Bid rent theory
introduced in 1960’s by Alonso.
theory based on three ideas: land would be occupied by land use that can afford
the highest rent. land values would decrease from the city centre outwards. shops
and offices can afford highest rents, followed by industry, then residences
if theory worked perfectly then city would be made up of a series of concentric
zones.
low-income residential areas in inner cities, so higher population densities could
overcome higher rent.
affluent people wanting larger properties could afford larger areas of land in outer
suburbs.
gradient analysis = changes in land values and population density from CBD
outwards. in LICs and MICs these tend to show: a continual rise over time in central
population density. stable gradients as city extends outwards with density
increases at every point in HICs pattern is more complex. shows: population
density gradient reduces as city extends outwards. population density in CBD
increases then decreases and in inner-city residential
zones increases then decreases. zone of maximum
population density moves outwards.
Burgess’s concentric zone model
1925, based on structures of cities.
obvious link to bid rent.
must be uniform land surface with no differences in physical geography, free
competition to space and free access to transport in all directions.
theory assumes that as city grows outwards, the land-use zones would expand
outwards, therefore was a constant change with one land use taking over from
another.
CBD develops at original growth point which was at the intersection of major roads
where there is the greatest accessibility and highest land values.
surrounding CBD is zone of transition. here large, older houses are being converted
into flats/offices, or light industry.
beyond CBD is a manufacturing zone.
new immigrants moving into a city move into inner-city areas with cheap housing,
close to employment sources. housing quality and social class increase with
increasing distance from centre. increasing affluence and developing public
transports allow people to live long distances from their places
of work.
Hoyt’s sector model
1939, based on transport routes in cities.
principles: industry develops along major roads or rivers. manufacturing industry
and high class-residential areas are never next to each other and there’s always a
‘buffer zone’ between them. once areas of land use become established, they tend
to continue that way and grow outwards
same as burgess, CBD is at centre, most accessible point.
assumes zones more static, but Hoyt thought that older, higher-class residential
properties near centre would be left by suburbanisation of affluent population and
these areas would become derelict or occupied by lower-income groups.
model assumed that high-class housing develops where there are more favourable
locations.
in industrial cities, poorer residential districts are often the ‘east end’ where
prevailing westerly winds blew smoke pollution and unpleasant smells.
Harris and Ullman multiple nuclei model
1945, agreed cities will have more than one growth point.
merged old villages or swamped by city expansion.
other growth points may be newer industrial estates.
similar to Hoyt; argued that certain activities will tend to
group together while others repel one another.
model takes into account residential suburbs and features which today would be
part of the rural-urban fringe.
many conurbations are made up of more than one city which
have merged.
Model of Latin American city
high class residential areas are close to the centre and low class
on periphery
CBD same as west but based on old colonial centre
commercial spine of shops/offices extends outwards from CBD along a major
transport route. spine has high class residential properties either side. have open
areas, parks, homes for upper and middle and amenities. streets well maintained
industries that need power and water near centre, with an industrial spine
extending outwards
inner zone of better residences is a zone of maturity with traditional and modern
housing. closer to centre, housing conditions are better and there’s older more
established squatter housing. easier for people living closer to centre to find work
people who once lived in traditional residences have moved to high class
residential zone
zone of active improvement has a wide variety of properties at different
improvement stages. government housing projects may take place in this zone.
roads that aren’t tarred may be found
squatter zone houses recent immigrants
Changes in location of retailing and services
CBD is very desirable because of its accessibility. shops and retail services could
have access to many customers and business offices could enjoy contact with
other businesses. increased car ownership led to congestion, slowing down journey
times. parking is limited. some countries charge people to park. e.g. London has a
congestion. restricts entry to cars with different number plates on different days.
larger HIC cities smaller shops and some large often the CBD as can’t afford high
rent charge.
Movement types: low rents on brownfield sites in inner city. former locations of
slum housing or shut down industries. for retailers that require space. relevant to
the concept of core and frame. major department stores and hypermarkets have
moved to greenfield sites on suburbs outskirts or rural urban fringe. cheaper land
so extensive single-story buildings. parking space. rather than individual stores,
developers establish whole new retail parks. important to attract an anchor store to
new retail park. will be a major retailer and create business for other stores also.
if more shops move, fewer people go to CBD, shops forced to leave and downward
spiral of decline. perception of CBD will decrease. online shopping and recession
has contributed to decline.
Changes in location of companies and administration
declining accessibility, difficult car parks and high land values led to many
relocations.
modern electronic communication systems ended to need to be near offices.
new purpose-built premises on outskirts have allowed firms to overcome difficulties
of old cramped premises and take advantages of lower land prices, good access of
employees.
