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Harrison Burnside
What you should know:
Megacities vs. Meta cities, Different Types of Statistical Areas, Processes of Suburbanization
When we define urban, we are talking about a built-up city or town and its surrounding environment. An urban area consists of a central city and its surrounding built-up suburbs, with at least 50,000 people. An urban cluster is an urban environment with around 2,500-50,000 people. Thus, urbanization refers to population shifts from rural to urban areas and people’s adaptation to these changes.
Megacities are very large urban centers around the globe that have a population of greater than 10 million people. Megacities can encompass a large metropolitan area (Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas) and have lots of residents. Metacities are a large cluster of Megacities that have a population of greater than 20 million people. Metacities are connected through transportation systems and infrastructure. Metacities form one very large economic center!
Suburbs are residential or commercial areas situated within an urban area, but outside the central city. Because of the expansion of urban areas, known as urban sprawl, many modern challenges have arisen. These challenges will be mentioned further on in study guide 6.10.
As detached single-family homes began to arise in the outskirts of cities, a new method of urban planning was created, called the garden-city movement. In this movement, homes were located in self-contained communities, surrounded by green belts which stop the urban sprawl.
Metropolitan Area
50,000+ People
Includes the county/town where the city is located
Population usually works in the central city
Micropolitan Area
Population between 10,000 - 50,000 people
Smaller City and Surrounding Towns/Counties
Core-Based Area
Adjacent "Commuter Counties" Tied To An Urban Center
Either Metropolitan or Micropolitan
Primary Area
A Core-Based Area NOT Centered in a Metropolitan or Micropolitan Area
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