Urban Land Use Models
3 - Urban Land Use Models
 Simplified graphic summaries of large
urban centres in the USA.
 Used to describe the structure of the central
city areas.
 Economic and technological advances have
superseded the usefulness of these models
but they still describe the basic physical
structure of a city.
Urban land use models
 Common starting point is the CBD.
 Models differ in how they explain the
location and development of the city outside
of the CBD.
 Three main types of models:
Concentric zone model (Burgess 1920’s)
Sector model (Hoyt 1930’s)
Multiple-nuclei model (Harris and Ullman
1940’s)
Concentric zone model
 Views the urban area as a set of four nested
rings:
 1 – transition zone: deterioration of old residential
area, now high-density, low-income ghettos.
 2 – zone of “working people” residential area
(older homes on small lots.
 3 – single-family house zone: population wealthy
enough to afford housing choice, and able to
commute.
 4 – commuter zone: low-density suburbs.
Burgess’s Concentric Model
CBD
Central Business
District
CBD
Burgess’s Concentric Model
CBD
Central Business
District
Inner City
Inner City
Burgess’s Concentric Model
CBD
Central Business
District
Inner City
Inner Suburbs
Inner Suburbs
Burgess’s Concentric Model
CBD
Central Business
District
Inner City
Inner Suburbs
Outer Suburbs
Outer Suburbs
Burgess’s Concentric Model
Outer Suburbs
Inner Suburbs
CBD
Inner City
Modeling Cities: Burgess
1 CBD - businesses, highest land value
2 Transition Zone - poorest people, blue collar used to live here
3 Independent Workers - apartments, blue collar workers (walk to work)
4 White Collar Homes - horse and buggy, streetcars
5 Commuters - no daily contact (lettuce farmers); later trains allow many
Concentric zone model
 In Chicago, Burgess’s home town, the great fire of
1871 leveled the core
– The result of rebuilding was a more explicit
social patterning
– Chicago became a segregated city with a
concentric pattern
– This was the city Burgess used for his model
– The actual map of the residential area does not
exactly match his simplified concentric zones
Hoyt – The Sector Model
What is the Hoyt sector model?
 Hoyt proposed the idea that towns grew as
sectors or wedges.
 Industry grew up in one part of a 19th
century town, future industries would then
develop in that sector.
 As the town grew, so would the area of
industry and therefore would grow out in a
wedge shape.
Hoyt – his idea.
A –The Central Business District (CBD)
 This area contains shops, offices, banks, etc.
 Land is expensive, and this area has high rents and
multi storey buildings as a consequence.
 There is very little space and competition is high.
 Congestion levels are high.
 Vegetated areas are sparse.
B1- Zone of Transition (Twilight zone)
 This contains old industries that have been
positioned in this zone for many years.
 Over the past 20 years, this industry has been nonprofitable and has closed.
 This has led to high-unemployment.
 This area should be re-developed into modern
business districts.
B2- Low class residential housing
 This group is made up of old 19th century
buildings. With no gardens.
 Often referred to as ‘slums’. These were the
buildings that were knocked down in the 1960’s to
be replaced with high rise flats.
 The poorest people in the settlement live here, but
is now highly admired and the place to live now
(due to gentrification).
C- Council Estates
 Semi-detached housing is found here with no
gardens.
 These houses are built on large estates.
 Less expensive private estates can also be found
here.
 Often described as ‘medium class residential’ or
‘inter-war’ areas.
D- Commuter zone
 This is a high class residential area where private,
quality housing can be found.
 Detached and semi-detached housing can be built
on cheaper land.
 Often lots of garages, big gardens, and many out
buildings can be found here.
 Most people commute to work from this zone as it
is furthest away from the centre.
E- Countryside Areas
 In the countryside surrounding the urban area,
those seeking to escape from the urban area can
live in pleasant surroundings.
 However, they are still close to work.
 Many satellite villages and towns surround major
urban areas allowing people to live further away
from the main settlement.
Modeling Cities: Hoyt
Stresses the importance of transportation corridors. Sees
growth of various urban activities as expanding along roads,
rivers, or train routes.
Harris-Ullman – The Multiple
Nuclei Model
Multiple-nuclei model
 Large cities develop by the spread from several
nodes, not just the one CBD.
 Individual nodes with specific functions
(industrial, commercial, residential) developed
originally due to benefits from clustering next to
similar activities
Multiple nuclei model
 The model has four geographic principles
– Certain activities require highly specialised facilities
• Accessible transportation for a factory
• Large areas of open land for a housing tract
– Certain activities cluster because they profit from
mutual association
– Certain activities repel each other and will not be found
in the same area
– Certain activities could not make a profit if they paid
the high rent of the most desirable locations
Modeling Cities:
Harris-Ullman
Stresses the importance of multiple nodes of activity, not a
single CBD. Ports, airports, universities attract certain uses
while repelling others.
Changes in Cities in the U.S.
U.S. population has been moving out of the city centers
to the suburbs: suburbanisation and counterurbanisation
Developed Countries:
suburbanisation
 wealthy move to suburbs
 automobiles and roads;
‘American Dream’
 better services
 wealthy move to suburbs
counterurbanisation
idyllic settings
cost of land for retirement
slow pace, yet high tech
connections to services and
markets
U.S. intraregional migration during 1990s.
Latin American model
 More complex because of influence of local
cultures on urban development
 Difficult to group cities of the developing
world into one or two comprehensive
models
Latin American model
 In contrast to today’s cities in the U.S., the CBDs
of Latin American cities are vibrant, dynamic, and
increasingly specialized
– A reliance on public transit that serves the central city
– Existence of a large and relatively affluent population
closest to CBD
Latin American model
 Outside the CBD, the dominant component is a
commercial spine surrounded by
 the elite residential sector
– These two zones are interrelated and called the
spine/sector
– Essentially an extension of the CBD down a major
boulevard
– Here are the city’s important amenities — parks,
theaters, restaurants, and even golf courses
– Strict zoning and land controls ensure continuation of
these activities, protecting elite from incursions by lowincome squatters
Latin American model
 Inner-city zone of maturity
– Less prestigious collection of traditional
colonial homes and upgraded self-built homes
– Homes occupied by people unable to participate
in the spine/sector
– Area of upward mobility
Latin American model
 Zone of accretion
–
–
–
–
Diverse collection of house type, size and quality
Area of ongoing construction and change
Some neighborhoods have city-provided utilities
Other blocks must rely on water and butane
delivery trucks for essential services
Latin American model
 Zone of peripheral squatter settlements
– Where most recent migrants are found
– Fringe contrasts with affluent and comfortable
suburbs that ring North American cities
– Houses often built from scavenged material
Latin American model
 Zone of peripheral squatter settlements
– Surrounded by landscape bare of vegetation
that was cut for fuel and building materials
– Streets unpaved, open trenches carry wastes,
residents carry water from long distances,
electricity is often “pirated”
– Residents who work have a long commute
– Many are transformed through time into
permanent neighborhoods
Changes in Cities in LEDCs
Populations of cities in LEDCs have been surging:
urbanisation, migration, natural increase
Urbanisation in
LEDCs:
 driven by changes in
economy
 the poor live in the
suburbs, rich live in CBD
 cities struggle to provide
jobs and housing
 services overtaxed
 squatter settlements
common
 crime on the rise
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil