Urbanization, City Patterns, and Global Networks (AP Human Geography Unit 6.1–6.3)

Urbanization

The process in which a rising percentage (proportion) of a population lives in urban areas (towns and cities) rather than rural areas.

Urban Growth

An increase in the number of people living in cities (a city’s population gets bigger), regardless of whether the urban share is rising.

Urbanism

The ways of life and cultural patterns associated with living in cities.

Agricultural Surplus

Extra food produced beyond a household’s needs, allowing some people to specialize in non-farm roles (e.g., builders, traders, administrators).

Friction of Distance

The idea that distance creates cost/time barriers; concentrating people in cities reduces these barriers for trade and services.

Site Advantages

Location benefits that attract settlement, such as navigable rivers, harbors, defensible hills, or crossroads that reduce transport costs and risk.

Industrialization

The shift from an agrarian economy to one based on manufacturing (and later services), often accelerating urbanization by concentrating jobs in cities.

Rural-to-Urban Migration

Movement of people from rural areas to cities; a major source of urban growth and often a contributor to urbanization.

Push Factors

Conditions that pressure people to leave rural areas (e.g., limited land, low farm income, mechanization reducing labor demand, environmental stress, conflict).

Pull Factors

Conditions that attract people to cities (e.g., jobs, education, healthcare, perceived opportunity, social networks).

Natural Increase

Population growth from births minus deaths; cities can grow rapidly through natural increase even without massive migration.

Government Policies (and Urbanization)

State actions that shape urbanization via economic policy, infrastructure investment, housing policy, or building/expanding capitals and planned cities.

Informal Settlement

Housing built without legal title or permits, often expanding when rapid urbanization outpaces formal housing supply.

Informal Economy

Work and business activity not fully regulated or protected by the state; often expands when formal job growth can’t keep pace with population growth.

Urban System

A network of cities connected by flows of people, goods, money, and information rather than isolated settlements.

Primate City

A country’s largest city that is disproportionately large and influential compared with other cities, often dominating politics, finance, and culture.

Rank-Size Rule

A pattern where city sizes are more evenly distributed across an urban system, without one overwhelmingly dominant city.

Megacity

An urban area with a population over 10 million.

Global Supply Chains

Production networks that split design, parts, assembly, and marketing across multiple places; cities act as coordination, production, and distribution nodes.

Suburbanization

Movement of people and jobs outward from central cities to surrounding suburban areas, common in many wealthier countries.

Reurbanization

Renewed investment and population/job return to central city areas after periods of suburbanization (often linked to redevelopment).

Globalization

Increasing worldwide integration through flows of capital, labor, goods, services, information, and culture.

World City (Global City)

A city with disproportionate influence in global networks, concentrating high-level functions like finance, corporate headquarters, specialized services, and major transport/communications infrastructure.

Producer Services

Business-to-business services (e.g., finance, consulting, law, accounting, advertising, tech services) that often grow in globalizing city economies.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

Investment by a firm or individual from one country into business interests located in another; cities often compete for FDI to gain jobs, infrastructure, and revenue.