Changing Urban Land Use

Cities are not random collections of buildings — they have recognisable internal structures and patterns of land use. Geographers have developed models to describe and explain how different parts of a city are used for different purposes. Understanding these models and how land use patterns are changing is essential for the Edexcel B specification, because it provides the framework for analysing the challenges and opportunities of urbanisation. This lesson examines the classic models of urban structure and explores how cities are evolving in the 21st century.

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The Burgess Model (1925)

The Burgess model (also called the concentric zone model) was developed by Ernest Burgess based on his study of Chicago in the 1920s. It proposes that a city grows outward from the centre in a series of concentric rings, each with a distinct land use.

The Five Zones

Zone	Name	Characteristics
1	CBD (Central Business District)	Heart of the city; shops, offices, entertainment; highest land values; most accessible location; tall buildings; few permanent residents
2	Inner City / Transition Zone	Oldest housing (often Victorian terraces); mixed land use; industry and housing side by side; poorer-quality housing; often undergoing change (gentrification or decay)
3	Inner Suburbs	Older, established residential areas; semi-detached and terraced housing; better quality than Zone 2; working-class and lower-middle-class residents
4	Outer Suburbs	Newer housing estates; detached and semi-detached houses with gardens; family-oriented; middle-class residents; lower density
5	Rural-Urban Fringe	Edge of the city meeting the countryside; mix of land uses (retail parks, business parks, golf courses); commuter villages; new housing developments

graph TD
    subgraph "Burgess Concentric Zone Model"
        A["Zone 1: CBD<br/>Shops, offices, highest land values"] --> B["Zone 2: Inner City<br/>Old housing, industry, transition"]
        B --> C["Zone 3: Inner Suburbs<br/>Terraced/semi-detached housing"]
        C --> D["Zone 4: Outer Suburbs<br/>Newer estates, gardens, families"]
        D --> E["Zone 5: Rural-Urban Fringe<br/>Retail parks, commuter villages"]
    end

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Burgess Model

Strengths	Weaknesses
Simple and easy to understand	Based on one American city (Chicago) — may not apply globally
Recognises that land use changes with distance from centre	Assumes city grows equally in all directions (ignores physical barriers like rivers, hills)
Correctly identifies the CBD as the most accessible, highest-value location	Does not account for transport routes that distort the pattern
Still broadly recognisable in many UK cities	Developed in the 1920s — cities have changed enormously since then

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The Hoyt Model (1939)

Homer Hoyt developed his sector model in 1939 as an improvement on the Burgess model. Instead of concentric rings, Hoyt proposed that land use develops in sectors (wedge-shapes) radiating outwards from the CBD, following transport routes.

Key Features of the Hoyt Model

Feature	Explanation
Sectors follow transport routes	Industry develops along railways, canals and main roads; housing develops along cleaner, more desirable routes
Similar land uses cluster	Once a sector is established (e.g., industrial), it tends to continue in the same direction as the city grows
High-class housing	Located in the most desirable sectors — often on higher ground, away from industry, with good views
Low-class housing	Near industrial areas, along railway lines, in less desirable locations

Why Do Sectors Form?

1. Industry needs flat land, access to transport (rail, road, canal) and space for expansion. Once established near a transport route, industrial land use extends outward along that route.
2. Wealthy residents choose to live away from industrial pollution and noise, often on higher ground or in areas with attractive views and green space.
3. Lower-income housing develops near workplaces (factories), so working-class housing sectors form alongside industrial sectors.

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Hoyt Model

Strengths	Weaknesses
Accounts for the influence of transport routes on land use	Still based primarily on Western cities
More realistic than Burgess — recognises sectors rather than perfect rings	Does not account for multiple nuclei or out-of-town developments
Explains why some areas of a city are wealthier than others	Less applicable to cities in LICs and NEEs with informal settlements
Industrial corridors along transport routes are visible in many cities	Assumes wealthy residents always choose the same sector

Exam Tip: In the exam, you may be asked to compare the Burgess and Hoyt models. The key difference is that Burgess uses concentric zones (rings from the centre) while Hoyt uses sectors (wedges along transport routes). Both models place the CBD at the centre and recognise that land use changes with distance from the centre.

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The CBD in Detail

The Central Business District (CBD) is the commercial and often historical heart of a city. It has distinctive characteristics:

Feature	Explanation
Highest land values	The CBD is the most accessible point in the city (all transport routes converge), so competition for space pushes land prices to their highest
Tall buildings	High land values encourage building upwards to maximise floor space (e.g., skyscrapers in London's financial district or Manhattan)
Shops and offices	Major retailers, banks, law firms and corporate headquarters cluster in the CBD
Limited green space	Almost all available land is built on; parks are small and rare
Traffic congestion	High volumes of commuters and visitors create congestion; many CBDs have introduced congestion charges or pedestrianisation
Low permanent population	Few people actually live in the CBD; it is a place of work and commerce, not residence
24-hour economy	Restaurants, bars, theatres and nightclubs mean parts of the CBD are active around the clock

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Inner City

The inner city surrounds the CBD and is typically the oldest residential area of the city. Key characteristics include:

• Victorian and Edwardian terraced housing (in UK cities) — originally built for factory workers
• High population density — houses are small, close together, often lacking gardens
• Mixed land use — residential, commercial and industrial uses side by side
• Social challenges — higher levels of deprivation, unemployment and crime compared to suburbs
• Change and regeneration — many inner-city areas are being regenerated (e.g., London Docklands, Salford Quays in Manchester) or experiencing gentrification

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Suburbs and Rural-Urban Fringe

Suburbs

The suburbs developed from the late 19th century onwards as transport improvements (railways, trams, buses, and later cars) allowed people to live further from their workplaces in the CBD or inner city.

Period	Type of Suburban Development
1920s–1930s	Semi-detached "ribbon development" along new bus and tram routes
1950s–1960s	Large council housing estates on the edge of cities
1970s–1990s	Private housing estates with cul-de-sacs, gardens, garages
2000s–present	Higher-density developments; brownfield sites; sustainable design

Rural-Urban Fringe

The rural-urban fringe is the transitional area where the city meets the countryside. It has a distinctive mix of land uses:

Land Use	Example
Out-of-town shopping centres	Bluewater (Kent), Trafford Centre (Manchester)
Business and science parks	Cambridge Science Park
Housing estates	New-build developments on greenfield sites
Leisure facilities	Golf courses, country parks, sports facilities
Transport infrastructure	Airports, motorway junctions, park-and-ride sites

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Changing Patterns of Land Use

Urban land use is not static — it changes over time in response to economic, social and technological forces:

Decentralisation