Textbook: Urban Structure | AP Human Geography - Grade 9 PDF Download

 Page 1


393 CHAPTER 16: URBAN STRUCTURE
Urban Structure
Topics 6.5–6.7
Topic 6.5 The Internal Structure of Cities
Learning Objective: Explain the internal structure of cities using various models 
and theories. (PSO-6.D)
Topic 6.6 Density and Land Use
Learning Objective: Explain how low-, medium-, and high-density housing  
characteristics represent different patterns of residential land use. (IMP-6.A)
Topic 6.7 Infrastructure
Learning Objective: Explain how a city’s infrastructure relates to local politics, 
society, and the environment. (IMP-6.B)
Like a piece of architecture, the city is a construction in space, but 
one of vast scale.
—Kevin Lynch, The Image of the City, 1960
Peripheral areas of cities in southeastern Brazil exhibit many of the visible landscape elements 
typical of favelas—steep slope, dense population, and poor construction. (See Topic 6.5 for more 
on the structure of cities around the world.)
CHAPTER 16
Page 2


393 CHAPTER 16: URBAN STRUCTURE
Urban Structure
Topics 6.5–6.7
Topic 6.5 The Internal Structure of Cities
Learning Objective: Explain the internal structure of cities using various models 
and theories. (PSO-6.D)
Topic 6.6 Density and Land Use
Learning Objective: Explain how low-, medium-, and high-density housing  
characteristics represent different patterns of residential land use. (IMP-6.A)
Topic 6.7 Infrastructure
Learning Objective: Explain how a city’s infrastructure relates to local politics, 
society, and the environment. (IMP-6.B)
Like a piece of architecture, the city is a construction in space, but 
one of vast scale.
—Kevin Lynch, The Image of the City, 1960
Peripheral areas of cities in southeastern Brazil exhibit many of the visible landscape elements 
typical of favelas—steep slope, dense population, and poor construction. (See Topic 6.5 for more 
on the structure of cities around the world.)
CHAPTER 16
394 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP
®
 EDITION
6.5
The Internal Structure of Cities
Essential Question: How do various models and theories explain the 
internal structure of cities?
Cities are enormously complex and important centers for much of the world’ s 
population. Since cities first emerged in human civilization, they have been 
centers of economic, political, and cultural power. They have been places of 
innovation. Cities are growing faster today than ever before in history and that 
trend is projected to continue.
Urban Models
Like most other models used by geographers, urban models are based on 
observations of real places. Though models vary, all models share certain 
functions:
• classifying and categorizing land use in urban areas
• describing how various urban land uses are segregated spatially
• offering explanations for the location of different urban land uses
Urban Zones
One principle underlying all urban models is functional zonation, the idea 
that portions of an urban area—regions, or zones, within the city—have specific 
and distinct purposes. The various zones fit together like a puzzle to create the 
entirety of the city. However, unlike a puzzle, the pieces of a city are not clearly 
delineated, and geographers have tried to identify and classify them with 
models. The resulting urban models provide geographers with a framework to 
describe, understand, and analyze cities. Urban areas around the world share 
three basic zones: the central business district, industrial/commercial, and 
residential.
Central Business District A vital part of any urban model is the central 
business district (CBD), which is the commercial heart of a city. Often 
located near the physical center of a city, or the crossroads where the city was 
founded, the CBD is the focus of transportation and services. The bid-rent 
theory explains agricultural land use, just as it helps explain land use in central 
business districts. This theory explains that land in the center of a city will have 
higher value than land farther away from the city’s center. Therefore, land use 
will be more intense and costs will be higher closer to the CBD. This means 
high-order services often dominate the CBD. 
Page 3


393 CHAPTER 16: URBAN STRUCTURE
Urban Structure
Topics 6.5–6.7
Topic 6.5 The Internal Structure of Cities
Learning Objective: Explain the internal structure of cities using various models 
and theories. (PSO-6.D)
Topic 6.6 Density and Land Use
Learning Objective: Explain how low-, medium-, and high-density housing  
characteristics represent different patterns of residential land use. (IMP-6.A)
Topic 6.7 Infrastructure
Learning Objective: Explain how a city’s infrastructure relates to local politics, 
society, and the environment. (IMP-6.B)
Like a piece of architecture, the city is a construction in space, but 
one of vast scale.
—Kevin Lynch, The Image of the City, 1960
Peripheral areas of cities in southeastern Brazil exhibit many of the visible landscape elements 
typical of favelas—steep slope, dense population, and poor construction. (See Topic 6.5 for more 
on the structure of cities around the world.)
