How relevant are urban models in today’s urban

Starter

• You have 30 seconds to turn to the person next to you to describe the house that you live in. (looking from the street in front of your house)

How relevant are urban models in today’s urban areas?

• Geographers have tried to make sense of the patterns made by urban areas and have devised a number of models which urban areas in MEDCs could be compared to.

Burgess concentric zones Urban model.

• The concentric ring model was devised by Burgess. It split the land use of the city into rings, starting from the centre. The idea was that urban areas grow equally in all directions, with the oldest, most dense housing being found closest to centre.

• Zone 1: Central Business District; contains the major shops, offices and entertainment facilities.

• Zone 2: Inner city area (twilight zone). This is an area of old housing and light manufacturing industry. This area dates back to the Industrial revolution when it filled with coal-fired factories and tenement housing blocks.

• Zone 3: Low class residential. This is an area of poor quality housing, although the conditions are better than in Zone 2.

• Zone 4: Medium class residential. This is an area of housing which was built between the wars. It is mainly semidetached housing and council estates.

• Zone 5: High class residential (commuter zone). This is an area of expensive housing on the outskirts of the city. It also stretches in to the countryside beyond the city.

Describe the photo.

Task

• You have been asked by Bolton Council Planning Department to give a presentation on changing land uses in the inner city area around your school. This presentation should include:

What the area should look like according to the Burgess model.

Changes to the original land use. Suggest reasons for the changing land use.

How relevant are urban models in today’s urban areas?

• Does the Inner City area around Bolton School fit the Burgess Model?

• Further study?