Glossary
Brownfields
Abandoned or underutilized industrial or commercial sites that have actual or perceived environmental contamination. These sites often pose health hazards and hinder redevelopment.
Example:
An old, deserted textile mill, once a bustling factory but now a dilapidated structure with contaminated soil, is a prime example of a brownfield awaiting environmental cleanup and revitalization.
Central Place Theory
A geographical theory that explains the spatial distribution, size, and number of urban settlements based on their provision of goods and services. Larger settlements offer a wider variety of specialized goods and services to a larger surrounding area.
Example:
According to Central Place Theory, a small town might only have a grocery store and a gas station, while a major city will offer specialized medical centers and luxury car dealerships, serving a much larger hinterland.
Cultural Landscape
The visible imprint of human activity and culture on the natural environment. It is a geographic area, including both cultural and natural resources, associated with a historic event, activity, or person.
Example:
The terraced rice paddies carved into the hillsides of Southeast Asia, alongside traditional villages and temples, form a distinctive cultural landscape that reflects centuries of human interaction with the land.
Disamenity sectors
Areas within a city, often found in Latin American cities, that are characterized by poverty, lack of infrastructure, and are typically located on the periphery or in undesirable zones. They are often home to informal settlements.
Example:
In some large Latin American cities, the disamenity sectors are often found on steep, unstable hillsides or floodplains, making their residents particularly vulnerable to natural disasters.
Informal Settlements
Residential areas that have developed without legal recognition or planning, often characterized by a lack of basic services, insecure tenure, and poor living conditions. They are common in rapidly urbanizing developing countries.
Example:
Many migrants arriving in a bustling megacity, unable to afford formal housing, often find themselves living in informal settlements on the city's periphery, building homes from scavenged materials.
Placelessness
The feeling or phenomenon of a landscape or place losing its unique characteristics and becoming indistinguishable from other places. This often results from the homogenization of architecture, commercial establishments, and cultural expressions.
Example:
Driving through a new commercial development where every restaurant is a chain and every store looks identical, one might experience placelessness, feeling as if they could be anywhere in the country.
Sense of Place
The emotional attachment and meaning that people associate with a particular location. It is derived from a combination of physical characteristics, cultural experiences, and personal memories, making a place feel unique and special.
Example:
For many residents, the historic downtown square, with its old oak trees and annual community festivals, evokes a strong sense of place that makes their town feel like home.
Shantytowns
Neighborhoods, often found in developing countries, characterized by makeshift housing, overcrowding, and a severe lack of basic infrastructure and services. They typically lack legal permission or land claims.
Example:
The sprawling shantytown on the hillside overlooking the city was a stark reminder of urban inequality, with thousands of residents living in precarious conditions without access to clean water or electricity.
Squatter Settlements
A type of informal settlement where residents occupy land or buildings without legal title or permission. Homes are often self-built from makeshift materials.
Example:
In the outskirts of a rapidly growing city, families built makeshift homes on unoccupied public land, creating a squatter settlement that lacked official infrastructure like roads or sanitation.
Suburban Sprawl
The outward expansion of low-density residential and commercial development from the main urban area into previously undeveloped land. It is characterized by scattered development and increased reliance on automobiles.
Example:
The endless rows of single-family homes and large shopping centers spreading across former farmlands on the edge of a city are classic signs of suburban sprawl.
Urban Sustainability
The practice of meeting the needs of the present urban population without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It involves balancing social, economic, and environmental factors to create livable and thriving cities.
Example:
A city investing in a comprehensive public transit system and green building codes is demonstrating a commitment to urban sustainability by reducing carbon emissions and resource consumption.