CHAPTER 16
394 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP
®
 EDITION
6.5
The Internal Structure of Cities
Essential Question: How do various models and theories explain the 
internal structure of cities?
Cities are enormously complex and important centers for much of the world’ s 
population. Since cities first emerged in human civilization, they have been 
centers of economic, political, and cultural power. They have been places of 
innovation. Cities are growing faster today than ever before in history and that 
trend is projected to continue.
Urban Models
Like most other models used by geographers, urban models are based on 
observations of real places. Though models vary, all models share certain 
functions:
• classifying and categorizing land use in urban areas
• describing how various urban land uses are segregated spatially
• offering explanations for the location of different urban land uses
Urban Zones
One principle underlying all urban models is functional zonation, the idea 
that portions of an urban area—regions, or zones, within the city—have specific 
and distinct purposes. The various zones fit together like a puzzle to create the 
entirety of the city. However, unlike a puzzle, the pieces of a city are not clearly 
delineated, and geographers have tried to identify and classify them with 
models. The resulting urban models provide geographers with a framework to 
describe, understand, and analyze cities. Urban areas around the world share 
three basic zones: the central business district, industrial/commercial, and 
residential.
Central Business District A vital part of any urban model is the central 
business district (CBD), which is the commercial heart of a city. Often 
located near the physical center of a city, or the crossroads where the city was 
founded, the CBD is the focus of transportation and services. The bid-rent 
theory explains agricultural land use, just as it helps explain land use in central 
business districts. This theory explains that land in the center of a city will have 
higher value than land farther away from the city’s center. Therefore, land use 
will be more intense and costs will be higher closer to the CBD. This means 
high-order services often dominate the CBD. 
395 6.5: THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF CITIES
BID-RENT THEORY FOR CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICTS
Z
1
Y
X
X
1
Y
1
Z
1
1. Central business district
2. Industrial zone
3. Residential zone 
    (highest density near center)
X-X
1
: Commerce is willing to pay 
         for the highest valued land
Y-Y
1
:  Industry is willing pay less 
         for land than commerce
Z-Z
1
: Residential land cost are 
         lower further from the CBD
1
2
3
Competition for valuable space in the CBD gives it certain characteristics:
• In some countries, including the United States and Canada, the CBD has 
skyscrapers and “underground cities” that might include facilities for 
parking, shopping, and rapid transit.
• In Europe, many CBDs are located in the historic heart of the city where 
buildings are shorter but services are still concentrated.
• Because the cost of land is high in CBDs, manufacturing activities are 
rarely located there.
• High costs and limited space often result in residential portions of CBDs 
having high-density housing, such as high-rise apartment buildings.  
The cultural landscape 
Chicago’s CBD is 
characterized by high rise 
office buildings, with few 
examples of residential life—
single-family homes, parks, 
grocery stores, or schools.
Industrial/Commercial Zone The zone outside the central business district 
is dedicated to industry. These industrial zones may include manufacturing, 
warehousing, and transportation. Industrial zones are generally separated 
from residential areas because they are associated with air and noise pollution. 
Page 4


393 CHAPTER 16: URBAN STRUCTURE
Urban Structure
Topics 6.5–6.7
Topic 6.5 The Internal Structure of Cities
Learning Objective: Explain the internal structure of cities using various models 
and theories. (PSO-6.D)
Topic 6.6 Density and Land Use
Learning Objective: Explain how low-, medium-, and high-density housing  
characteristics represent different patterns of residential land use. (IMP-6.A)
Topic 6.7 Infrastructure
Learning Objective: Explain how a city’s infrastructure relates to local politics, 
society, and the environment. (IMP-6.B)
Like a piece of architecture, the city is a construction in space, but 
one of vast scale.
—Kevin Lynch, The Image of the City, 1960
Peripheral areas of cities in southeastern Brazil exhibit many of the visible landscape elements 
typical of favelas—steep slope, dense population, and poor construction. (See Topic 6.5 for more 
on the structure of cities around the world.)
CHAPTER 16
394 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP
®
 EDITION
6.5
The Internal Structure of Cities
Essential Question: How do various models and theories explain the 
internal structure of cities?
Cities are enormously complex and important centers for much of the world’ s 
population. Since cities first emerged in human civilization, they have been 
centers of economic, political, and cultural power. They have been places of 
innovation. Cities are growing faster today than ever before in history and that 
trend is projected to continue.
