3.3 The Changing Structure of Urban Settlements

Functional Zonation in urban area

• Function = what something is for• Zonation = the area it is found in• So Functional Zonation = where set areas in

an urban settlement have a set function e.g. Offices (function) are found in the centre of a city (zone)

Settlement models look for patterns and similarities between cities in order to explain the growth, structure and functioning of cities. There are several models of where different functions are found in a city. Some are:

1)Burgess- Concentric Zone Model

2) Hoyt- Sector Model

3) Harris and Ullmann- Multiple Nuclei Model

4) Alonso’s theory of Bid-rent

5) Griffin and Fords- Models of cities in LEDCs

NOTE:The British urban land use model (pg 170) and the Model of North American Cities by David Clark (pg 171) are adaptations of these models

1. Concentric Zone ModelAssumptions:• A uniform land surface – flat, with no rivers, lakes mountains, swamps

etc.

• Free competition for space – that the morphology of the city is formed by market forces.

• Single-centered city (Central-Business district or CBD) – assumes one center and this is the point most people have access to.

• Development takes place from the core (CBD) outward – new poor migrants will move into the zone of transition surrounding the CBD and as they become richer they will move to the outer zones to where there is better housing.

• There is a relationship between socio-economic status of households and distance from CBD –further away from CBD better quality of housing and higher the cost of commuting into CBD

2.

2. Sector Model

• Business activity is still the central business district (CBD) as this is the point that most people have access to-

• Industry was noted to follow particular transport routes

• High class residential often develops where there are distinct physical or social attractions (e.g. river)

• Low class residential was therefore confined to unfavourable locations (ugly, less transport links)

3.

3. The Multiple-Nuclei Model

• CBD still exists but not always at centre of settlement

• Low class residential housing tends to be in areas of cheaper land around industry (heavy and light)

• High class residential and medium class residential can afford to avoid living next to industrial areas so these are normally on a different side of the city to industry

• There are areas of development outside of the main settlement around new nuclei like out of town shopping centres.

5.

5. Griffin & Ford’s Model of LEDC Cities

• CBD in centre as normal• Industry starts in centre and develops out around transport and

water routes• Zone of maturity is where there is a mixture of old and newer

housing occupied by middle classes• High class (elite) residential often develops in a spine out from

the city centre• Zone of in situ accretion is a wide range of housing but in the

process of improvement e.g. government improvement projects• Zone of squatter settlements is often on the most undesirable

land at the periphery of a city

Urban Density Gradients• Gradient Analysis – the study of population density

gradients (how the population density changes throughout the city)

• Residential population density varies within different functional zones.

• Residential population density changes with distance from center – density decreases with distance from center.

Task: Use the text on page 172 and 173, and Fig 3.38 :• Define the term urban density gradients• Describe how and why urban density gradients differ between MEDCs & LEDCs

Within a city, there are activities which occur in all cities across the world:

Where are these activities located and why?

Their location in an urban area is dictated by factors

– Market forces (supply and demand for service)– Government planning (policies)