Urban Land Use Zones: Managing Problems in and around the CBD

There are a number of problems faced in the Central Business District area:

1. Lack of Space and High costs of Land
Due to the accessibility and prime location of land in the CBD, the resulting high density land use and competition for available buildings means that the costs of land and consquently rents are very high. National chain stores therefore dominate these areas as they are able to outcompete smaller, independent stores which cannot afford to pay such high rents.

2. Urban decline
With the growth of out-of-town shopping centres, some CBD's have seen the outward movement of many of the larger stores to take prime sites in these out-of-town complexes where there is room for expansion. The cheaper land in these suburban locations also enables stores to operate on a larger scale and pass on the benefits of economies of scale to customers (for more on this see this excellent article from Geography in the News). As stores move out, this has led to the decline of some CBD's. Shop units made vacant by large chain stores moving out, may stay empty as smaller / independent stores cannot afford the high land rents, whilst other chain stores are preferring to locate in the out-of-town locations. Empty buildings can attract crime and vandalism and gradually CBD's affected by this start to suffer urban decline.

General Urban Problems

1. Pollution
With the high volumes of traffic and congestion and the high numbers of pedestrians using the central area, problems of noise, visual and atmospheric pollution have become an issue in some CBDs.

2. Traffic Congestion
With the great accesibility of the CBD and the increase in car ownership, urban traffic problems have become a real issue in many cities.

A Case Study of Traffic Management in an Urban Area: Cambridge

As part of the syllabus you are expect to know a case study of manging problems in urban areas. Our case study is Traffic Management in Cambridge.

Before we look at Cambridge specifically, lets consider the general causes and effects of Traffic problems in urban areas.

Why has Traffic in urban areas increased?
* increased car ownership (due to an increase in disposable income)
* reduced use of public transport
* an increase in commuting (for work, shopping, entertainment etc.)

What are the problems that result?
As well as the problems of visual, atmospheric and noise pollution, the environment is also affected as more land is required to build car parks, widen roads and build new roads to cope with the volumes of traffic. Congestion resulting in traffic jams can significantly delay travel times and result in people being late for work as well as valuable time being wasted whilst trying to locate parking spaces etc. An increased risk of accidents, health problems resulting from the increased fumes (particularly irritating respiratory illnesses such as asthma) and increased frustration / discomfort from overcrowding on public transport are some of the social problems experienced.

Traffic Management in Cambridge
So what is the specific problem in Cambridge and what is being done to try and manage the traffic in Cambridge? Although you will need to refer to your class notes for details, see the powerpoint below for a reminder of the key points of this case study.



Other Traffic Management Strategies

The London Congestion Charge has been in place since 2003. Although there the benefits of the scheme have been recognised - there have also been criticisms with reference to the impact of the charge on businesses. With the recent doubling in size of the London Congestion Charge zone there has been much in the news recently on proposals for 'road pricing' nationally.

Follow up links:
Technology and Traffic Management: London Case Study
Technology and Traffic Management: Global Case Studies
Reducing Congestion in Cities (BBC Bitesize)
An interesting article here on the London Congestion Charge and implications for other cities
UK's congestion schemes (BBC)
How would road charging work? (BBC)

Urban Land-use Zones: 1. The CBD

Zone 1 in the land use models is known as the Central Business District (CBD). The CBD is at the heart of a town or city and usually has great accessibility as it is often the place where most road and rail routes meet.

So what are the main characteristics of a CBD? Have a look at the following powerpoint - look at the photographs in the first 4 slides for clues and then continue to see what characteristics they are actually showing.



CBD Characteristics
You will need to be able to describe and where appropriate explain the main characteristics of the CBD. Where possible always try and give examples related to areas you know (e.g. Cambridge and St Ives)

- Old Core - often narrow streets / historical core (e.g. The Backs in Cambridge)
- Very Accessible - due to the convergence of major rail and road routes (often find public transport meets here - e.g. railway stations / bus stations)
- Traffic Restrictions are often in place to deal with the large numbers of traffic and ensure safety for the high numbers of pedestrians.
- Often has a central Market square area (e.g. Cambridge and St Ives)
- Very High Land Values - due to lack of space and competition for land
- Little/ No Residential Land Use - due to high land-values there is usually no residential land-use apart from the possibility of some flats above shops
- Multistorey buildings - due to high land values resulting in building up rather than out!
- Shops Offices and specialist buildings e.g. Banks, buildings societies etc. (need to be accessible and can afford the high land values)
- Mainly National Chain stores (have high threshold population and can afford the high land-values associated with the CBD - e.g. M&S; WHS; Next etc. in Cambridge)
- High numbers of pedestrians
- 2 daily rush hours (am and pm)
- Many now have undercover shopping centres (e.g. Lion Yard - Cambridge)
- Presence of public buildings / government buildings (e.g. Town Hall etc.)
- museums / castles / historical buildings (e.g. Cambridge - museums / University buildings)
- Entertainment - restaurants, clubs etc.

