UST 200 Introduction to
Urban Studies
Chapter 3
The City Organizes Its Space
(Geography)
UST 200
Geography
 Question we will answer is
why the city looks the way it
does
- Focus on models that explain
what we see spatially in the
city
UST 200
Location Theories- Land Use

Regular, predictable patterns
–
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Reflect “highest and best use of
the land”
Land owners use land to
optimal economic advantage
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Von Thunen - Agricultural
1. Urban Area
2. Market Gardening
3. Dairy (Milk)
4 Dairy (Butter, Cheese)
5. Grain (Wheat, corn)
6. Livestock and general
farming
7. Grazing
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Bid Rent Curve – Wm Alonso
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Bid Rent Curve – Wm Alonso
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Industrial Location – Alfred Weber
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Economic Rational model
Those in charge work to minimize
transportation costs of goods
–
–
–
Balance of cost of shipping raw materials
to plant vs shipping finished part to
market
Heavy raw material, plant close to raw
material
Heavy finished product, plant close to
market
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Central Place Theory
Walter Christaller
-Economic
relationship
between cities
and hinterlands
-Theory based on
concept of range
and threshold
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Central Place Theory

Range of good
–
–
–
Distance person will travel to obtain
good or service
Inner range – Area required for
threshold purchasing power
Outer range – Maximum area it is
feasible for people to travel to obtain the
good.
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Central Place Theory
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Threshold
–
–
–
Amount of purchasing power
required to support the provision of
the good or service
Lower order goods – replenish
frequently
Higher order goods – purchased
less often, more expensive
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Central Place Theory

Assumptions
–
–
–
Those involved always purchase from
closest central place
When threshold purchasing power
exists at a central place, the good or
service will be provided
Countryside is flat for equality of travel
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Central Place Theory

August Losch
–
–
Says consumer welfare needs to
be maximized not supplier profit
Different central place structure

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One central place with all highest
order goods – outlying places
supply lower order goods
Central Place Theory
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Problems with theory
–
–
Ignores other influences on city
size, shape and spacing
Static view of settlement patterns

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Cannot respond to shifts in
population densities, transportation
technologies, communication
systems and consumer spending
power
Concentric Zone Model
Earliest model
Chicago School of
Sociology
Social interaction
Concepts of
dominance,
specialization and
succession explain
what you see
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Homer Hoyt’s Sector Model
1. Central Business
District
2. Wholesaling and
Light Industrial
3. Lower income
residential
4. Middle income
residential
5. Upper income
residential
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Sector Model
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Important point of model is relative
location of different sectors
Key to dynamics is behavior of
affluent households
Filtering
Vacancy Chain
–
Obsolescence – 4 types
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Multi-nuclei Model
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
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Chaunci Harris and Edward Ullman
Reflects changes in city form that
occurred with automobile usage
Schematic representation of major
categories of land use.
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Multi-nuclei Model
Auto allows for
freedom to locate
next to compatible
uses
Helps to explain what
we see in cities today
None of the models
are perfect but all
help in our
understanding of city
development
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Life-cycle stages

Peter Rossi
–
–
–
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Why people move to where they move
to
Based on needs of individual at
various stages of life
Coupled with things that you value or
dislike
Push – Pull Factors
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
Everett Lee
Push factors include
–

High costs (taxes), unpleasant
neighbors, poor city services, poor
schools
Pull factors include
–
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Good schools, lower costs (taxes)
perception of safety, convenience to
work
Geographical Information Systems

Tool that allows for analysis & map
display of data

(over 80% of government data is associated
with geography)
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Help in tracking trends
Help in identifying problem areas
Spatial and statistical analysis

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UST 200
Geographical Information Systems
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GIS Definition Video Clip
GIS on the web- Google Maps
College of Urban Affairs (NODIS)
GIS examples
UST 200