Key Demographic and Urban Geography Concepts
Population Census
Population Census: The individualized count of the country's population at a given time.
Population Law
Population Law: The sum of the residents present and transient residents counted at the time of the census.
Population Density
Population Density: The relationship between the population of an area and its extent. It is expressed in inhabitants per km².
Birth Rate
Birth Rate: The relationship between the number of live births in a year and the total population, usually expressed per thousand (‰).
Fertility Rate
Fertility Rate: The relationship between the number of births in a year and the number of women of childbearing age, expressed in per thousand (‰).
Mortality Rate
Mortality Rate: The relationship between the number of deaths in one year and the total population, expressed as a percentage or per thousand (‰).
Infant Mortality Rate
Infant Mortality Rate: The relationship between the number of children under age 1 who died and the total live births that year, expressed as a percentage or per thousand (‰).
Natural or Vegetative Growth
Natural or Vegetative Growth: The difference between the birth and death rates. This can be calculated in two ways: either in absolute terms or in relative terms (per thousand population, ‰).
Geographic Transition
Geographic Transition: The transition from the old geographic structure to the current one.
Migration
Migration: Population movement in space.
Net Migration
Net Migration: The balance between immigration and emigration. If the balance is positive, it indicates net immigration; if negative, it indicates net emigration.
Rural Exodus
Rural Exodus: The abandonment of the countryside by the rural population as a result of industrialization.
Aging Population
Aging Population: An index that relates the population aged 65 and over with the total population, expressed as a percentage.
Labor Force
Labor Force: The set of persons 16 years or older who are either working (the working population) or seeking work (the unemployed workforce).
Urban Location
Urban Location: The concrete area on which the city sits.
City Plan (Plano City)
City Plan (Plano City): The set consisting of built-up areas and the city's free space.
Radial City Plan (Plano Central Radio)
Radial City Plan (Plano Central Radio): A plan characterized by a center from which radial streets start, intersected by concentric rings around the center. This plan may be regular or irregular.
Historic Urban Center
Historic Urban Center: The area of the city where the main tertiary activities are located.
Rururban or Peri-Urban Area
Rururban or Peri-Urban Area: The area of transition between the countryside and the city, located just beyond the buildings in the urban periphery.
Urban System of Cities
Urban System of Cities: The group of cities that are related to each other and with their environment.
Urban Functions
Urban Functions: These are socio-economic activities performed by the cities outward.
Urban Hierarchy
Urban Hierarchy: The organization of cities into different categories or ranks according to their population, functions, and extended area of influence.