AP Human Geography

Chapter 8 Study Guide (Part 1)

Cities and Urbanization
1. Approximately how much of the worlds population now lives in
cities?

2. Describe the relationship between a central place and

hinterlands?

3. Identify the 6 basic characteristics of a city:

4. What is difficult about defining urban settlements?

5. What is the minimum population for an urban settlement in

Australia? Japan? U.S?

6. In what way do some countries tether the definition of the word

urban to the economy?

7. What are the legally defined boundaries of a city known as?

8. How do these relate to the central city?

9. What distinguished the central business district from the rest of

the city?

10.
Where are suburbs located in relation to the city limits and
the central city?

11.
What is the U.S. Census Bureaus formal definition of an
urbanized area?

12.
Describe the basic differences between an urbanized area
and a metropolitan area.

13.

How does a megalopolis related to metropolitan areas?

14.
What two methods do geographers use to measure
urbanization?

15.

How do these two methods differ?

16.
According to level of urbanization, when is an area
considered to be urbanized?

17.
According to rate of urban growth, what rates are
considered to be high urban growth?

18.
What do current estimates project the global level of
urbanization will be by 2050?

19.
What is the level of urbanization in developed countries vs.
developing countries?

20.
Globally, what was the rate of urban growth between 19702011?

21.

What is it today?

22.
What countries are projected to have the highest rate of
urban growth from now until 2030?

23.

What trends are highlighted by these urban growth rates?

24.

What two processes are connected to urban growth?

25.

In what way can globalization impact urban growth?

26.

How can governments play a role in urban growth?

27.

What geographic factors can play a role in urban growth?

28.

How long have cities existed?

29.
What two circumstances have scholars identified as necessary
for the emergence of cities?

30.
What historical even explains why developed countries have the
highest levels of urbanization and lowest rates of urbanization?

31.
How did the increased mechanization of agriculture push people
to the cities?

32.
What two innovations helped to change the appearance of cities
in developed countries?

33.
Where were the largest cities in the world located for most of the
th
20 century?

34.

By what year did this begin to change?

35.

What new urban feature led to this change?

36.

What constitutes a megacity?

37.
List the problems that can be associated with urbanization that is
poorly managed.

38.
What is urban growth in developing countries more likely to give
rise to than in developed countries?

39.

How do these cities differ from others?

40.
What Asian city is 9 times as large as the countrys second
largest city?

41.
How do primate cities impact the level of development
within a country?

42.
Besides being a major population center, what other functions do
primate cities typically serve (in short)?

43.

What developing countries do not have primate cities?

44.

What European capitals are primate cities?

45.
What geographer was the first to recognize and analyze the
regularities in the system of central places?

46.

What theory did he develop in the 1930s?

47.

Define range and threshold.

48.

What types of goods and services require a larger threshold?

49.

What is the term for such goods and services?

50.
What is the term for goods and services we use on a daily basis,
that have a limited range and threshold?

51.
What is the name of the system developed by Christaller to rank
urban areas in terms of their range, threshold, and market area?

52.

What cities are at the top of this hierarchy?

What is the term for urban areas at the bottom?

53.
What did Christaller determine was the optimal spatial
arrangement of central places?

54.
What three assumptions did Christaller use to develop his
theory?

55.
What led Christaller to believe the optimal shape of market areas
would be hexagonal rather than circular?

56.

Explain food deserts.

57.
What new feature have urban geographers noticed in the worlds
urban system due to globalization?

58.

What feature distinguishes these cities from others?

59.

What two factors explain the growth of world cities?

60.
In your own words, why does Christallers Central Place Theory
not apply to the global urban hierarchy that includes world cities?

61.

How does the idea of hinterworlds seem to support this?

62.
What three cities do geographers generally agree are world
cities?

63.
Why is there controversy related to determining which cities are
considered world cities?

64.
According to urban geographer John Rennie Short, what four
factors prevent many cities from being world cities?