A central city, plus land developed for commercial, industrial, or residential purposes

Farms and villages with low concentrations of people

The process of developing towns and cities

Primarily residential areas near cities

The process of people moving, usually from cities to residential areas on the outskirts of cities

Characteristics at the immediate location (absolute location)

Location of a place relative to its surroundings and connectivity to other places

A city consisting of at least 50,000 people, the county in which it is located, and adjacent counties that have a high degree of social and economic integration

An urban cluster with a population of at least 10,000, but fewer than 50,000

A distinct time period

A city in which cars are not allowed

Communities that grew along rail lines, often creating a pinwheel-shaped city.

White Americans moving to the suburbs, began in northern US cities

Development of new housing sites at relatively low density, and at locations that are not contiguous to the existing built-up area

Communities with at least 100,000 people with population growth of over 10% over a 10 year period

Communities which are further out than suburbs

Developers skipping over land to obtain cheaper land away from other developed areas, and away from a city

Cities found along transportation routes with mini-downtowns, hotels, shopping and restaurants

Flow away from urban area, residents moving out of cities

Cities with a minimum population of 10,000,000

Cities with a minimum population of 20,000,000

A chain of connected cities

When cities continuously grow and merge into an uninterrupted area larger than a megalopolis

The most influential cities, control centers for the global economy, production, banking, cultural trends and marketing

Ranking based on influence or population size

Command centers on a regional, or occasionally national level

The largest city in an urban system, which is more than twice as large as the next largest city

Strong central government

Government spread between central and local governments

A zone, surrounding a central place, that contains people who will purchase goods or services

The size of population necessary for any business to exist and be profitable

The distance people will travel to obtain specific goods or services

Those which are not as common, and for which people will travel further

Those which are more common, and for which people will not travel far

The commercial heart of a city

Located just outside of the CBD, dedicated to various types of businesses

Accompanies high quality housing, ends in a growing secondary center

Next to a commercial spine, filled with restaurants, parks, theaters

Out ring of a city, lack of infrastructure

Poorly built housing

Neighborhood in many Latin American cities, marked by extreme poverty, homelessness and lawlessness

Abandoned land or undeveloped open spaces, lacking infrastructure

Existed before European colonization, small shops along narrow twisted streets

Broad avenues and large homes, parks and administrative centers

Curbside, car-side, and stall-based businesses, people hired temporarily, not all regulations followed

Densely populated informal settlements

Regulations that define how property in specific geographic regions may be used

Process of promoting growth and controlling changes in land usage

Houses pass from one social group to another

A local entity that is all under the same jurisdiction

The process of adding land to a city’s legally defined territory

The act legally joining together to form a new city

Commuter suburbs withing the larger metro area

Populated regions that do not fall within the legal boundary of any city or municipality

Using the earth’s resources while not causing permanent damage to the environment

Policies to combat urban sprawl and create new visions that are more sustainable and equitable

The process of building up and under used lands within a city

A set of principles that supports sustainable urban designs

The process by which banks refuse loans to those who want to purchase and improve properties in certain urban areas

When people live in separate neighborhoods based on ethnicity or race

When people of an ethnic group sold their homes upon learning that members of another ethnic group were moving into the neighborhood

Areas of poverty occupied by a minority group as a result of discrimination

Practices which offer incentives for developers to set aside a percentage of housing for low income renters or buyers

Walled or fenced neighborhoods with limited access and entry points

Areas abandoned by industry consisting of dilapidated buildings and polluted or contaminated soils

Rats, racoons and pigeons which can thrive in cities but can spread diseases and be a nuisance

An area of a city that is warmer than the surrounding areas.

Renovating a site within a city by removing the existing landscape and rebuilding from the ground up

Streets lined with tall buildings which can create wind tunnels