Urban Form

• CBD What it was?

  Central Business District

  • Historical centres - castles, cathedrals etc
  • Older architecture and roads often not developed for automobiles
  • Usually the main market
  • Economic hub
  • Banks and financial institutes
  • Businesses that had a wide sphere of influence
• CBD What it is

  Characteristics

  • Mix of old and new buildings and renovated old buildings
  • Skyscrapers
  • Pedestrian zones
  • Main businesses are retail, restaurants and communication
  • parks and protected green space
  • Financial institutes
  • Transport links will likely by at their highest
  • Organised grid pattern
• Inner city - What it was

  • Industrial production was close to the transport links that connected to the CBD
  • Poorer workers would have to rent or buy smaller apartments, that were built to house more tenants
• Inner City - What it is

  • Derelict buildings
  • Ghettos - lower income
  • Government housing for low income
  • New industries
  • Small apartments joined to make bigger ones
  • Green space developed
  • Many old industrial buildings preserved or removed
  • Many developments encourage people with high order stills and incomes to move to the area
• Science and Tech, Business and industrial Parks

  • Close to rural-urban fringe
  • Car park = can buy more
  • Grocery stores and by and sell bigger quantities and therefore goods cost less
  • Stores have more space
  • Delivery is easier
  • land is cheaper
  • Employees come from greater distance
  • Usually connected to major roads and railway lines
  • Sustainable building design
  • Surrounded by other businesses and professionals in similar fields
• Physical Factors changing urban forms - Natural resources

  Areas rich in natural resources can encourage development in cities as resources can support the population and the economy. E.g. local access to building materials can support the constructions of new buildings. Coal and oil can be used for fuel or can be sold, which promotes development and growth within the city.
• Physical Factors changing urban forms - Water

  Water is necessary for agriculture, sanitation and health. Urban populations with poor water supplies will have to optimise water use to conserve water. Water acts as a physical barrier to growth.
• Physical Factors changing urban forms - Topography

  Areas with a flat topography are easier to build on, meaning construction can be more spaced out. Uran sprawl is difficult on slopes, especially aat steeper, rougher areas, meansing building can be very densely compacted into one area that is suitable for building (e.g. favelas in Rio)
• Physical Factors changing urban forms - Climate and Land use

  Unstable soils, permafrost, or waterlogged ground surfaces can be difficult and expensive to build on, therefoe limiting urban growth.
• Human factors changing urban forms - wealth and development

  In richer countries, urban developments are usually structurslly safe due to building regulations, and social/environmental effects are considered.

  In developing countries, urban growth can be rapid and urban. sprawl can sometimes be unmanageable. Urban growth is seveerly limited by lack of wealth.
• Human factors changing urban forms - Planning

  Planned developments are considerate of space, safety and well-being. E.g. open/green spaces are often incorporated into urban areas to make the area more visually appealing a d nicer to be in.

  Unplanned developments can be unsafe and potentially overcrowded.
• Human factors changing urban forms - Pattern of growth

  Higher value land is usually in the CBD and land decreases in value away from it. Wealthier businesses occupy the CBD, whereas less wealthy businesses are located further away. Business parks and large shopping centres can be located away from the CBD as it is cheaper.
• Human factors changing urban forms - Economic activities

  Land use is affected by the economic activities of an urban area. E.g. ports may be built for trade
• Human factors changing urban forms - Past developments

  The original structure of a city may change how a city develops, such as limiting construction to protect listed or important buildings, or poor transport links as older roads may not be wide enough for parked cars and two way traffic.
• PLVI = Peak Land Value Intersection

  the point with the highest land value
• Distance decay

  from the PLVI the land decreases in value
• Bid-rent theory

  retail, manufacturing and housing moving out from the CBD
• Bid Rent Curve 


  .

  
• The Burgess Model

  It shows a heavily simplified version of reality that could be applied to many cities. It doesn’t explain why these zones are in these locations but it helps explain bid-rent. 

  However:

  • This can be too specific to North American cities and does not fit more historic cities
  • It does not fit the modern age because it's over 90 years old

  
• The Hoyt Model

  It follows on from Burgess’ model because the CBD remains in the centre. The manufacturing zone is found along transport routes - especially railways - especially railways, but also highways and rivers or canals. The lower class residential areas are found nearby while the highest class further away because they have cars. 

  However:

  • Based on outdated rail transportation
  • Doesn’t consider the existence of personal cars 
  • Doesn’t take into consideration that some businesses are on the edge of the city

  
• Harris and Ullman's Multiple Nuclei Model

  In 1945, Chauncey Harris and Edward Ullman continued the work of Burgess and Hoyt by publishing a new model of the city. This model recognises that as cities grow, they swallow up smaller settlements around the edge. Meanwhile as the city becomes larger, travel between the outskirts and CBD becomes impractical and smaller centres grow throughout the city. 

  • More flexible than the earlier models as it doesn’t have a specific location for each zone
  • Instead the zones are recognised as existing nearby to one another
  • It also accounts for the development of the motor car, with the CBD no longer necessarily the easiest place to get to.
  • However:
  • High rise buildings that affect population density are ignored
  • Government policies are not considered e.g. planning laws
  • The model is hard to apply to non-Western cities
• Mann's Model of a British City

  Peter Mann took Hoyt’s and Burgess’ models and combined them in his model of a typical British City in 1965. He based his model on studies of Sheffield, Nottingham and Huddersfield. The model proposed that a city had rings, ranging from the CBD to commuter villages on the periphery of the city, as well as being divided into sectors of middle class, lower middle class, working class and lowest working class.

  However:

  • Does not include inner city renewal 
  • Based on limited study of only 3 cities (Huddersfield, Nottingham and Sheffield) therefore cannot be totally accurate.