Name: Maria Thompson 

Urban Developing Models

-Name of Model: Concentric Zone Model

-Area of Use: Cities

-Person who developed model/theory: (short bio) The Concentric Zone Model was developed
by Ernest Burgess in 1923. Burgess was the first sociologist to pose a theory about why certain
social groups are located in specific urban areas.  

-Premise: (what is it supposed to explain) Concentric zones are a model of the way that
different social groups are arranged within a city , and a general representation is found in
nearly all cities.

-Function: (how is it used? ) The Burgess model remains useful as a concept explaining
concentric urban development, as a way to introduce the complexity of urban land use and to
explain urban growth in American cities in the early-mid 20th century.

-Illustration: (draw model)

-Strengths: Some strengths of this model are that the lower class lives close to the
manufacturing area and CBD, making it easier to commute. The wealthier class live farther
away. 
-Weaknesses: The weaknesses of this model are that the abrupt division between zones is really
non-existent. There is no homogeneity between the different nuclei's.

-Effectiveness in field in past and today: The concentric zone model was based off of Chicago,
but it does not fit well with the modern-day Chicago anymore. 
 

 
-Name of Model: Sector Model

-Area of Use: Cities

-Person who developed model/theory: (short bio) Homer Hoyt developed his sector theory in
1934 at the age of 39. At the time, he was working for the Federal Housing Administration
(FHA) in Washington, DC.

-Premise: (what is it supposed to explain) The Sector Model is an urban land use model which
talks about spatial arrangement of activities in an urban area. Big cities and towns have always
been an area of research and have caught the attention of scholars and academicians.

-Function: (how is it used? ) The Sector Model uses pie-shaped wedges to illustrate his theory of
land use and the CBD is at the center of the urban area. It then expanded outward away from
the CBD along transportation lines, where you found zones used for industry and residential
development.

-Illustration: (draw model)

-Strengths: - allows for an outward progression of growth in each of the sectors. – solved the
problems with the model that burgess created . 

-Weaknesses: - based on central railroad transportation and not cars. 

-Effectiveness in field in past and today: This model was not based on central railroad
transportation, not considering that most people would use cars in the future.  
 

-Name of Model: Multiple Nuclei Model

-Area of Use: Cities

-Person who developed model/theory: (short bio) In 1945, Harris and Ullman developed the
multiple-nuclei model.

-Premise: (what is it supposed to explain) According to the multiple nuclei model, a city is a
complex structure that includes more than one center around which activities revolve. 

-Function: (how is it used? ) As multiple nuclei evolve, transportation hubs, are built
which allow industries to be established with reduced shipping costs.

-Illustration: (draw model)

-Strengths: - Considers the factors of decentralization in city structure. – provides a framework
for understanding the distribution of social and economic groups.  

-Weaknesses: - No consideration of influence of physical relief and government policy. – does

not completely explain why different types of people live in a specific area. 
-Effectiveness in field in past and today: The Multiple-Nuclei Model does still provide a good
interpretation of the land-use organization of today using multiple nodes to illustrate how the
urban land is used.
 
 

-Name of Model: Peripheral Model

-Area of Use: Cities

-Person who developed model/theory: (short bio) The model was created by Chauncy Harris to
showcase the effects of suburbanization in an urban city.

-Premise: (what is it supposed to explain) The peripheral model is a model of how suburban
areas are located around inner cities. It says that an inner city is surrounded by a suburban
residential area surrounded by a beltway road.

-Function: (how is it used? ) The model is based on the city of Detroit, Michigan and is made up
of an inner city, with large suburban residential and business areas surrounding it. These areas
are tied together by transportation nodes, like beltways, to avoid traffic congestion.

-Illustration: (draw model)

-Strengths: - points to problems of sprawl and segregation that

characterize many suburbs. -more recent and car dependent.
-Weaknesses: - peripheral areas lack the severe problems of inner-city neighborhoods.

-Effectiveness in field in past and today: Develops on the periphery of a larger city.

 

 
 
-Name of Model: Galactic City Model

-Area of Use: Cities

-Person who developed model/theory: (short bio)  In 1960, Chauncy Harris published his
galactic city model.
-Premise: (what is it supposed to explain) To explain modern cities, that are now just not a
central city, but a whole realm of edge cities too.  To account for edge cities.

-Function: (how is it used? ) Realm that is linked together to form a metro framework of edge
cities and a central city.

-Illustration: (draw model)

-Strengths: - shows the development of sprawl in the U.S with businesses and residential
moving outward away from the downtown into suburbs and leaving a sometimes-declining
inner city behind.

-Weaknesses: - It's only possible with the automobile. - Urban sprawl.

-Effectiveness in field in past and today: Works well to explain large cities like San Francisco and
the bay area.