Urban Land Use Models
Often in geography models are used to try to explain something that we
can see in the physical environment. During the 20th century a number
of models were developed to try to explain how urban areas grew.
Although models show a very general idea of the shape of the city, all
of the ones described here have aspects that can be seen in most
cities in the developed and developing world.
The Burgess Model
In 1925, E.W. Burgess presented an urban land use model, which divided
cities in a set of concentric circles expanding from the downtown to
the suburbs. This representation was built from Burgess's observations
of a number of American cities, notably Chicago.
According to this model, a large city is divided in concentric zones
with a tendency of each inner zone to expand in the other zone. Urban
growth is thus a process of expansion and recon version of land uses.
For instance on this figure zone II (Factory zone) is expanding
towards zone IV (Working class zone), creating a transition zone with
recon version of land use.
Although the Burgess model is simple and elegant, it has drawn
numerous criticisms:
* The model is too simple and limited in historical and cultural
applications up to the 1950s. It is a product of its time.
* The model was developed when American cities were growing very
fast in demographic terms and when individual transportation was
still uncommon. Expansion thus involved recon version of land
uses. This concept cannot be applied in a contemporary (second
half to the 20th century) context where highways have enabled
urban development to escape the recon version process and settle
in the suburbs.
* The model was developed for American cities and has limited
applicability elsewhere. It has been demonstrated that
Gentrification is defined as the process by which the wealthy or upper middle class uproot poorer individuals through the renovation and rebuilding of poor neighborhoods. Many long-term residents find themselves no longer able to afford to live in an area, where the rent and property values are increasing. Gentrification is a very controversial topic, revealing both the positive and negative aspects of the process. Some of the more desirable outcomes include reduced crime rate, increased economic activity, and the building of new infrastructures. However, it is debated whether the negatives overwhelm the positive. An increase in the number of evictions of low-income families, often racial minorities can lead to a decline of diversity
...0) Sprawling Cities and Transport: preliminary findings from Bristol, UK. University College London, Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis and Department of Geography. University College London.
Reading the article “City Solution” introduce students to previous solution to urbanization. Greenbelt are said to be like a ring of green space that prevent the growth of a city. The original idea derived from Ebenezer Howard who saw the negative side of urbanization and come up with a theory to migrate people to the rural area and resist the dispersion of poorly managed urbanization. Howard’s original idea was to prevent the city from overcrowding and provide the city with more greens. At present, even though urbanization continue to grow, human are reacting to it with a new dimension and put more thoughts in planning the city to prevent Howard’s horror from his living in London during the 20th century.
growth, in reaction to the many undesirable features of urban sprawl (Ye 301). Smart growth
With the advancement of technology came motorized personal transportation establishing reduced transportation costs. Although the foundation of a multiple-nuclei model is built on a central business district, greater movement due to personal transportation allowed for specialization of regional centers. This would include business centers, technological buildings, along with recreational areas and parks. Despite the separation of a centralized district, events and activities would be together for a mutual benefit as it was easy to travel through the city. This is the optimal model to follow a city through its expansion. North America differs from its brethren, Europe from the “Western World” being that Europe adopted the central business model for its urbanization. Despite both being countries being economic whales, their identifiable difference would be the land mass each continent holds. Europe, due to their scarcity of land sets a stimulus to constitute a central business district model. Yet subtle difference in transportation between Europe and North America would create a substantial node that differs population density. There’d be more prevalence of apartments in Europe rather than
Social and technological advancements have prompted an evolution in the perception of activities and development patterns that zoning regulations have been intended to address. Many early land use controls were initiated in response to specific problems experienced by cities during periods of accelerated population growth and rapid industrialization. Public health nuisances worsened by extreme population density and industrial pollution were a primary driver for controls on the form of residential development, promotion of public safety and sanitation infrastructure, and on the siting of industrial activities.
After decades of watching the city grow and develop They could refine their theory of “Concentric Zones.” The model consisted of 5 concentric circles: Central Business District, Zone of Transition, Working Class Zone, Residential Zone and Commuter
A general situation of urbanization trend in developing countries and developed countries is increasing. In 18th Century only 3% of the world total population lived in urban areas but as projected in 2000 this number will increase at above 50% (UN as cited in Elliot, 1999, p. 144). According to UN (as cited in Elliot, 1999, p.144), it is figured that the total urban population in developing countries has increased from approximately 400 millions people in 1950 to approximately 2000 millions people in 2000. At the same time, total urban population in developed countries is double...
For many city residents, the country conjures up pictures of unpolluted air, garden-fresh food and physical activities. But these days, Americans residing in big metropolitans live longer, better lives compared to their country counterparts – a reversal from years earlier. One of the most prominent features of the industrial stage is the development of urban life. In early times, the populations habitually lived in settlements engaged in agriculture. Cities arose here and there as hubs of trade or government organizations. Today in all developed nations, the situation has been reversed. The city people in United States and England have expanded nonstop over the countryside residents. Although big urban areas were once infamous for law-breaking
In this thesis, the main theories that seek to explain city land use patterns will be examined and
There are many reasons and impacts for urban expansions which enormously influences the sustenance generation of urban communities and towns. Despite the fact that in Australia a few causes include:
In Ernest W. Burgess’s “The Growth of the City: An Introduction to a Research Project,” (1925), the author delves deep into the processes that go into the construction of a modern city or urban environment. Burgess lists its following qualities: skyscrapers, the department store, the newspaper, shopping malls, etc. (p. 154). Burgess also includes social work as being part of a modern urban environment. This is supported by his construction model based on concentric circles that divided Chicago into five zones. The first was called a center loop meant for a business district. Secondly, there was an area for business and light manufacture. Third, there was a “zone for working men’s homes” (p. 156). The fourth is the residential area of high-class apartment buildings. The fifth is where suburban houses are located.
In my conclusion, I will align with sociologist Feagin and Parker suggested understanding that political and economic leaders control urban growth. Here in my country. The urban mayors, and leading business class has hijack the land allocation. “economic and political leaders work alongside each other to effect change in urban growth and decline, determining where money flows and how land use is regulated,” (Little & McGivern, 2013, p.622).
First of all, overpopulation drastically affects the land. Possibly the most prominent example of the depreciating health and amount of land is the need for developments. Due to the exploding population in the United States, about 1.2 million acres of land every year is being converted to subdivisions, malls, workplaces, roads, parking lots, resorts, and many other developments (“Overpopulation,” Internet). That is a substantial amount of land being overturned to satisfy human desires. To put it in better perspective, between 1982 and 1997, the land mass lost to development is equal to the size of Maine and New Hampshire combined, which is approximately 25 million acres (“Overpopulation,” Internet). While soil is being ruptured for human preference, the number of cities has remarkably modified. In 1975, Mexico City, Tokyo, and New York City were the only cities considered as megacities (“Special,” Internet). In today’s world, that number is considerably small. Now, there are 21 megacities in the world. A megacity is when the population of that city becomes greater than 10 million people (“Special,” Internet). Therefore, the 21 megacities that are currently in the world holds more than 21...
Urban sprawl may also be specified as the spreading of new development on isolated tracts, separated from other areas of the vacant land (Ottensmann, 1977). Urban sprawl may be specified as the spreading of new development on isolated tracts, separated from other areas by vacant land (Shekhar, 2005). The effect is an increment in the built up area and associated changes in the urban land usage practices, causing loss of rich agricultural lands, vegetation, land, fallow land and scrub land, loss in surface water bodies, depletion in ground water aquifers and increasing layers of air and water pollution;