Urban Models
Like most other models used by geographers, urban models are based on 
observations of real places. Though models vary, all models share certain 
functions:
• classifying and categorizing land use in urban areas
• describing how various urban land uses are segregated spatially
• offering explanations for the location of different urban land uses
Urban Zones
One principle underlying all urban models is functional zonation, the idea 
that portions of an urban area—regions, or zones, within the city—have specific 
and distinct purposes. The various zones fit together like a puzzle to create the 
entirety of the city. However, unlike a puzzle, the pieces of a city are not clearly 
delineated, and geographers have tried to identify and classify them with 
models. The resulting urban models provide geographers with a framework to 
describe, understand, and analyze cities. Urban areas around the world share 
three basic zones: the central business district, industrial/commercial, and 
residential.
Central Business District A vital part of any urban model is the central 
business district (CBD), which is the commercial heart of a city. Often 
located near the physical center of a city, or the crossroads where the city was 
founded, the CBD is the focus of transportation and services. The bid-rent 
theory explains agricultural land use, just as it helps explain land use in central 
business districts. This theory explains that land in the center of a city will have 
higher value than land farther away from the city’s center. Therefore, land use 
will be more intense and costs will be higher closer to the CBD. This means 
high-order services often dominate the CBD. 
395 6.5: THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF CITIES
BID-RENT THEORY FOR CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICTS
Z
1
Y
X
X
1
Y
1
Z
1
1. Central business district
2. Industrial zone
3. Residential zone 
    (highest density near center)
X-X
1
: Commerce is willing to pay 
         for the highest valued land
Y-Y
1
:  Industry is willing pay less 
         for land than commerce
Z-Z
1
: Residential land cost are 
         lower further from the CBD
1
2
3
Competition for valuable space in the CBD gives it certain characteristics:
• In some countries, including the United States and Canada, the CBD has 
skyscrapers and “underground cities” that might include facilities for 
parking, shopping, and rapid transit.
• In Europe, many CBDs are located in the historic heart of the city where 
buildings are shorter but services are still concentrated.
• Because the cost of land is high in CBDs, manufacturing activities are 
rarely located there.
• High costs and limited space often result in residential portions of CBDs 
having high-density housing, such as high-rise apartment buildings.  
The cultural landscape 
Chicago’s CBD is 
characterized by high rise 
office buildings, with few 
examples of residential life—
single-family homes, parks, 
grocery stores, or schools.
Industrial/Commercial Zone The zone outside the central business district 
is dedicated to industry. These industrial zones may include manufacturing, 
warehousing, and transportation. Industrial zones are generally separated 
from residential areas because they are associated with air and noise pollution. 
396 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP
®
 EDITION
Commercial areas with lower-order services and less-intensive land use are 
also found outside the CBD. Law firms might locate in the CBD, but department 
stores usually prefer commercial shopping zone with land values. 
Several factors influence the choice of locations for businesses within the 
commercial zone. First, the land is zoned for commercial use so they are legally 
allowed there. Second, some industries have a commensal relationship, which 
is when commercial interests benefit each other. For example, restaurants and 
theaters benefit by being in the same zone, as do clothing stores and shoe stores.
Residential Zone All cities have residential zones, areas where people 
live. These are generally separate from the CBD and industrial zones either 
legally—through government zoning—or simply by the choices of inhabitants. 
The different residential zones are distinct from one another. They may 
be segregated by density, income level, ethnic group, religion and culture, 
social status, or other characteristics. Which characteristic distinguishes the 
residential zones depends on the world region where the city is located.
Models of North American Cities
Three models describe typical urban areas in North America—the concentric 
zone model, sector model, and multiple-nuclei model. These “classic models” 
were based on the city of Chicago. It was a good place to examine urban 
structure without the complications caused by irregular topography.
Concentric Zones
The concentric zone model describes a city as a series of rings that surrounds 
a central business district. It is known as the Burgess model because sociologist 
E. W . Burgess proposed it in the 1920s. The first ring surrounding the CBD is a 
transition zone that mixes industrial uses with low-cost housing. Manufacturing 
benefits from proximity to the city-center workers and affordable land. Housing 
in this zone is often high-density, consisting of older, subdivided homes. 
The next three rings are residential. Moving outward, one is for working-
class housing, then one of more expensive housing, and finally, one of larger 
homes on the edge of the city and in the suburbs. With greater distance from 
the CBD, land is more plentiful and affordable, so residences are larger and 
of higher quality, and population densities decrease. 
