LAND USE MODELS

Land Use Planning & Development (TP 2415)

D e p a r t m e n t o f To w n & C o u n t r y P l a n n i n g
University of Moratuwa

08.01.2010
LAND USE MODELS

a model = “a representation”

- Land use models are theories which attempt to explain the layout of
urban areas.

- A model is used to simplify complex, real world situations and make

them easier to explain and understand.
Concentric-Zone Model
CONCENTRIC-ZONE MODEL

Created by sociologist E.W.Burgess in 1925,

 Based on a study of land use patterns and social group in Chicago

 City grows outward beginning with the CBD

 Similar & functionally related activities will locate at the same distance
from CBD

 Formation of zones is based on accessibility in distance to the city

center

urban growth is a process of expansion and reconversion of land uses,

with a tendency of each inner zone to expand in the outer zone
The Concentric-Zone Model

I - CBD
II – Transition Zone
III – Low Income Housing Zone
IV – Middle Income Housing Zone
V – Commuting Zone
City is divided in six concentric zones:

Zone I - Central Business District

- hotels, offices, banks, commercial activities

Zone II - Zone of transition

- gray zone
- tendency to conversion of land uses

Zone III - Lower income working people’s homes/ slums

Zone IV - High income residences

- white collar/ middle class families

Zone V - Commuter zone

- people who work in the center choose to live in the suburbs.
 Limitations of the Model:

 Too simple and limited in historical and cultural applications.

 It is a product of its time.(1950s)

 Fail to explain the impacts of transportation routes on land uses.

 The model was developed for American cities and has limited

applicability elsewhere.

 Ignorance the process of redevelopment.

Sector Model
SECTOR MODEL

 Developed by land economist Homer Hoyt in 1939.

 City develops in a series of sectors, not rings.

 City grows, activities expands in a wedge or sector from the center.

 Considered the major transportation routes,

- Low income households to be found in close proximity to rail roads.
- Commercial activities to be found along the business thoroughfares.

 Higher levels of access translate to higher land values.

 High income areas locate on high or hilly areas & low income areas located in
less desirable low lying valleys & industrial basins.

 Low income people live close to the place of work to minimize the transport
cost & their choice is very limited.
Sector Model

2 3

1 CBD
4
2 Wholesale & Light Manufacturing
3
3 3 Low Class Residential
1 3 4 Middle Class Residential
5
5 High Class Residential
3

3 4
2
Multiple Nuclei Model
MULTIPLE NUCLEI MODEL

 Developed by two geographers: C.D. Harris & E.L. Ullman in 1945.

 Basic concept: cities don’t grow up around a single core but have several
nodes.

 Recognized that different activities having different accessibility

requirements.

 Specialized cells of activity would develop according to the specific

requirements of certain activities.
- Light manufacturing & wholesaling located along the transport routes.
- Heavy industry was located in outer edge of city.
Multiple Nuclei Model

1 CBD
3 2 Wholesale and light manufacturing
3 Low-class residential
4 Middle-class residential
5 High-class residential
1
2 6 Heavy manufacturing
3 7 Sub business district
8 Residential suburb
5 9 Industrial suburb
4

3
7

9 8
These nodes become specialized and differentiated in the growth
process & are bound by a number of attributes:

 Differential accessibility –
Some activities require specialized facilities such as port and rail
terminals.

 Land use compatibility –

Similar activities group together since proximity implies improved
interactions through the process of economies of agglomeration.

 Land use incompatibility –

Some activities are repelling each-other such as high quality
residential and heavy industrial.

 Location suitability –
Some activities cannot afford the rent of the optimal site for their
location. They are thus locating at cheaper places, which are not
optimal, but suitable for these activities.
Sector-Zone Theory
SECTOR-ZONE THEORY

 Developed by P.H. Mann in 1968.

 Based on typical British city.

 Combines the concentric zone and sector theories, while

making some allowances for commuting from dormitory villages.

ASSUMPTIONS of Burgess, Hoyt and Harris & Ullman’s models of land use

 City centre being centre of employment.

 Commercial and industrial base to the economy of the city.

 Private ownership of property and capitalist mode of competition for

space.

 Expanding area & population of the city by invasion and succession.

 No historic survival in any district to influence the land-use pattern.

 No districts being more attractive because of differences in terrain.

 Hierarchical order of land use.

 Competition for centrality because of limited space leading to highest

land value.
COMMON FEATURES of concentric, sector & multiple nuclei models

 Focus on importance of accessibility.

- C.B.D. is the most accessible and its land value or rent-bid is the highest.

 Distant decay theory is applicable.

- Land value & population density decline with distance from the center.

 Clear-cut and abrupt boundaries between the land-use zones.

 Concern the study of ground-floor functions.

- Height of buildings is neglected

 Residential segregation
DIFFERENCES among Concentric, Sector and Multiple nuclei models

 Monocentric – concentric, sector model/ polycentric – multiple nuclei

 Multiple nuclei more complex in term of land use zones, e.g. industrial

suburbs

 Multiple nuclei allows,

-the suburbanization,

-transport development,

-outward growth of city

 Multiple nuclei model gives the idea of land use pattern of a city only
Thank you.