The Central Business District IB Geography II

The Central Business District The CBD: the commercial and economic core of a city The heart of the city the area most accessible to public transport the location with the highest land values.

Characteristics Parking. Transport Terminals. Wholesalers/Warehouses. Small Shops. Concentration of Banks/Businesses. Offices. Department/Chain Stores. Car Sales/Services. Medical/Fire Services.

Location Of Industry Manufacturing areas are located within the inner-city. They are also located along major highways and in industrial suburbs. Industries found in cities usually include skilled labor, medical instruments, fashion accessories and clothes, newspapers etc. Port industries.

CBD – Main functions Shops – top of the shopping hierarchy in a city. Widest range and the largest department stores. Wide sphere of influence. Offices – Banks, building societies, solicitors, government offices. Offices occupy high-rise blocks or upper floors above shops. Culture and Entertainment – Areas of the CBD “come alive” at night. Chicago’s clubs, theatres, Navy Pier, music, etc.

CBD “Users” One way to begin to understand the role of the CBD is to consider who uses it… 4 Major Groups: Workers – Still primary location for many major employers, office buildings, gov’t offices Residents – Usually now at extremes of income scale Shoppers – Many CBDs much smaller role than formerly Visitors – Renaissance in many CBDs in the hotel industry: CBD as entertainment and cultural center These groups found in CBD in different proportions at different times of the day and days of the week

FRAME CORE Zone of decay Zone of improvement Bus and coach station Smaller shops Offices- insurance companies, solicitors Multi-storey Car parks Car sales and services Theatres and cinemas University Railway station Banks High-rise Office blocks Specialist shops Department stores

CBD – Problems Traffic congestion – Towns grew and street patterns were established before the motor car was invented. Rush hour traffic – “grid-lock” Pollution – Water, land, air and noise pollution are all common in city centres. Pollution adds to the stresses of living in urban areas and is thought to aggravate some diseases such as asthma and bronchitis.

Lack of space and high cost of land Competition for land – extremely high prices. Smaller firms and retailers forced away from the CBD

Land use patterns: Towns and cities do not grow in a haphazard way but tend to develop recognizable shapes and patterns. Each town is unique and will have developed its own distinctive pattern, it will also show some characteristics shared by other urban settlements.

Although all towns and cities are different, most have grown and developed in the same way. Believe it or not there is a PATTERN to it all !

We can show this pattern by using a MODEL – a simplified picture. This is an URBAN MODEL to show the different land use within a town or city. Each different colour sector represents a different type of land use.

Urban Land Use Models Burgess Model Hoyt Model Multiple Nuclei Model Mann’s Compromise Model

Burgess Model: Inner city Suburbs

The Burgess Model: The Concentric Zone Model 9 9

Land use models – Concentric Zone Model/Burgess Model Burgess based his studies on Chicago. He claimed that most towns and cities grow outwards from an old center and equally in all directions. original settlement In Britain, many towns grew rapidly in the nineteenth- and twentieth-centuries. Why do you think that was the case?

Explanation of Burgess Model Having made in depth studies of the morphology of Chicago in the 1920's, Burgess concluded that city land-use could be identified as a series of concentric rings around the CBD.

Explanation of Burgess Model Then, we get three rings of housing. The first will be high density, poor quality that traditionally houses the workers for the factories. Next, is slightly lower density, middle class housing. These will be semi-detached with gardens. Finally, there is a ring of high class housing for those who can afford to commute.

Burgess Model Timeframe 1920’s Class conscious society Housing segregated according to income Lack of transport infrastructure Assumptions Older buildings in city centre Newer buildings at edge of city Land values highest in city centre Strong economic and ethnic segregation Low income groups lack transport and live close to city centre. Cities develop on a flat plain with equal access to transport

Evaluation: For If taken as a very broad pattern, then a large number of towns and cities follow the pattern identified by Burgess. It is good model because it is simple and easy to understand. Burgess could not have foreseen the changes in transport routes or society yet his model is still relevant when identifying the reasons behind the urban morphology of a city. It helps us to understand the process involved in the growth of a city.

Evaluation: Against It does not take any physical features into account. Burgess' own case study - Chicago - does not follow the pattern because it is on the coast! The growth of any city will be influenced by the physical geography of the area. Transport is much more readily available allowing more people to commute Burgess could not have foreseen this. Urban renewal and gentrification has meant that some of the most expensive property can now be found in traditional 'low class' areas.

Hoyt

Explanation Hoyt's model came nearly twenty years after Burgess'. It was based on 142 American cities. He proposed his model after the introduction of public transportation. He suggested that the city grew in a series of sectors or 'wedges'. An industrial sector would remain industrial as the zone would have a common advantage - perhaps a railway line or river. Note how the low quality housing is next to the industrial zone, middle class next to low class and high class as far as possible from industry and low class.

Hoyt Model Timeframe Late 1930’s Income and status divided society Housing areas reflect social segregation Assumptions Settlement develops along transport routes Towns radiate out from the CBD Low-income and industrial areas lie next to each other Wealthy people choose the best sites

Evaluation: For Some cities seem to follow Hoyt's sectors. It provides us with an alternative set of explanations to Burgess. Communication routes (Rivers, roads, railways) do often provide a very definite boundary to a sector/land-use.

Evaluation: Against Like Burgess, there is no reference to out of town developments. ie: commuter towns which developed after the car became popular Like Burgess, there is no reference to the physical environment.

Multiple Nuclei Model 3

Harris and Ullman’s Multiple Nuclei Theory 1945 As an urban area grows, it develops around a number of different business centres or nuclei.

Multiple Nuclei Theory Assumptions; Modern cities more complex than suggested by other theorists Each nucleus acts as a growth point Growth occurs outwards from each nucleus, until they all merge into one large urban area

Evaluations For Mixture of Burgess and Hoyt Shows some land-uses attract more of the same, for example industrial areas Some land-uses may deter others from locating nearby, eg; housing is usually located away from industrial areas

Evaluations Against Not an exact fit for all cities and towns Too complex

Mann’s Compromise Model

Evaluations For Elements of both Burgess and Hoyt models. SW wind blows smoke and pollution towards East. Wealthy choose to live in pleasant unpolluted areas.

Evaluations Against Does not include inner city renewal. Based on limited study of only a few studies– not entirely accurate.