Land Use Zoning in

the city
 Urbanisation Process in MEDC’s

Agricultural revolution Industrial Revolution

machinery replaced new factories, mines,
labour shipyards in towns

People gradually moved from the countryside to the towns

Housing was built for the workers close to the factories

Towns expanded into cities and into conurbations

Urbanisation occurred and over 80% of people in

Britain now live in urban areas
• Key points on Urban structure

• Here are some facts about urban structure that

you should learn for your exam.
 Here is a reminder of the basic urban structure of an MEDC (More Economically
Developed Country) Model A - Burgess
This is a very simple urban model (and quite easy to remember). As the city grows,
newer buildings are built further away from the centre.

• Zone 1 - Business is attracted to

the centre to be easily accessible.
Competition for space leads to high
prices.
• Zone 2 -Industry developed in the
UK in the nineteenth century, and
factories were built around the CBD.
Housing for workers was built close
to the factories.
• Zone 3 - People then moved further
out into newer residential areas as
transport developed.
• Zone 4 and 5 - Today many people
prefer the space and cleaner
environment on the edge of the city
and often commute to work or work
in new out of town (green-field)
sites.
 Model B - Hoyt
Model B has developed from the simple concentric rings in model A. There
are now wedges or sectors of land use. Many UK cities have structures
similar to this one. 

• This model takes into

account physical
features like rivers or
transport links like
roads. (Zones 2,3 and
5b)
• Industry may have
developed in a sector
following a good
transport link, helping it
get goods in and out.
(Zone 2)
• A new housing
development may have
been built because of a
new road linking it to the
rest of the city.
 CBD
• At the centre of the city
• the original settlement site
• route focus for roads and railways
• high density of buildings
• shops, offices and railways
• high-rise buildings and skyscrapers
• bus and rail stations at the edge
• small residential population
• high land costs
The characteristics of urban zones in MEDCs
Changes in the CBD
• By the 1970s most CBDs were suffering from the following problems:
• many of the older properties were in need of improvement and
modernisation
• the narrow streets were often congested
• the large volume of traffic caused air pollution
• there was insufficient space for car parks, and buses found it difficult to
keep to time
• increasingly taller buildings were constructed to try to offset the high
rates and rents
• larger shops moved out and re-iocated on less congested sites
• smaller shops were forced to close as the area became increasingly
expensive
• there was a need for modern, carefully planned city centres that considered
social, economic and environmental needs.
Recent changes
The first major change to occur in most city centres was the creation of
pedestrianised zones. Later came the development of shopping malls.
More recently has come an increased demand for a more relaxing
atmosphere within the city centre and an increase in leisure amenities,
especially in the evenings.
 The Inner City
• Outside the CBD
• grew during the Industrial Revolution
• a real mixture of land uses
• Victorian terraces
• older nineteenth-century industries
• corner shops, churches, schools,
Victorian parks
• redevelopment, eg: high rise flats
 Suburbs
• Residential housing areas
• density of housing decreases outwards
• inter-war and post-war housing closest to the inner
city
• modern, larger and more expensive housing on the
edge
• a mixture of housing types e.g. flats, semi-
detached, detached and bungalows
• a mixture of council and private housing estates
• industrial estates with modern factories on the
edges
The rural-urban (RURBAN) fringe
• Beyond the suburbs
• the edge of the built up area
• an area of mixed land uses
• some rural land uses, e.g. farms,
hobby farming, woodland
• some urban land uses, e.g. golf
courses, sewage farms, airports,
motorways
• this is the green belt
 The characteristics of urban zones in MEDCs
Changes at the Rural-Urban Fringe
• In an attempt to control urban growth, green belts were created by Act of Parliament in 1947.
• A green belt was defined as an area of land around an urban area where development was to be
severely restricted and where the open character of the countryside was to be preserved for
farming and recreation.
• Planning permission was normally not meant to be granted for development proposals but in reality
planners often came under considerable pressure to release land for more housing, jobs and
roads.
• Most large British cities are surrounded by a green belt.
• By the end of the twentieth century, there was increasing competition for land at the rural-urban
fringe. The main reasons are that at the fringe there is:
• cheaper land
• less traffic congestion and pollution
• a better road infrastructure that gives easier access to surrounding
settlements and other urban areas
• a more pleasant environment with more open space.
Places at the rural-urban fringe that have not yet been built upon are known as greenfield sites.
These sites, still used for farming or recreation, are under constant threat for:
• housing development as urban sprawl continues and nearby villages become suburbanised
• science and business parks, and office development . retail parks and regional shopping centres
• hotels and conference centres
• road development schemes, including motorways and urban by- passes
• sewage works and landfill sites for urban waste
• recreational areas such as country parks, playing fields and new sports stadiums.
 Urbanisation and
Counter-urbanisation
• Billions have moved to live in cities
this century. This is urbanisation.
More people in the world live in cities
than in rural areas. However there
seems to be a limit. There is a
current trend towards counter-
urbanisation in certain countries.
Suburbanisation in U.K. and Counter Urbanisation in the Rural – Urban Fringe.

