Option G terms and definitions

Option G terms and definitions

Term                                                    Definition

Brownfield site                                    Abandoned, derelict or under-used industrial buildings and land                                                             that may be contaminated but have potential for redevelopment.

Counter-urbanization                          The movement of population away from inner urban areas to a                                                               new town, a new estate, a commuter town or a village on the                                                                   edge or just beyond the city limits/rural–urban fringe.

Ecological footprint                            The theoretical measurement of the amount of land and water a                                                             population requires to produce the resources it consumes and to                                                             absorb its waste under prevailing technology.

Re-urbanization                                  The development of activities to increase residential population                                                             densities within the existing built-up area of a city. This may                                                                   include the redevelopment of vacant land, the refurbishment of                                                               housing and the development of new business enterprises.

Suburb                                                 A residential area within or just outside the boundaries of a city.

Suburbanization                                 The outward growth of towns and cities to engulf surrounding                                                                 villages and rural areas. This may result from the out-migration                                                             of population from the inner urban area to the suburbs or from                                                               inward rural–urban movement.

Sustainable urban                                An approach to urban management that seeks to maintain and 

management strategy                          improve the quality of life for current and future urban dwellers.                                                             Aspects of management may be social (housing quality, crime),                                                             economic (jobs, income) or environmental (air, water, land,                                                                     resources).

Urbanization                                      An increasing percentage of a country’s population comes to                                                                  live in towns and cities. It may involve both rural–urban                                                                          migration and natural increase.

Urban sprawl                                     The unplanned and uncontrolled physical expansion of an urban                                                            area into the surrounding countryside. It is closely linked to the                                                              process of suburbanization.

Source: Diploma programme Geography guide. International Baccalaureate Organization 2009.