Follow up Links:
Central Business District (Wikipedia Entry)
BBC Bitesize (Central Business District)

Key Term Check:
Threshold Population: minimum number of people needed to justify the provision of a service or presence of a certain shop
CBD: Central Business District

Urban Land Use Models

Land-use models have been put forward on the basis of the idea that towns and cities do not grow in a haphazard fashion, rather they tend to develop distinctive patterns of land-use as they grow and develop. Land-use models are simplified diagrams which are used to represent the pattern of land-use functions within a town or city. It should however be remembered that these are simplifications of reality and it is unlikely that any model will fit every town and city perfectly.

Two of the land-use models we often refer to are the Burgess Concentric Ring Model and the Hoyt sector model

The Burgess Model
This model was based on a study of land-use in Chicago. Burgess suggests that cities grow outwards from the CBD in a series of concentric rings of land-use. The oldest part of the city is at the centre and the newest part on the outer edge. The quality and size of housing increases with distance from the CBD, although the height of buildings tends to be greatest close to the Central Area, where land-values are high and space is at a premium. The quality and size of houses increases with distance from the CBD but the density of housing decreases as more space is available.

The Hoyt Sector Model
Hoyt's model modified that of Burgess following the development of public transport. His model suggests that transport and physical features were important, with industrial areas developing outwards in sectors along main transport routes (roads, rivers and canals) and housing growing up around these.

The Land-use zones identified in the models are:
1. CBD (Central Business District) - located at the centre of the city often at the convergence of rail and road routes. Contains many commerical activities, shops, entertainment and also business activities.
2. Inner City (also known as the Twilight or Transition Zone) - mixed land-use containing small industries as well as high-density residential land-use - often characterised by terraced housing.
3. Inner Suburbs - residential areas which developed during the 1920s/30s - often semi-detached houses in a distinctive 1920s/30s style with bay windows and front / back gardens.
4. Outer Suburbs - residential areas which grew up later as greater public transport and private car ownership allowed people to live further out from their places of work. These houses are often semi-detached / detached with larger gardens and garages.
5. Rural-urban fringe - this is right on the edge of towns and cities and is mainly low density, private housing (often larger detached properties); new industrial estates / business parks and facilities requiring larger open spaces such as golf courses;

It is important that you have a good understanding of the reasons for the growth and development of each of the land-use zones and that you are able to describe their main characteristics. In an exam you may be given maps or photographs and be expected to suggest which land-use zone they represent based on the features that can be seen (i.e. based on style of housing, density etc.).


Land-Use in Cambridge

Cambridge is a good example of a city with distinct urban land-use zones. The city stands on the east bank of the River Cam and developed here as it was an area of flat land and at the lowest bridging point across the river.

The city itself dates back to Roman times and has steadily grown up as an important trading centre and an important University town. In the centre of the city close to the historic core, as well as the old university buildings, which dominate, the land-uses are mainly commercial, and business in the CBD. One of the most important developments in the growth of Cambridge was the coming of the railway which was built in 1845. At this time residential areas began to expand more rapidly, with early Victorian terraced housing (inner city zone) which began to be developed out towards the railway station to the east of the city.

In the 20th century, the population grew even faster and houses were built along the main roads which converged on Cambridge. This is known as ribbon development. The houses were often inter-war semi-detached houses and now began to be built with garages as car ownership began to increase (inner and outer suburbs). This meant that now villages such as Cherry Hinton were being incorporated into Cambridge. This is known as suburbanisation.

Since the 1960's, modern housing estates have also grown up around the city. Some are council built, such as some of the houses at Kings Hedges while others are privately owned. (rural-urban fringe developments)

Follow Up Links:
The Burgess Urban Land-use Model - a detailed overview of the model and some of its criticisms
Urban Land-use patterns in MEDCs
BBC Bitesize - Urban Land-use Models
S-cool - Urban Morphology

Key Term Check:
Burgess Model - concentric ring model based on rings of land-use grown outwards from the CBD (with oldest buildings in the centre of the city, decreasing with age with distance from the CBD whilst wealth of inhabitants increases with distance)
Hoyt Model - sector model - wedges of land-use development determined more by major transport routes.