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AP Human Geography Unit 6: Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes

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Unit 6: Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes

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Question 1

Homer Hoyt's sector model modifies the concentric zone model by proposing that urban land use patterns extend outward from the CBD in wedge-shaped sectors rather than rings. What factor does Hoyt identify as the primary cause of this sectoral pattern?

A.Population growth creates equal pressure in all directions, producing rings rather than sectors.B.Transportation routes (rail lines, major roads) channel urban growth outward in specific directions, creating wedge-shaped sectors.C.Natural barriers like rivers and hills block growth in some directions and allow it only in others.D.High-income residents cluster near the CBD because they desire access to cultural and economic amenities.

Question 2

Smart growth policies aim to guide urban development toward more compact, transit-oriented, and sustainable patterns. Which of the following is a characteristic smart growth policy?

A.Expanding freeway capacity around metropolitan areas to reduce traffic congestion and encourage peripheral development.B.Establishing urban growth boundaries (UGBs) that limit suburban sprawl and focus development within existing urban areas.C.Rezoning all inner-city neighborhoods as single-family residential to reduce density and preserve neighborhood character.D.Subsidizing suburban office park development to distribute employment opportunities across the metropolitan area.

Question 3

In the concentric zone model developed by Ernest Burgess, the zone of transition (Zone II) is characterized by:

A.High-income residential neighborhoods with large lots and quality schools surrounding the CBD.B.Mixed land use including light manufacturing, warehouses, and housing for recent immigrants and low-income residents.C.The central business district (CBD), containing the highest concentration of retail and office activities.D.Exclusively residential single-family housing for middle-class workers who commute to the CBD.

Question 4

The multiple nuclei model, developed by Harris and Ullman, argues that cities develop around multiple centers of activity rather than a single CBD. Which of the following correctly explains why this model emerged?

A.Advances in transportation eliminated distance as a factor in urban land use, allowing equal development everywhere.B.Automobile dependence, suburbanization, and the specialization of different urban functions in distinct locations created multiple centers of activity.C.European urban morphology, where medieval defensive walls created multiple city nodes that persisted into the modern era.D.Zoning laws in American cities that mandated the separation of commercial, industrial, and residential land uses.

Question 5

The rank-size rule predicts that if cities in a country are ranked by population, the second-largest city will have half the population of the largest, the third-largest will have one-third, and so on. A country in which the largest city is vastly larger than all others — say, 10 or 15 times the second city — has instead a:

A.Rank-size distribution, because one city dominates all others by population.B.Primate city, disproportionately large relative to all other cities in the country.C.Central place hierarchy, with evenly sized cities at each level of the urban system.D.Gateway city, serving as the primary trade link between the country and the outside world.

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Question 6

Gentrification is an urban process in which wealthier residents and investment move into previously low-income neighborhoods. Which of the following is a common consequence of gentrification?

A.Declining property values in the gentrifying neighborhood as wealthy residents prefer the suburbs.B.Displacement of low-income residents who can no longer afford rising rents and property taxes in the gentrifying area.C.Suburbanization of wealthy households who move from the city center to peripheral residential areas.D.Deindustrialization, as gentrifying neighborhoods push factories and industrial uses to peripheral areas.

Question 7

A city's central business district (CBD) typically has very high daytime population but very low nighttime population. What geographic concept best explains this daily population oscillation?

A.Suburbanization, in which people permanently relocate from the city center to peripheral areas.B.The daily commuter cycle, in which workers travel to the high-employment CBD during the day and return to residential suburbs at night.C.Gentrification, which increases nighttime residential population in the CBD as wealthier residents move in.D.The gravity model, which predicts that most people live close to their workplace to minimize commuting costs.

Question 8

Edge cities are large suburban nodes of office, retail, and commercial activity located along beltways or suburban highway corridors, away from traditional CBDs. Which urban trend does the rise of edge cities most directly reflect?

A.Urban renewal, in which cities tear down deteriorated inner-city neighborhoods to construct new commercial districts.B.Suburbanization and the decentralization of economic activity from the urban core to suburban and exurban locations.C.Gentrification, in which wealthy residents reinvest in the urban core and attract new businesses.D.Counter-urbanization, in which people abandon cities entirely and move to small rural towns.

Question 9

Central place theory, developed by Walter Christaller, predicts the size and spacing of cities across a uniform plain. According to this theory, which type of urban place would be found most frequently and serve the smallest tributary area?

A.A primate city, which dominates the urban hierarchy and serves the entire country.B.A small-order center or hamlet, offering basic low-order goods and services to a small surrounding area.C.A regional capital, which provides high-order specialized services to the entire surrounding region.D.A global city, which provides financial and corporate services to an international market area.

Question 10

A metropolitan area's urban heat island effect causes its city center to be 3–5°C warmer than surrounding rural areas. Which land use characteristic of the urban core most directly creates the heat island?

A.Higher residential density, which increases the number of human bodies generating body heat in a small area.B.Extensive impervious surfaces (pavement, rooftops) that absorb and retain solar heat and reduce evaporative cooling.C.Greater air pollution from urban traffic, which traps more sunlight and heats the urban air.D.The concentration of heavy industry in the city center, which generates waste heat from manufacturing processes.

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Question 11

A geographer compares the urban structure of a North American city and a Latin American city. Which structural difference would the geographer most likely observe, consistent with Griffin-Ford's Latin American city model?

A.Latin American cities lack a CBD because colonial Spanish planning placed markets in peripheral locations.B.Latin American cities have a spine of elite housing and commercial development extending outward from the CBD, with poverty concentrated on the urban periphery.C.Latin American cities follow the concentric zone model exactly, with wealth increasing uniformly outward from the CBD.D.In Latin American cities, edge cities have replaced the CBD as the primary commercial center due to high automobile ownership.

Question 12

Urbanization in the developing world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, often produces informal settlements (slums, squatter settlements) on the urban periphery. Which factor most directly causes the rapid growth of these informal settlements?

A.Suburbanization by wealthy residents who prefer the periphery, pushing poor residents to the outskirts.B.Rural-to-urban migration that exceeds cities' capacity to provide formal housing and infrastructure for new arrivals.C.Deindustrialization in global cities that reduces formal employment and forces urban workers into informal housing.D.Government zoning policies that designate peripheral land exclusively for low-income residential use.

AP Human Geography Unit 6: Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes — Free with Answer Explanations | Test Practice Hub