IB Environmental systems and societies 8.2 Urban Systems and Urban Planning Key Definitions

Biodiversity refers to the variety of life in an ecosystem, encompassing different levels of biological organization.

A design approach that brings nature into the built environment using features such as living green walls and roofs, water features, and natural light to connect people with natural systems.

The circular economy is an economic model that decouples economic growth from resource consumption by keeping materials, products, and resources in use for as long as possible.

The Doughnut Economics model, proposed by economist Kate Raworth, offers a framework to address these challenges by balancing human needs with planetary boundaries.

An approach to designing cities that treats the urban area as an ecosystem, managing the relationships between living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components to support sustainability and quality of life.

Environmental justice is the principle that all people, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, or nationality, have the right to live in a clean, healthy environment and have fair access to natural resources.

Green architecture refers to the design, construction, and operation of buildings in an environmentally responsible and resource-efficient manner throughout their life cycle.

Resilience is a system’s ability to resist disturbances, recover, and maintain stability instead of reaching a tipping point that leads to a new equilibrium.

Rural–urban migration is the movement of people from rural areas (countryside) to urban areas (cities and towns) in search of better opportunities.

Social mix refers to creating urban areas where people from different social, economic, and cultural backgrounds live and interact.

Suburbanization is the movement of people from dense urban centers to lower-density areas on the outskirts of cities, known as suburbs.

An urban area is a built-up region characterized by high population density, extensive infrastructure, and concentrated human activities.

Urban planning is the process of designing and managing land use in cities and towns to ensure they meet the needs of their populations while promoting sustainable development.

An urban area viewed as an interconnected system of buildings, microclimate, transport, goods and services, power, water and sewage, humans, plants, and animals, linked by flows of energy, matter, and information and by stores that hold resources.

Urbanization refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, leading to an increase in the proportion of people living in cities and towns.