Writing your final conclusion to
your analysis
Our question….
• Why does the environmental quality vary
along a transect within our chosen urban
area?
We now need to use all of our sub questions to
answer this……
Why would the environmental quality
vary along the transect
• How are we going to use our data and detail
from our analysis to back this up?
Overall Conclusions
In light of our investigation, I had chosen five distinct sub-questions that would help to determine why the land-use varies along the transect,
from the edge of the CBD to the outskirts of the area. To come to a conclusion, I decided to answer these questions using the results,
and determine to what extent my hypotheses were correct.
How does land-use change along the transect (i.e. services available, types of buildings)?
I predicted that the variety of services would decrease as we went further from the CBD. This is because we expect the CBD to have a
narrower age range in population, and so less of a demand for such a large variety in offered services. Moreover, I expected the types
of buildings to differ in terms of height and type. For instance, I predicted that most of the buildings in the CBD would be very tall, and
that they would consist primarily of office buildings because of the centrality of the location, and commuters’ need for accessibility
when traveling to and from work. This theory is illustrated by the Bid rent theory in figure 1.
How do the demographics of the population change along the transect?
I expected that the demographics of the population would change along the transect in relation to the land-use and various services available.
For example, depending on the number of office buildings, and the variety of services available, the ratio of men to women may
change, in accordance. Also, I expected more pedestrians overall to be counted in the CBD, due to the various features which allow this,
such as public amenities, pleasant sidewalks and appearance. Also, because I predicted that the number of buildings would be closer
together thought that more people in the area would choose to walk from place to place, rather than drive, as this would be a more
efficient method of transport provided my previous hypothesis was correct.
How does Urban Density change from the CBD to the outskirts
As a result of land prices changing between the CBD and the outskirts of the area, I predicted that the urban density would increase in the
CBD. For instance because of the high demand for land here (for housing, office buildings, shops etc.), prices are much higher, and so
rather than constructing a large building with one floor, and a lot of space around it, building designers tend to choose small areas of
land (which is much cheaper) and build up rather than out. For this reason, I predicted that urban density would increase towards the
centre of the CB, but decrease as we approached the outskirts of the area. As previously mentioned, this particular theory was based on
the Bid rent theory.
How does environmental quality differ between the CBD and the outskirts (general appearance)?
Assuming that the aforementioned predictions were true, I was led to believe that the environmental quality of the area would improve as
we traveled further away from the CBD. This is because urban density would decrease, and so the amount of open space and greenery
may increase, thus adding to the overall aesthetic appeal of the area. Nevertheless, there was also a possibility that in the centre of the
CBD, the environment would be significantly better since the large retail companies and offices might invest money in the surroundings.
This would allow them to attract more customers into the area, and therefore gain in profit.
How does transport available change along the transect?
Lastly, I predicted that the amount of public transport available would be impacted by the pedestrian count, ad overall population number.
Moreover, certain types of transport, such as cars, would likely decrease as we neared the CBD, as public amenities such as parking
meters and public garages decreased. Also, due to my predicted increase in population, I expected that CBD would be more willing to
provide public transport, in order to prevent congestion in the streets. Furthermore, I predicted that larger types of transport (trucks
etc.) would increase in number as we went further from the CBD. This is because the public parking garages typically accommodate
smaller cars, and not larger ones. For these reasons, I expected accessibility and use of public transport to increase nearer to the CBD,
while the use of large, individual types of transport increased further from the CBD along the transect.