Characteristics of Urban Land Use (Cambridge International IGCSE Geography)

Land Use in Urban Areas

Spec point — 1.6.1 · Describe the characteristics of land use in urban areas

Urban land use

• Urban land use refers to activities that are found in towns and cities

• All urban settlements have recurring features:

  • A central core or central business district (CBD)
  • Industrial areas—inner-city ring
  • Different residential districts—suburban ring
  • Outer zones of suburban expansion—urban fringe

• All towns and cities tend to grow outward from a historic centre or core to an urban fringe

• Each zone grows due to the needs of the city during its development over time

• As a general rule, all towns and cities, regardless of place or level of development, show the same four features:

  • A central core
  • An inner-city zone
  • A suburban zone
  • An urban fringe

Central core

• The oldest part of a city with features such as:

  • the central business district (CBD), e.g. banks, retail and commercial offices
  • multi-storey development, with vertical growth rather than horizontal due to lack of space
  • land of high-value
  • concentrated retail and office space
  • pedestrianisation for high footfall
  • convergence of public transport
  • traffic restrictions for private vehicles
  • low residential population

Inner-city zone

• A 'frame' to the inner core, which developed as the core developed
• Older, compact, terraced 'worker' housing to support a growing population density
• Surrounded by older industrial areas
• Areas are centred around transport links and access to manufacturing
• Available land increases with distance, so costs are reduced
• Residential land is in direct competition with commercial usage

Suburban zone

• Residential areas
• Emergence of segregated residential zones based on wealth, ethnicity, choice or government policy (e.g. social housing)
• Semi- and detached housing with gardens
• Tree-lined avenues and cul-de-sac
• Smaller retail premises
• The cost of land decreases but the size of the property increases with the distance

Urban fringe

• These are the outer edges of the city where:

  • the countryside is eroded through the urban spread/sprawl
  • housing is clustered into estates, which increases 'spot' density
  • some industrial land uses
  • accessibility is best

Other similar characteristics

• Other characteristics of modern urban settlements include:

  • From the core to the fringe, the age and density of the buildings decrease
  • Different zones have different levels of grandeur, purpose, design, and style
  • Land use and population density change over time

The four zones of cities based on Burgess's Concentric Ring theory

• Although the model above is simplified, it shows that the majority of business activity is concentrated in a core
• Usually with the highest land value, the CBD is also the most easily accessible due to public transport
• Because of the high demand for property, high-rise buildings are seen here; for example, Singapore, New York, and Hong Kong are well known for their 'skyscrapers', and land prices are among the highest in the world

Exam Hint

• Every model is a simple representation and applies to virtually all urban areas across the globe, but each zone varies in character, use and people depending on circumstances and where they are found.
• In LEDC cities, the urban fringe has illegal squatter settlements or shanty towns as its 'housing estates'.
• But, in MEDC cities, the poorer zones are the inner city with industry at the fringes, for easy access to motorways.
• Gentrification and redevelopment in inner cities are more common in MEDC cities
• Same features but different characteristics/uses.

Peak land value

• Any land that has 'purpose' will be valuable and cost more to buy or rent

• Usually, retail shops can make money and look for prime positions

• Therefore, land uses of similar activities will come together, creating 'peaks' and 'troughs' of land values across the urban landscape

• There are two points to consider:

  • The value of the land:

    • Varies across the urban areas
    • Usually decreases from the centre, outwards
    • Higher land prices are also found along main roads, urban hubs and around ring roads

  • The location of the land:

    • Is important to value
    • The closer to key functions, the higher the value
    • Accessibility and desirability increase land value

Diagram illustrating urban land value peaks

Bid-rent theory

• Also known as 'distance decay theory', where the price and demand for land change as the distance from the CBD increases

• Different land uses will compete for desirable plots to maximise their profits

• Accessibility increases the potential for more customers

• There is a trade-off between accessibility and the cost of the land

  • The closer to the CBD the more desirable land is to retail and the higher the price charged/paid

• Industry cannot compete with high prices so moves further away from CBD

• Residential land is outpriced across the zones, but competition is less so value decreases as more space becomes available

Bid-rent graph shows land prices decrease further from the CBD

Urban land use in LEDCs

• The Latin American city model shows that the CBD has developed around a colonial core, with a commercial corridor extending from it

  • This has become the main avenue and contains open spaces and homes for medium- and higher-income earners
  • These areas will have quality streets, schools and public services

• Newer suburbs are found further out with random housing and fewer services

• Squatter housing is found at the edge of the city; however, the more established squatter settlements can be found along the zones that extend into the city centre

  • Conditions here are usually better than in the more recent housing at the edge, most likely due to employment opportunities found closer to the core

• Industrial areas are scattered along the major transport routes, with the newest developments at the edge

Latin American city model

Land zoning in LEDCs

• Manufacturing is found throughout the city
• Segregation is seen through wealth, ethnicity and race
• The wealthy are found closer to the central core of the city on wealthy land
• The poor are pushed to the peripheral areas

Worked Example Study Fig. 2.1, which is a transect across a city in Belgium, an MEDC in Europe.

(i) What is the distance from the CBD to the boundary of the city?

........................km

[1 Marks]

Answer: **

Final answer:** Approximately 13 km from CBD to fringe **

Use a ruler and measure the distance key, which tells you that so many cm = 1 or 2 km; in this instance, it is 0.5 cm = 1 km and 2 km = 1 cm

Measure the length from A to boundary between D and E = 6.5 cm (approx.)

6 x 2 = 12km plus 1km for the 0.5 cm = 13km from CBD to fringe approximately

(ii) Identify from Fig. 2.1 the letter which represents:

• an area of traditional industry where redevelopment is taking place**= B
• an area where a ring road and business park have recently been built on greenfield sites **= E

[2 Marks]

(iii) State three likely differences between residential areas C and D in the MEDC city shown in Fig. 2.1.

[3 Marks]

Final answer:** Answer **

** **D is likely to:

• Be newer
• Have a lower density
• Be higher in cost
• Have detached/semi-detached houses rather than terraced/semi-detached
• Rather than detached
• Have gardens/drives/garages, etc.

(iv) Give two examples of low-order services that are likely to be located close to residential areas, such as in area X in Fig. 2.1.

Explain why many of the services in this area are likely to be low-order services.

[4 Marks]

Final answer: Possible answers:

-** Services **such as:

• newsagent

• general store

• grocers

• primary school

• church etc.

• Reasons such as:

  • a small sphere of influence
  • people will not travel far to use them
  • threshold population will be small
  • lots of similar services
  • will be used frequently
  • sell convenience goods, etc.

** NB: 2 Marks max for each of the examples and reasons