Models of Urban Structure Cities exhibit functional structure –Central business district (CBD) –Central city –Suburb North American cities? –3 models

Louis Wirth Urban Settings Have 3 Characteristics: 1. Large size: Won’t know most people living in a city. 2. High Density: each person has a role essential for the urban system to function smoothly, people compete for survival in limited space. 3. Social Heterogeneity: -people pursue an unusual profession -people pursue a different sexual orientation -people pursue cultural interests

Urban Physical Characteristics 1.Legal Boundary: A city is an urban settlement that has legally been incorporated into an independent, self-governing unit. 2. Continuously Built up Area: An urbanized area is a central city plus its contiguous built-up suburbs, pop exceeds 1000 persons per sq. mile.

3. Functional Area: zone of influence extends beyond legal boundaries and adjacent built-up jurisdictions METROPOLITAN STATISITICAL AREA (MSA)- -central city with a pop of 50,000 -county within which the city is located -adjacent counties with a high pop density and a large % of residents working in the central city. Smaller urban areas are called MICROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA 10,000-50,000 Some MSAs overlap: BOSWAS CORRIDOR -southern California -German Ruhr -southern Great Lakes -Japan’s Tokaido -Rabdstad in the Netherlands

4. A city has more functional specialization than a town and a larger hinterland and greater centrality. - a well-defined commercial center -a central business district -suburbs (subsidiary urban areas surrounding and connected to the central city.) Many suburbs are residential but some have their own commercial centers or shopping malls.

Concentric Zone Model: A city grows outward from a central area in a series of concentric rings Use census tracts, 5,000 people in neighborhood boundaries. These tell us where people tend to lives. E.W. Burgess 1.non-residential activities 2.Industry & poorer quality housing (immigrants new to the city live here 1 st ) 3.Stable working class 4.Middle class

Sector Model: Homer Hoyt A city grows in a series of sectors. Certain areas are more attractive to certain activities, by environmental factors, or by chance. As a city grows, activities expand in sectors out from the CBD. Industrial and retailing are in sectors by good transportation lines.

Multiple Nuclei: C.D. Harris and E.L. Ulman A city is a complex structure that includes more than one center around which activities revolve. Some activities are attracted to particular nodes while others avoid them. Ex: Airport=hotels & warehouses Ex: University=well-educated residents, book stores and pizza joints.

Modeling the North American City Urban realms Early post-war period, reduced interaction between the central city and suburban cities Outer cities became more self-sufficient

Models of Urban Structure Outer city growth since 1960s By 1973, American suburbs surpassed central cities in total employment Outer cities = “edge cities” –Equal partners in city shaping processes a.Industrial factories and complexes b.Hotels c.Amusement parks d.Malls Tyson’s Corner

Modeling the Modern Latin American City Law of the Indies 1575 Latin American cities were designed after European cities, explorers came from Portugal and Spain Centered on a church and central plaza

Modeling the Modern Southeast Asian City

Modeling the Modern Subsaharan African City