Download Concentric Zone (Ernest Burgess) Model [1920s] One of the first

Concentric Zone (Ernest Burgess) Model [1920s]
One of the first models created for use by academics was the concentric zone model which was
developed in the 1920's by the urban sociologist Ernest Burgess. What Burgess wanted to model
was Chicago's spatial structure with regards to the usage of "zones" around the city. These zones
radiated from Chicago's 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 at 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 class mostly
at the periphery. As a summary, listed here are the five names for each zone in the concentric
zone model for reference:
Central business district (CBD)
Zone of transition
Zone of independent workers
Zone of better residences
Commuter's zone
Sector (Homer Hoyt) Model [1939]
Since the concentric zone model isn't 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 city's layout. The model, developed in 1939, took into account the effect of
transportation and communication on a city's 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. It has been found that this model works
especially well in British cities.
Multiple-Nuclei (Chauncey Harris and Edward Ullman) Model [1945]
A third well-known model is the multiple-nuclei model. This model was developed in 1945 by
two geographers, Chauncy Harris and Edward Ullman, to try and further describe a city's layout.
Harris and Ullman made the argument that the city's downtown core (or 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 more 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. They are as
listed:
Central business district
Light manufacturing
Low-class residential
Middle-class residential
Upper-class residential
Heavy manufacturing
Outlying business district
Residential suburb
Industrial 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 they'd 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 (James E. Vance, Jr) Model [1964]
As a means of improving upon the multiple nuclei model, the geographer James E. Vance, Jr.
proposed the urban-realms model in 1964. Using this model, Vance was able to look at San
Francisco's urban ecology and summarize economic processes into a sturdy model. What the
model suggests is 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 mountains.
The size of the metropolis as a whole.
The amount and strength of the economic activity taking place within each of the realms.
The accessibility internally of each realm in regards to its major economic function.
The 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.