Sectors
In the 1930s, economist Homer Hoyt developed the sector model, also called 
Hoyt’s model. While Burgess used land-use rings that grew outward from the 
CBD, Hoyt described how different types of land use and housing were all 
located near the CBD early in a city’s history. Each grew outward as the city 
expanded, creating wedges, or sectors of land use, rather than rings.
Hoyt’s model describes sectors of land use for low-, medium-, and 
high-income housing. The model locates the sectors for the low-income, 
lower-quality housing next to these industrial and transportation zones, and 
it places high-income residences extending in a wedge away from these zones 
Page 5


393 CHAPTER 16: URBAN STRUCTURE
Urban Structure
Topics 6.5–6.7
Topic 6.5 The Internal Structure of Cities
Learning Objective: Explain the internal structure of cities using various models 
and theories. (PSO-6.D)
Topic 6.6 Density and Land Use
Learning Objective: Explain how low-, medium-, and high-density housing  
characteristics represent different patterns of residential land use. (IMP-6.A)
Topic 6.7 Infrastructure
Learning Objective: Explain how a city’s infrastructure relates to local politics, 
society, and the environment. (IMP-6.B)
Like a piece of architecture, the city is a construction in space, but 
one of vast scale.
—Kevin Lynch, The Image of the City, 1960
Peripheral areas of cities in southeastern Brazil exhibit many of the visible landscape elements 
typical of favelas—steep slope, dense population, and poor construction. (See Topic 6.5 for more 
on the structure of cities around the world.)
CHAPTER 16
394 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP
®
 EDITION
6.5
The Internal Structure of Cities
Essential Question: How do various models and theories explain the 
internal structure of cities?
Cities are enormously complex and important centers for much of the world’ s 
population. Since cities first emerged in human civilization, they have been 
centers of economic, political, and cultural power. They have been places of 
innovation. Cities are growing faster today than ever before in history and that 
trend is projected to continue.
Urban Models
Like most other models used by geographers, urban models are based on 
observations of real places. Though models vary, all models share certain 
functions:
• classifying and categorizing land use in urban areas
• describing how various urban land uses are segregated spatially
• offering explanations for the location of different urban land uses
Urban Zones
One principle underlying all urban models is functional zonation, the idea 
that portions of an urban area—regions, or zones, within the city—have specific 
and distinct purposes. The various zones fit together like a puzzle to create the 
entirety of the city. However, unlike a puzzle, the pieces of a city are not clearly 
delineated, and geographers have tried to identify and classify them with 
models. The resulting urban models provide geographers with a framework to 
describe, understand, and analyze cities. Urban areas around the world share 
three basic zones: the central business district, industrial/commercial, and 
residential.
Central Business District A vital part of any urban model is the central 
business district (CBD), which is the commercial heart of a city. Often 
located near the physical center of a city, or the crossroads where the city was 
founded, the CBD is the focus of transportation and services. The bid-rent 
theory explains agricultural land use, just as it helps explain land use in central 
business districts. This theory explains that land in the center of a city will have 
higher value than land farther away from the city’s center. Therefore, land use 
will be more intense and costs will be higher closer to the CBD. This means 
high-order services often dominate the CBD. 
395 6.5: THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF CITIES
BID-RENT THEORY FOR CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICTS
Z
1
Y
X
X
1
Y
1
Z
1
1. Central business district
2. Industrial zone
3. Residential zone 
    (highest density near center)
X-X
1
: Commerce is willing to pay 
         for the highest valued land
Y-Y
1
:  Industry is willing pay less 
         for land than commerce
Z-Z
1
: Residential land cost are 
         lower further from the CBD
1
2
3
Competition for valuable space in the CBD gives it certain characteristics:
• In some countries, including the United States and Canada, the CBD has 
skyscrapers and “underground cities” that might include facilities for 
parking, shopping, and rapid transit.
• In Europe, many CBDs are located in the historic heart of the city where 
buildings are shorter but services are still concentrated.
• Because the cost of land is high in CBDs, manufacturing activities are 
rarely located there.
• High costs and limited space often result in residential portions of CBDs 
having high-density housing, such as high-rise apartment buildings.  
The cultural landscape 
Chicago’s CBD is 
characterized by high rise 
office buildings, with few 
examples of residential life—
single-family homes, parks, 
grocery stores, or schools.
