Models Of North
American Cities
By: Emily Goelz, Dylan Kienitz, and Jake Connelly
Concentric Zone Model
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First model for explaining social group distribution
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Created 1923 by E. W. Burgess
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A city grows outward from a central area in series of concentric circles
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Depending on the city, the size and width of the rings vary
Concentric Zone Model Continued
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Innermost zone: central business district (CBD)
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Second ring: transition zone
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Modest older houses with stable working families
Fourth ring: working-class homes
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Industry and poor-quality housing
Third ring: working-class homes
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Concentrated nonresidential activities
New and spacious homes
Fifth ring: commuter zone
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Many who work in the center live on the outside
Concentric Zone Model Diagram
Sector Model
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Developed in 1939 by Homer Hoyt
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This model says that a city develops in sectors instead of rings
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Certain sectors are better for different activities
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This can be due to the environment of just due to chance
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Cities grow from the center outward in wedges or sectors
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The best houses are on the edges of lower class housing sectors causing upper
class housing to be from downtown to the edge of the city
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Industrial areas develop along transportation lines
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Viewed as a refined version of the concentric zone model
Sector Model Continued
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Upper-class housing tends to stay in the same area
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When needed upper-class areas will extend away from the CBD (central
business district) instead of intruding on the space of other sectors
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Example of a city: Chicago
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Upper-class housing extends north along the coast of Lake Michigan
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Industrial zones follow the major roads and railroads to the South, Southwest, and
Northwest of the city
Sector Model Diagram
Multiple Nuclei Model
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A city contains more than one area that is the center for the activities
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Some activities are attracted to particular regions, or pushed away from
other regions
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Such as universities attract scholars and well educated-individuals
Business may form “iron triangles” or clusters of related businesses
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Some activity centers in Atlanta are Centennial Olympic Park and the Atlanta Zoo
Businesses that relate to automobiles form very functional and common iron
triangles
Activities that don’t interact with each other don’t cluster together
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Food stores and automobile shops do not cluster in the same area of a city
Multiple Nuclei Diagram
Summary
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Concentric Zone Model- Cities develop in rings around the central business
district
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Sector model- Cities develop in sectors based on the clustering of similar
activities
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Multiple Nuclei Model- Cities develop with multiple different centers of
activities