Concentric Zone Model and Latin America Essay

Rachel Balas
3-29-2013
P.3
Chapter 13 Key Issue 2
Concentric Zone Model Created by sociologist in 1923 by E.W Burgess A city grows outwards from a central area in a series of concentric rings like the rings of a tree. The size and width of rings vary from city to city, but same basic ring appears. Inter most zone is the CBD (Central Business District) where nonresidential activities are concentrated. The second ring surrounds the CBD and is the transition zone which contains industry & poor quality housing, immigrants to the city usually live here. The third ring consists of the working class homes, it has modest older homes occupied by working class families The fourth ring consists of newer and bigger homes for middle class families.
Sector Model The Sector Model is a theory of urban structure that contradicts the Concentric Zone Model, it was developed in 1939 by land economist Homer Hoyt. It is in a series of sectors & not cities. Certain areas of the city are more attractive for various activity for an environmental factor or by chance. As a city grows activities expand outwards on a wedge or sector from the center The best housing is found in a corridor extending from downtown to the outer edge of the city. Social patterns in Chicago influenced both models.
Multiple Nuclei Model Developed by geographers C. D. Harris & E.L Ullman in 1945 A city is a complex structure that includes more than one center around which activities revolve. Ex: University, airport Some activities are attracted to these nodes whereas others are not ex: a university would attract a bookstore, whereas airports attract hotels, car rental businesses ect.
Geographic Application of the Models Urban areas in the US are divided into census tracts which contain approximately 5,000 residents and correspond where possible to neighborhood boundaries. Every decade the US Bureau of the Census publishes data summarizing the characteristics of the residents living in each tract. Social Area Analysis – The spatial distribution of any of these social characteristics can be plotted on a map of the community's census track. None of the models can fully explain why different types of people live in distinctive parts of the cities. If the two models are combined it helps geographers explain where different type of people live in the city. The models say that most people prefer to live near others having similar characteristics
Use of the Models outside North America European Cities – Wealthier people in European cities cluster along a sector extending out from the CBD. Ex: Paris's wealthy community moved to the SW hills to be close to the Royal Palace. The reason for the preference of living in a clustered area in the south west hills for the wealthy dates back to the Industrial Revolution. As a result of living in the city wealthy people live in apartments or townhouses where they do not own a private yard, they must go to the park for open space. Previously poorer people lived in the center of European cities as well. Social segregation used to be vertical, rich people on the first or second floors, where poorer people would live in the dark basements or they climbed many stairs to attics. Now poorer people live in the outskirts of the cities. Vast suburbs containing dozens of high rise apartment buildings house the poorer people displaced from the inner city. Most people living here are African or Asian immigrants. European officials encouraged the construction of high-density suburbs to help preserve the countryside from development to avoid the inefficient sprawl that characterizes American suburbs.
Less Developed Cities Precolonial Cities - Before the European colonialism era, there were few cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America, most people still lived in rural settlements. The main cities in Latin America were

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