Changes in location of manufacturing
from the time of the industrial revolution, many HIC cities were industrial cities
with industries close to the centre.
reasons for this: industries associated with sea/river ports, requiring imports or
exports were at the heart of city. industries were close to railways or canals. before
the public transport development, industries were located next to workers houses
close to the centre.
in the second half of the 20th century, deindustrialisation took place and HIC cities
are described as post-industrial cities.
industries in inner city closed down or moved as: cramped multi storey building
weren’t suitable and single storey premises more efficient. sites too small. land
prices too high. planning restrictions prevented further development. labour force
moved to suburbs with development of public transport and private car. newer
industrial areas closer to the outskirts of cities were preferred. on greenfield sites
with good access to road transport. many older industries which occupied inner city
sites declined
Factors affecting location of activities within urban areas
economic factors…
bid-rent. cost of buying or renting land, local taxes are included. higher premises
taxes are levied on premises in CBD, increasing need for businesses to get high
profits to pay these.
Physical factors…
relate to the historical development of the city
cities that developed as ports often had original growth point close to the
waterfront and developed into modern CBD. e.g. Chicago
original defensive cities were original growth points. cramped sites and modern
development has outgrown them, so the CBD is outside these points. e.g.
Edinburgh
areas of steep slopes avoided. e.g. cape town
low-lying marshy land may be unattractive, especially for residential. in the tropics
may be affected by diseases carried by insects, unoccupied areas used for industry
or slum housing. e.g. Lagos.
restricted sites such as islands have very dense urban populations. e.g. Hong Kong
Transport routes…
ribbon development of services serving the local community is common along
arterial routes everywhere.
greater concentration of services at intersections.
locations are more accessible but have higher rents.
compact cities and close together buildings are easier to serve by public transport.
e.g. far east and Russia
USA and Aus. have lower population densities are spread out over much larger
areas and private car is more important.
also, may be ribbons of development along routes into the rural urban fringe
Planning…
big differences between amount of local and national government influence in
different countries.
some countries it may be the case of planning regulation affecting what can be
built where
development of green belts in UK around major cities was designed to limit urban
sprawl.
some governments play a much stronger role in planning.
recent e.g. of development of Astana as the new capital city of Kazakhstan,
illustrated by the case study below, central government planning is the most
important factor.
Types of residential area
High density housing: relatively small dwellings and little or no open space. often
found in older parts of towns and cities, close to the centre. long rows of buses
built together called terraces when towns expanded rapidly during industrial
revolution. in other areas apartments form the high-density housing. in some towns
and cities, the high-density housing is several hundred years old.
Low density housing: in these areas there are fewer dwellings per sq. km and
there’s open space between the housing, usually in the form of garden plots for
recreation. the areas are usually more modern and further away from the city or
town centres.
Apartments: multi storey buildings which contain a number of different units.
owned by local government or single owner who rents. allow more open space by
building upwards. found in any part of town or city. very high quality and expensive
but not always suitable for families with children. also known as condos when
individual units are privately owned. flats were the solution to problem of old slum
housing dating to the period of industrialisation which was demolished.
Shanty houses: type of slum housing. often built spontaneously out of any
available materials. lack normal services. associated with outer areas of cities of
LICs, but can occur even in relatively small settlements
Residential zones
lot of variety with many housing styles built at different periods
ownership varies. some are private, some are rented out by landlords and some
rented to local government/organisations representing government
as you move out from centre, more recently built houses
slum clearance schemes, development of multi storey blocks of flats, often in the
inner city. housed poorer people. run down and some demolished.
many terraces built for workers but richer lived in large family houses
semi-detached houses with large gardens, near green spaces and wide roads
became popular. towns sprawled outwards building on greenfield sites on urban
edge
suburbs are exclusive and expensive. high class areas have larger detached
houses with big gardens
new houses and flats built on brownfield sites, regenerating old areas. as prices
increase now a need for affordable housing.
Income segregation: richer buy expensive houses. social groups become
concentrated in exclusive affluent suburbs with large houses and gardens. leads to
development of gated communities where rich people live behind high walls with
guards at the gate in suburbs in LICs and areas where differences in income are
greatest. people on lower incomes have little choice and live in cheaper housing.
car ownership restricts lower-income groups to areas of inner city with cheap
public transport. lower income groups concentrated in local government social
housing estates.
Age segregation: people likely to move when change jobs, family grows, or retire.
effect is the size of property they occupy reflects needs. properties of particular
size concentrate in an area, age concentrate too. effect on need for social services.
area with cheaper, family houses have lot of young families so need for schools is
greater. areas with old people has need for medical and social care facilities.
Racial segregation: cities attract high levels of immigration. recent are poor and
require cheap housing. want to live near people from own culture and language.
area of poverty with a concentration of a particular immigrant community called
ghetto. conflict arise between immigrant and native or between different
immigrant communities. diaspora is the way people from a country or racial group
are scattered across the world.
