1. Central Business District, Models of Urban Structure and Sprawl
Chapter 13 sections 1, 2 and 9

2. Terms/Concepts Central Business District Concentric Zone Model
Sector Model
Multiple Nuclei Model
Peripheral Model
Sprawl

3. Explaining the City
Cities are ever changing but sociologist, economist, and geographers try to develop models to explain them
Not all models apply to all cities and cities may actually be a combination of many models

4. Central Business District
Central business district (CBD)
Best-known and most visually distinctive area of most central cities
AKA “downtown”
Usually one of the oldest districts in the city
Original site of the settlement
Visually distinct
Is the easiest part of the city to reach from the rest of the region (accessibility)
Focal point of region’s transportation network

5. Concentric Zone Model
Concentric Zone Model- city grows outward from a central area in a series of five concentric rings
1. Central Business District (CBD)
2. Zone of Transition
Industry and poorer quality housing
3. Zone of independent workers’ homes
Modest houses occupied by stable, working-class families
4. Zone of better residences
Mores spacious homes for middle-class families
5. Commuter’s zone
Work in the center choose to live outside the city

6. Sector Model
Sector Model- city develops in a series of sectors or wedges that radiate out from the central business district

7. Multi-Nuclei Model
Multi-Nuclei Model- social groups are arranged around a collection of nodes of activities
Cities are complex and include more than one center around which activities revolve
Some activities are attracted to particular nodes while others are not

8. The Peripheral Model
Peripheral Model- consists of an inner city surrounded by large suburban residential and business areas tied together by a beltway or ring road
Has led to sprawl – progressive spread of development of new housing sites over the landscape

9. Important points regarding models
Human geographers have developed tools for describing cities
These models focus on different types of urban land use and their locations relative to the CBD
There are different models, but they contain many similar elements
Urban land use has changed since the models were developed and continue to change today
The models may need to be adjusted in order to reflect current land use in urban areas

10. Terms/Concepts Central Business District Concentric Zone Model
Sector Model
Multiple Nuclei Model
Peripheral Model
Sprawl