Unit 7

Cities and Urban Land-Use

How do site and situation influence the origin, function, and growth of cities?
What are some factors that influence urbanization, and in what way do these factors influence urbanization?
What is the difference between a megacity and a metacity?
What are some of the new land-use forms and new challenges that have come about as the result of processes of suburbaniztion?
Why do world cities drive globalization?
What is the purpose of principles like rank-size rule, primate city, gravity, and Christaller's central place theory?
What models and theories are useful for explaining internal structures of cities?
Why do residential buildings and patterns of land use reflect and shape a city's culture, technological capabilities, cycles of development, and infilling?
How does the location and quality of a city's infrastructure affect its spatial patterns of economic and social development?
What are some examples of sustainable design initiatives, and what is their purpose?
Why have urban design initiatives drawn praise and criticism?
How does quantitative data provide information about changes in population composition?
How does qualitative data provide information about individual attitudes toward urban change?

Explain the processes that initiate and drive urbanization and suburbanization.
Explain how cities embody processes of globalization.
Identify and explain the different urban concepts such as hierarchy, interdependence, relative size, and spacing.
Explain the internal structure of cities using various models and theories.
Explain how low, medium, and high-density housing characteristics represent different patterns of residential land use.
Explain how a city's infrastructure relates to local politics, society, and the environment.
Identify and explain the different urban design initiatives and practices.
Explain how quantitative and qualitative data are used to show the causes and effects of geographic change within urban areas.
Explain causes and effects of geographic change within urban areas.
Describe the effectiveness of different attempts to address urban sustainability challenges.

SS.Geog2.d.h - Evaluate the impact of spatial inequality as a result of urbanization, and develop various solutions to address these inequalities.
SS.Geog2.d.h - Analyze the impact of rural decline and urbanization on a place.