The Land Use Model
Geography: KS3, topic 14.1.4
Land Use Model
Land use models show how land is most often used or divided up within a city.
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.
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.
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.
Test yourself on The Land Use Model
In the Burgess Model, what characteristic does the MIDDLE of the town have?