Sunday 7 July 2013

U - list of geographical terms and definitions

U
Ubac: The northern side of an Alpine mountain that is shady and characterized by a low snow line and timberline is known as Ubac.
Under-Class: the new urban poor who are often ill, unemployed, homeless, unqualified, and with health problems.
Underemployment: A condition among a labor force such that a portion of the labor force could be eliminated without reducing the total output. Some individuals are working less than they are able or want to, or they are engaged in tasks that are not entirely productive.
Underemployment: the situation where people do not have fulltime, continuous work, and are usually only employed temporarily or seasonally (e.g. during the summer months in a hotel).
Underpopulation: Economically, a situation in which an increase in the size of the labor force will result in an increase in per worker productivity.
Unemployment (= werkloosheid).
Unemployment occurs when people are without work and actively seeking work.
Unemployment Rate: The number of people out of work for each 1000 of the population.
Unskilled manual occupations: these jobs require no specific skills.
Updrift: areas that provide a supply of material for deposition by longshore drift further along the coast. Updrift areas along the south coast of England are to the west.
Upper Course: the mountain stage of a river with steep gradients and much erosion.
Urban Climate:The climatic condition of a large metropolitan area, that is considerably different from the climate in the rural areas surrounding it, is called urban climate.
Urban Diseconomies: the rising costs to industry as cities increase in size, due to increasing cost of land and labour, traffic congestion, crime etc.
Urban Fringe: see rural-urban fringe.
Urban Hierarchy: see hierarchy.
Urban Population Structure: young males move to urban areas due to push-pull factors. This creates a characteristic population pyramid bulge in the 20-35 age range.
Urban Redevelopment: the total clearance of parts of old inner city areas and starting afresh with new houses, especially high-rise flats.
Urban Renewal/Regeneration: the improvement of old houses and the addition of amenities in an attempt to bring new life to old inner city areas.
Urban Sprawl: the unplanned uncontrolled growth of urban areas into the surrounding countryside.
Urban: Large area of houses, factories, etc..
Urbanisation: the growth of towns and cities leading to an increasing proportion of a country’s population living there. It as a gradual process common in LEDCs where 1 million people move from the countryside to the cities every three days.
Urbanisation: the process by which an increasing percentage of a country's population comes to live in towns and cities. Rapid urbanisation is a feature of most LEDCs.
Urban-Rural Shift: the movement of industry away from urban areas in recent years due to urban diseconomies, improvements in communications (motorways) and telecommunications (internet/fax/computer links), counter-urbanisation (the move of the middle class workforce to small towns and villages) and planning policies (government incentives, new towns, green belts).
Urban-Rural Shift: the movement of people out of towns in MEDCs to seek a better quality of life living in the countryside. Some work from home using telecommunications technology; most travel into the city each day as commuters, contributing to the rush hour.
U-shaped Valley: A U-shaped valley is a type of glacial valley, formed due to glacial erosion and characterized by steep walls and broad floors.
U-shaped Valley: see Glaciated Valley.
Utility: In geographical terminology, utility is a term used to describe an industry that provides a service or commodity that can be used by consumers.