MSA that may overlap and cause several large metropolitan areas to come so close together that they form one continuous urban complex

MSA (metropolitan statistical area)

area studied using a method created by the US Bureau of the Census that measures the functional area of a city

MSA (micropolitan statistical area)

smaller urban areas that the census has designated to include in part of their measure

Multiple nuclei model

model created by CD Harris and EL Ullman in 1945, which explains that a city is a complex structure that includes more than one center around which activities revolve

Peripheral model

model created by Chauncey Harris, which describes how an urban area consists of an inner city surrounded by large suburban residential and business areas tied together by a beltway or ring road

Public housing

housing provided to low-income households, who pay 30% of their income as rent for the housing

Redlining

drawing of lines on a map to identify areas in which banks will refuse to loan money

Renovated housing

housing maintained as result of the alternative to demolishing houses

Sector model

theory developed by land economist Homer Hoyt in 1939, which explains that a city develops in a series of sectors rather than rings

Smart growth

legislation and regulations to limit suburban sprawl and preserve farmland

Sprawl

what US suburbs are characterized by; the progressive spread of development over the landscape

Squatter settlement

settlement where a large percentage of poor immigrants to urban areas in LDCs live because of a housing shortage

Underclass

what inner-city residents are frequently referred to because they are trapped in an unending cycle of economic and social problems

Urban renewal

something under which cities identify blighted inner-city neighborhoods, acquire the properties from private owners, relocate the residents and businesses, clear the site, and build new roads and utilities

Zone in transition

name given to the second ring of the concentric zone model, which surrounds the CBD, in the concentric zone model. This place typically contains industry and poor-quality housing

Zoning ordinances

rules developed in Europe and North America in the 20th century that encouraged spatial separation. They also prevented mixing of land uses within the same district

Galactic city

mini edge city that is connected to another city by beltways or highways

Scattered site

site in which dwellings are dispersed throughout the city rather than clustered in a large project

Acid deposition

Sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, emitted by burning fossil fuels, enter the atmosphere-where they combine with oxygen and water to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid-and return to Earth’s surface

Acid precipitation

Conversion of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides to acids that return to Earth as rain, snow, or fog

Active solar energy systems

Solar energy system that collects energy through the use of mechanical devices like photovoltaic cells or flat-plate collectors

Air pollution

Concentration of trace substances, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and solid particulates, at a greater level than occurs in average air

Animate power

Power supplied by people or animals

Biochemical Oxygen demand (BOD)

Amount of oxygen required by aquatic bacteria to decompose a given load of organic waste; a measure of water pollution

Biodiversity

The number of species within a specific habitat

Biomass fuel

fuel that derives from plant material and animal waste

Breeder reactor

A nuclear power plant that creates its own fuel from plutonium

CFC

A gas used as a solvent, a propellant in aerosols, a refrigerant, and in plastic foams and fire extinguishers

Conservation

The sustainable use and management of a natural resource, through consuming at a less rapid rate than it can be replaced

Ferrous

Metals including iron ore, that are utilized in the production of iron and steel

Fission

The splitting of an atomic nucleus to release energy

Fossil fuel

Energry source formed from the residue of plants and animals buried millions of years ago

Fusion

Creation of energy by joining the nuclei of two hydrogen atoms to form helium

Geothermal energy

Energy from steam or hot water produced from hot or molten underground rocks

Greenhouse effect

Anticipated increase in Earth’s temperature, caused by carbon dioxide (emitted by burning fossil fuels) trapping some of the radiation emitted by the surface

Hydroelectric power

Power generated from moving water

Ideograms

The system of writing used in China and other East Asian countries in which each symbol represents an idea or a concept rather than a specific sound, as is the case with letters in English

Inanimate power

Power supplied by machines

Nonferrous

metals utilized to make products other than iron and steel

Nonrenewable energy

A source of energy that is a finite supply capable of being exhausted

Ozone

gas that absorbs ultraviolet solar radiation, found in the stratosphere, a zone between 15 and 50 kilometers (9 to 30 miles) above Earth’s surface

Passive solar energy systems

Solar energy system that collects energy without the use of mechanical devices

Photochemical smog

An atmospheric condition formed through a combination of weather conditions and pollution, especially from motor vehicle emissions

Photovoltaic cell

Solar energy cells, usually made from silicon, that collect solar rays to generate electricity

Pollution

Addition of more waste than a resource can accommodate

Potential reserve

The amount of energy in deposits not yet identified but thought to exist

Preservation

Maintenance of a resource in its present condition, with as little human impact as possible

Proven reserve

The amount of a resource remaining in discovered deposits

Radioactive waste

Particles from a nuclear reaction that emit radiation; contact with such particles may be harmful or lethal to people and must therefore be safely stored for thousands of years

Renewable energy

A resource that has a theoretically unlimited supply and is not depleted when used by humans

Resource

A substance in the environment that is useful to people, is economically and technologically feasible to access, and is socially acceptable to use

Sanitary landfill

A place to deposit solid waste, where a layer of earth is bulldozed over garbage each day to reduce emissions of gases and odors from the decaying trash, to minimize fires, and to discourage vermin

Sustainable development

The level of development that can be maintained in a country without depleting resources to the extent that future generations will be unable to achieve a comparable level of development