4 Key Models in Urban Geography That Explain Land Use

Walk through most contemporary cities, and the mazes of concrete and steel can be some of the most intimidating and confusing places to visit. Buildings rise up dozens of stories from the street and spread for miles out of view. Despite how hectic cities and their surrounding areas can be, attempts at creating models of the way cities function have been made and analyzed to make our understanding of the urban environment richer. Concentric Zone Model One of the first models created for use by academics was the concentric zone model, developed in the 1920s by urban sociologist Ernest Burgess. What Burgess wanted to model was Chicagos spatial structure with regards to the usage of zones around the city. These zones radiated from Chicagos center, The Loop, and moved concentrically outward. In the example of Chicago, Burgess designated five different zones that had separate functions spatially. The first zone was The Loop, the second zone was the belt of factories that were directly outside of The Loop, the third zone included homes of laborers who worked in the factories, the fourth zone contained middle-class residences, and the fifth and final zone hugged the first four zones and contained the homes of the suburban upper class. Keep in mind that Burgess developed the zone during an industrial movement in America and these zones worked mainly for American cities at the time. Attempts at applying the model to European cities have failed, as many cities in Europe have their upper classes located centrally, whereas American cities have their upper classes mostly at the periphery. The five names for each zone in the concentric zone model are as follows: Central business district (CBD)Zone of transitionZone of independent workersZone of better residencesCommuters zone Hoyt Model Since the concentric zone model isnt applicable to many cities, some other academics attempted to further model the urban environment. One of these academics was Homer Hoyt, a land economist who was mostly interested in taking a look at rents within a city as a means of modeling the citys layout. The Hoyt model (also known as the sector model), which was developed in 1939, took into account the effect of transportation and communication on a citys growth. His thoughts were that rents could remain relatively consistent in certain slices of the model, from the downtown center all the way to the suburban fringe, giving the model a pie-like look. This model has been found to work especially well in British cities. Multiple-Nuclei Model A third well-known model is the multiple-nuclei model. This model was developed in 1945 by geographers Chauncy Harris and Edward Ullman to try and further describe a citys layout. Harris and Ullman made the argument that the citys downtown core (CBD) was losing its importance in relation to the rest of the city and should be seen less as the focal point of a city and instead as a nucleus within the metropolitan area. The automobile began to become increasingly important during this time, which made for greater movement of residents to the suburbs. Since this was taken into consideration, the multiple-nuclei model is a good fit for sprawling and expansive cities. The model itself contained nine differing sections that all had separate functions: Central business districtLight manufacturingLow-class residentialMiddle-class residentialUpper-class residentialHeavy manufacturingOutlying business districtResidential suburbIndustrial suburb These nuclei develop into independent areas because of their activities. For example, some economic activities that support one another (for instance, universities and bookstores) will create a nucleus. Other nuclei form because theyd be better off far from one another (e.g., airports and central business districts). Finally, other nuclei can develop from their economic specialization (think of shipping ports and railway centers). Urban-Realms Model As a means of improving upon the multiple nuclei model, geographer James E. Vance  Jr. proposed the urban-realms model in 1964. Using this model, Vance was able to look at San Franciscos urban ecology and summarize economic processes into a sturdy model. The model suggests that cities are made up of small realms, which are self-sufficient urban areas with independent focal points. The nature of these realms is examined through the lens of five criteria: The topological terrain of the area, including water barriers and mountainsThe size of the metropolis as a wholeThe amount and strength of the economic activity taking place within each of the realmsThe accessibility internally of each realm in regards to its major economic functionThe inter-accessibility across the individual suburban realms This model does a good job at explaining suburban growth and how certain functions that are normally found in the CBD can be moved to the suburbs (such as shopping malls, hospitals, schools, etc.). These functions diminish the importance of the CBD and instead create distant realms that accomplish approximately the same thing.