Rank-Size Rule indicates a balanced urban hierarchy, while a Primate City distribution shows one dominant city.

Urbanization is the movement from rural to urban areas, while suburbanization is the shift from urban to suburban areas.

The United States has a decentralized city distribution, while China has a more centralized distribution with a few dominant cities.

Megacities are large cities with 10+ million people, often in developing countries, while global cities have global economic and political influence and are often in developed countries.

Low-order services (e.g., gas stations) are found everywhere, while high-order services (e.g., sports arenas) are only in larger cities.

A theory that explains the distribution of different-sized settlements based on threshold and range.

The nth largest city in a system has 1/n the population of the largest city, indicating a balanced urban hierarchy.

A primate city dominates a country's economic, political, and cultural functions, often disproportionately larger than other cities.

Threshold and range determine the location and size of services; higher-order services need a larger threshold and have a larger range.

More developed regions tend to have more complex and decentralized city structures.

Economic opportunities and access to services in urban areas drive urbanization.

Desire for more space, lower cost of living, and perceived better quality of life drive suburbanization.

Overpopulation, traffic, pollution, and resource strain are key challenges.

Global cities have significant political, economic, and cultural influence beyond their boundaries, driving global economic activities.

Concentrations of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional downtown or central business district.

Causes: Economic opportunities, access to services. Effects: Overpopulation, strain on resources, pollution.

Causes: Desire for space, lower costs, better quality of life, car-dependent infrastructure. Effects: Urban sprawl, increased commuting, segregation.

Causes: Rural-urban migration, economic opportunities. Effects: Overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure, environmental problems.

Causes: Increased trade, migration, and interconnectedness. Effects: Growth of global cities, economic disparities, cultural exchange.

Causes: Discriminatory housing policies, redlining. Effects: Clustered minority populations, economic disparities, social inequality.

Causes: Historical factors, economic centralization. Effects: Uneven development, concentration of power, potential for instability.

Causes: Suburbanization, car dependency, low-density housing. Effects: Increased commuting, environmental degradation, loss of farmland.

Causes: Increased demand for urban living, investment in urban areas. Effects: Displacement of low-income residents, increased property values, cultural changes.