Industrial/Commercial Zone The zone outside the central business district 
is dedicated to industry. These industrial zones may include manufacturing, 
warehousing, and transportation. Industrial zones are generally separated 
from residential areas because they are associated with air and noise pollution. 
396 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP
®
 EDITION
Commercial areas with lower-order services and less-intensive land use are 
also found outside the CBD. Law firms might locate in the CBD, but department 
stores usually prefer commercial shopping zone with land values. 
Several factors influence the choice of locations for businesses within the 
commercial zone. First, the land is zoned for commercial use so they are legally 
allowed there. Second, some industries have a commensal relationship, which 
is when commercial interests benefit each other. For example, restaurants and 
theaters benefit by being in the same zone, as do clothing stores and shoe stores.
Residential Zone All cities have residential zones, areas where people 
live. These are generally separate from the CBD and industrial zones either 
legally—through government zoning—or simply by the choices of inhabitants. 
The different residential zones are distinct from one another. They may 
be segregated by density, income level, ethnic group, religion and culture, 
social status, or other characteristics. Which characteristic distinguishes the 
residential zones depends on the world region where the city is located.
Models of North American Cities
Three models describe typical urban areas in North America—the concentric 
zone model, sector model, and multiple-nuclei model. These “classic models” 
were based on the city of Chicago. It was a good place to examine urban 
structure without the complications caused by irregular topography.
Concentric Zones
The concentric zone model describes a city as a series of rings that surrounds 
a central business district. It is known as the Burgess model because sociologist 
E. W . Burgess proposed it in the 1920s. The first ring surrounding the CBD is a 
transition zone that mixes industrial uses with low-cost housing. Manufacturing 
benefits from proximity to the city-center workers and affordable land. Housing 
in this zone is often high-density, consisting of older, subdivided homes. 
The next three rings are residential. Moving outward, one is for working-
class housing, then one of more expensive housing, and finally, one of larger 
homes on the edge of the city and in the suburbs. With greater distance from 
the CBD, land is more plentiful and affordable, so residences are larger and 
of higher quality, and population densities decrease. 
Sectors
In the 1930s, economist Homer Hoyt developed the sector model, also called 
Hoyt’s model. While Burgess used land-use rings that grew outward from the 
CBD, Hoyt described how different types of land use and housing were all 
located near the CBD early in a city’s history. Each grew outward as the city 
expanded, creating wedges, or sectors of land use, rather than rings.
Hoyt’s model describes sectors of land use for low-, medium-, and 
high-income housing. The model locates the sectors for the low-income, 
lower-quality housing next to these industrial and transportation zones, and 
it places high-income residences extending in a wedge away from these zones 
397 6.5: THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF CITIES
along wide tree-lined boulevards or on higher ground. The model also notes 
a sector for transportation extending from the city’s center to the edge. This 
sector would contain rail, canal, and other transport networks within it. The 
transportation sector would also favor an adjacent zone of manufacturing. 
Multiple Nuclei
Geographers Chauncy Harris and Edward Ullman developed the Harris and 
Ullman multiple-nuclei model by studying changes in cities in the 1940s. This 
model suggested that functional zonation occurred around multiple centers, 
or nodes. The characteristics of each node either attracted or repelled certain 
types of activities. The result was a city that consisted of a patchwork of land 
uses, each with its own center, or nucleus.
In the multiple-nuclei model, the CBD and related functions continued 
to exist but were joined by smaller business districts that emerged in the 
suburbs. A zone of industry could be in a variety of locations, including the 
traditional CBD or port, or it could move to new outlying locations near an 
airport or other transportation junction. This industrial zone would attract 
related industries and an area of higher density housing. A university or a 
business park might attract nearby restaurants, theaters, and other amenities. 
As a result, people might create a district of student housing or high-quality 
homes nearby.
The peripheral model, a variant of the multiple-nuclei model, describes 
suburban neighborhoods surrounding an inner city and served by nodes of 
commercial activity along a ring road or beltway. This model’s name derives 
from the role of the service nodes with the related suburbs that develop on the 
periphery of the original city. 
URBAN LAND-USE MODELS
Central business district
Light manufacturing
Low-cost residential
Moderate-cost residential
High-cost residential
Heavy manufacturing
Outlying business district
Suburban residential
Suburban industrial
Central business district
Low-cost residential
Moderate-cost residential
High-cost residential
Industrial
Transportation
Education and recreation
Central business district
Transition zone
Low-cost residential
Moderate-cost residential
Commuters’ zone
Multiple-Nuclei Model Sector Model Concentric Zone Model