Housing shortage
problem often linked to segregation of residential areas.
in both HIC and LIC cities older properties in the inner city require renovation or
renewal.
immigration and natural growth have meant that demand for housing has grown
faster than supply.
the result has been that property prices are too high for those who are unemployed
or on low wages.
Changing CBD
often original growth point of a settlement and age of the buildings is oldest in
area.
point where roads from outskirts converge.
made the area most accessible so very desirable for services.
became the peak land value intersection and certain services could afford to
locate.
buildings grey tall to make best use of the expensive land.
CBD is seen as an area of decline and a zone of constant change
Problems of CBD
Retailing decline: abandoned areas with shops boarded up and properties in poor
state of repair. within CBD often a state of flux, where some streets or areas go
into decline and others become fashionable. businesses can change over time.
Solutions; pedestrianization, shopping malls, visual improvements, better security,
improved or free parking
CBD in the evening: can be very empty. if only the bars etc are open the CBD can
be an unsafe place with high crime rates. Solution of security systems such as
regular patrols and closed-circuit TV
Traffic problems and accessibility, congestion
Frame or transition zone: land use at centre and outsides are different and
described as core and frame. edge is affected by change and often called transition
zone. zone of decline associated with derelict land and buildings. some housing in
area, may suffer high crime rates and social problems. Solutions; economic forces
help if CBD expands in direction the area will be improved. usually requires urban
authorities to take control of area and plan redevelopment.
Factors affecting decline of CBD
rise in car ownership leads to increased personal mobility and the rise of leisure
shopping
planning policies can encourage urban expansion and provide out of town
developments
city councils, determined to attract new industry/inward investment, offer
greenfield sites for development
companies find peripheral locations cheaper, and nearer customers and staff who
live in the leafy suburbs
city centres are perceived as dirty, unsafe with an ageing environment and poor
infrastructure
progressive suburbanisation leads to urban sprawl; the city centre may be miles
away
congestion reduces accessibility of CBDs
investment in city centres often lacks a coordinated plan
costs of development and upkeep of CBDs are high
investors and businesses are attracted by peripheral sites that have good access
and environments and often lower costs
Core and frame of CBD
• core = banks, multi-storey buildings, high pedestrian density, little industry or
housing, clusters of services, vertical zoning, major stores or specialist stores
• frame = offices, parking, some derelict land, small low-grade shops, carpet shops,
some light manufacturing, warehouses, car sales
Management of urban settlements
Shanty houses and squatter settlements in LICs and MICs
main issue of rapid urbanisation is the development of informal settlements — type of
slum housing, often in outer city areas.
difficulties of them…
residents don’t own the land or have legal right to occupy and can be evicted
anytime
houses aren’t weatherproof and cold in winter
no proper sanitation and water supply, leads to diseases
no rubbish collection
no electricity supply or illegal supply
location means no local employment
extreme poverty and high unemployment
extreme overcrowding with families living in 1 or 2 rooms
high crime levels, drug and alcohol abuse
favelas are on steep slopes and landslides and mudflows often destroying housing
long journeys to central areas of the city for work and little public transport
local employment is in the informal sector
solutions …
low cost housing schemes to provide basic housing with running water, electricity
and proper sanitation. for those who have some employment and can pay rent as
they’re better off financially
self-help schemes to provide groups with materials to build proper houses. can
produce a sense of community
provision of basic services such as sewerage, piped water and rubbish collection by
city authorities.
Provision of transport infrastructure for a city
traffic congestion is an issue for these reasons…
• ancient cities were built long before mass public transport and not designed for
transport
• private car use increased
• people commuting to work by car means there’s major moments into towns and
cities in both rush hours. many trains and buses are only needed for rush hour.
• people visiting the CBD add to the congestion
• focal points of national transport systems (Nairobi or Sydney) means many people
pass through in transit
solutions…
• integrated transport policies: different transport forms planned so they link for
benefit of customer. single body may be responsible for coordinating services run
by different companies
• road: inner and outer ring roads. outer so traffic doesn’t travel through city. inner
helps flow between city without going through centre. traffic lights control traffic,
above the carriageways allow tidal flow, more lanes available for rush hour.
roundabouts used on major intersections. smaller urban areas in UK (oxford and
Cambridge) have park and ride to increase bus usage.
• underground railways: tube, Budapest metro and Glasgow subway opened before
1900 so aren’t new. London is developing cross rail, running from east to west. will
operate with mainline sized trains, carrying more than 1500 passengers in each
train during peak periods
• air: airports located outside main built up areas because of space requirements
and noise problems. means rapid transport routes to and from airports are
important. London city developed on derelict industrial site in the docklands area
of inner city. used by short take-off and landing aircraft and serves the city
(business and banking quarter).