Cambridge IGCSE Geography
13
Urban settlements
Urban land use models for an MEDC
Urban land use
Burgess model Burgess model
Urban zones
46
It is possible in all urban areas to identify zones where there is a particular type of land use, e.g. the Central Business District (CBD), industrial and residential zones. Land use models are theories that attempt to describe and explain the structure of urban areas. Source A shows two different land use models that apply to urban areas in MEDCs and Source B shows a model for an LEDC. The models are based on the idea that land values are highest in the centre of a town or city. This is because space is limited and competition is high in the central parts of the settlement. This leads to high-rise, high-density buildings being found near the CBD, with low-density, sparse developments on the edge of the town or city. The Hoyt model is based on the circles on the Burgess model, but adds sectors of similar land uses, e.g. the industrial zones that radiate out from the CBD. These could be following a main road or a railway line. In all urban areas new developments are constantly taking place and land use changes over time, particularly at the edge of the city – the rural-urban fringe. Here, urban sprawl is resulting in the development of roads, housing and commercial areas in areas that were previously natural environment or farmland.
2 2
B H G
H A
H
G G
C
H
A
D
H
G
C
B C
3 3
3 3
3 3
5b 5b
4 4
H
1 Central Business District (CBD) 1 Central Business District (CBD) D 2 Factories/Industry 2 Factories/Industry 3 Working-class housing E High class modern housing A Central Business District (CBD) E High class modern housing Central Business District (CBD) 3 Working-class housing 4 Middle-class housing 4 Middle-class housing New Housing (high cost apartments) F Housing improvement schemes 5 a Commuter zone New Housing (high cost apartments) F B Housing improvement schemes b Commuter High-class housing zone 5 a Old Housing (high cost) G Poor quality permanent housing b High-class housing C
D
1 1
4 4
H
D
A
3 3
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E
H EB
Hoyt model Hoyt model
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F
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3 3
Urban land use model for an LEDC F
1 1
Old Housing (high cost)
Factories/Industry
D
Factories/Industry
H
G
Poor quality permanent housing
Squatter settlements
H
Squatter settlements