Causes

Negative Urban factors Positive Rural factors Socio-economic factors

•People are fed up with •Attractions •Higher car ownership,

urban living and problems include, more greater affluence, allow
such as air pollution, grime, space, lower land commuting and improved
and crime, which seem to costs, lower public services in rural
be getting worse. house prices, and areas almost as good as
•People want to escape further a quiet pleasant those in the cities.
out than just to the suburbs. clean
environment.

Affects
Encouraged by
•It affects the form and layout of rural settlements. •Rising demand for second
•Modern housing estates attach themselves to the edge of settlements homes
•Small industrial units may also grow alongside main roads in and out of the •Fuelled by greater affluence
village. •Shorter working week
•Open areas are infilled •Earlier retirement
•Old properties are modernised or converted from barns into homes •Greater personal mobility
•Socio-economic changes happen as newcommers bring their urban wealth and
attitudes with them
Allowed by
•New attitudes often don’t match the rural interests of the local community.
•Relative decline in
•Village growth can reduce village services because newcomers have the
agriculture
mobility to continue to use the urban services instead of the village’s,
•Fewer farm workers
probably because they are cheaper and have a better range.
•A need for farmers to diversify
•Cost of housing rise sharply because newcomers are wealthier, putting
and seek income from other
housing ouit of reach of locals who have to move away.
sources.
Try the practice question
next…..
   Remember
When talking about urban structure you will have to refer to
urban models. Read about the models below before you attempt
to answer this question. 
• The question
These two urban models are
thought to be typical of the
structure of UK towns and cities
from 1850 - 1950.
1. Look at model A (Burgess)
• Describe the location of each
type of land use.
• Give one reason to explain why
each type is located there.
• 2. Look at model B (Hoyt)
• Describe the main differences
between model B and model A
• Give two reasons to explain
these differences.
• Instant hints
• You should use the key of
the diagrams so the
examiner knows exactly
what you are writing about.
• Part a) in the question is
describe, part (b) is
explain, don't muddle them
up.
• You will need to learn a
case study of a city. To
help you with this follow
the advice in Further
things to do.
• The answers are at the
very end of the show.
 Key words
• Land-use • Urban model
• how the land use of • an idea or theory of
a city is put into what a city is like.
categories - • Urban structure
residential
(housing), industrial • how the land use of a
(factories), city is set out.
commercial (shops
and offices), open
space, derelict
land.
 Key points
• North America and Europe underwent rapid
urbanisation when they industrialised in the
nineteenth century.
• Just over half the world's population now lives in
urban areas.
• Two thirds of people in more economically
developed countries (MEDCs) live in cities but
many are moving away from cities - this is called
counter-urbanisation.
• Cities in less economically developed countries
(LEDCs) are still growing rapidly. Nearly 60% of
the world’s urban population now live in LEDCs.
Here’s another practice
question …..
 The questions The answers
Study the maps carefully and  How did you do? These are 
then answer the questions. short answer questions. 

1. Describe the 1. In 1950 most (7 out of 10) of

distribution of the 10 the world’s largest cities
were found in MEDC's or in
largest cities in 1950. the North, in North America,
2. How had the Europe and Asia.
distribution changed
by 1995? 2. By 1995 most (8 out of 10) of
the world’s largest cities
3. Many people in were found in LEDC's or in
MEDC’s have started the South, in places like
to move away from India, South East Asia,
cities. What is this Central and South America.
process called?
3. The process is called
counter-urbanisation.
 Key words
• Urbanisation the increase in the population
of urban areas.
• Counter-urbanisation   the movement of
people away from urban areas to rural
areas.
• MEDCs more economically developed
countries. Sometimes called developed,
mainly in the North, often much wealthier
than LEDCs
• LEDCs less economically developed
countries. Sometimes called developing,
mainly in the South, often much poorer
than MEDCs.
 • 1 (a)
Zone 1 is the city centre or the Central Business District, mainly
The  made up of shops and offices. This is surrounded by Zone 2, which is
answers factories and industry. Zone 3 is working class housing. Zone 4 is
the outer residential zone. Zone 5a is outside these rings and is
often an area of commuter housing, in large villages.
 Here are
some 1 (b)
answers Zone 1 - CBD - is central location for accessibility. Housing cannot
to the usually afford the high land prices found here.
questions.
Look how Zone 2 - Factory zone - industry located here in the nineteenth
they are century (which was then the edge of the city).
laid out.
Zone 3 -Working class houses - built close to the factories so
people could get to work easily (they could only really afford to walk
to work).

Zone 4 - Residential zone - as transport developed people who could,

moved away to bigger houses near the edges of the city.

Zone 5 - Commuter zone - many people now live outside the city in
cleaner environments, either commuting to work or working in new
greenfield sites.
The 
answers
• 2 (a) The main differences are:
The sectors or wedges of different land uses, which stretch
out from the CBD.

Different types of housing are located on different sides of

the city e.g. working class to the west and middle class to
the east.

2 (b) These differences are explained by:

Physical features have been included in the model e.g. river
flood plains were not always suitable land for housing so
industry was built there. Transport features e.g. industrial
areas followed the railway lines or a major road allow the
development of new housing on the edge of cities.