14.1.4

The Land Use Model

Test yourself

Land Use Model

Land use models show how land is most often used or divided up within a city.

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Land use models

  • Often cities and towns will be broken down into different ‘zones’ such as residential or industrial.
  • Over time it has become clear that lots of cities have similar zones in similar areas.
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Burgess model

  • The Burgess model is the most common land use model.
  • The model is based on the middle of the town or city being the most expensive land.
  • This model is very old and is based on cities built and developed in the early 1900’s.
  • As cities have grown over time the number of circles surrounding the central business district (CBD) have increased.
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Reading the model

  • The expensive land in the centre has meant that retail and residential buildings are frequently high-rise style to make the most of the land available.
  • As you move further away from the city centre the land value decreases and this is where we find most residential areas and some out of town retail parks.
  • Surrounding the outside circle is the urban-rural fringe, which separates residential areas from the countryside.

Jump to other topics

1Geography Skills

2Geology of the UK

3Geography of the World

4Development

5Weather & Climate

6The World of Work

7Natural Resources

8Rivers

9Coasts

10Glaciers

11Tectonics

12Climate Change

13Global Population & Inequality

14Urbanisation

15Ecosystems

16Life in an Emerging Country

17Analysis of Africa

18Analysis of India

19Analysis of the Middle East

20Analysis of Bangladesh

21Analysis of Russia

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