AP HUG Unit 5 MCQ

According to central place theory, the threshold is defined as the:

• economic base of a central place

•  distance away from a central place

• gross value of the product minus the costs of production

• minimum number of people needed to support a service

• point at which consumer movement is at a minimum

Which of the following best explains why New York City has more specialized stores than do smaller urban places in the United States?

• Its status as a primate city

• The rank-size rule

• Central place theory

• The gravity model

• The Burgess concentric zone model

Answer explanation

Central place theory predicts how and where central places in the urban hierarchy (villages, town, cities) would be functionally and spatially distributed. It is assumed that the largest central place in a region or area provides the greatest number of services to that region and that the smallest would provide fewer services. New York City is a central place that provides a large variety of services and functions that are not available in smaller cities, towns, or villages in the area.

Which of the following defines Chicago’s position in relation to the infrastructure of the United States?

• Situation

• Absolute location

• Site

• Vernacular region

• Transition zone

Compare the largest urbanized-area populations for each country, and then select the following statement that correctly draws a conclusion regarding the pattern in the data.

• China has a primate city, and the United States follows the rank-size rule.

• The United States is closer to following rank-size rule.

• Neither country follows the rank-size rule.

• Both countries have a primate city.

• The United States has a primate city, and China follows the rank-size rule.

As old central business districts and industrial zones in more developed countries lost businesses and employment in the mid- to late twentieth century, suburban development expanded. Which of the following types of cities resulted from rapid suburban growth and the expansion of retail areas, office developments, business centers, and corporate headquarters to provide jobs and services in suburban areas?

• Megalopolises

• Edge cities

• State capitals

• Financial districts

• Manufacturing zones

Answer explanation

Edge cities form because of the high demand for corporate office space and retail space in rapidly developing metropolitan areas, such as the Sun Belt cities in the United States.

Which of the following was a consequence of blockbusting in North American cities?

• European immigrants moved into housing vacated by upwardly mobile Americans.

• Poor residents were unable to acquire mortgages.

• Real estate agents lost sellers.

• Neighborhoods were razed for commercial establishments.

• The ethnic composition of neighborhoods changed

Which of the following best explains what the central business district data indicate?

• Business owners want to have fast Internet available for their consumers in order to improve online ratings for local services and generate return customers.

• Consumers demand that the fastest Internet service available before they will consider visiting a city or selecting a hotel for work or business trips.

• Politicians and activists have made Internet connectivity a basic right of urban residents and feel that governments should provide services to increase the connectivity of citizens.

• Government policy makers and business partners have focused infrastructure efforts on creating a downtown work environment that is positive for economic development.

• Communications companies expect that increasing Internet speeds will lead to increased number of subscribers to their networks.

Answer explanation

Businesses and governments have to work in partnership to create connected urban spaces and promote local economic development by expanding revenues for existing companies and creating new businesses.

As migrants from rural areas continue to move to cities for jobs, cities face a variety of economic and social challenges. Which of the following economic or social challenges is best illustrated by the photograph shown of Mumbai, India?

• The city's infrastructure cannot support the high population density in the central business district.

• A large number of unemployed people live in the city.

• There is a significant income gap between residents on the periphery of the city and residents in the city center.

• The city's economic status in the global market is declining.

• There is a high level of homelessness in the city's central business district.

Answer explanation

The qualitative data in the photograph show makeshift housing where people who cannot afford standard or formal housing are living and high-rise buildings where economically wealthy people live and work, revealing the economic disparities in this city.

According to the sector model of North American city structure, members of low-income groups tend to live in which of the following places?

• The inner city only

• Peripheral temporary settlements

• Linear residential areas radiating from the center city outward

• Evenly dispersed throughout the urban area

• The suburbs and rural areas only

Which of the following statements explains the cost and distance relationship illustrated in the model in relation to the urban area’s residential patterns?

• The lower cost of land farther from the CBD makes it affordable to build single-family homes in zones 4 and 5 for middle-income and high-income residents who desire to move into less crowded areas.

• Since land is more expensive in the suburbs, wealthier families build larger single-family homes in zone 5 in areas that provide amenities such as private schools for their children.

• Land is cheaper near the central business district (CBD), resulting in the construction of low-income apartments and giving low-income residents access to the amenities of the CBD.

• People do not live in the CBD because of the traffic congestion, high cost of land, and lack of amenities such as museums and restaurants.

• Population density increases with the distance from the CBD as land prices decrease, allowing residents of all income levels to move farther away from zone 2.

Answer explanation

Land is less expensive in the suburbs, which is why it is possible to build single-family homes in zones 4 and 5 for middle- and high-income residents who desire suburban living.