Ch. 13.2 Models of Urban Structure
The 3 models show that cities grow in rings, wedges & nodes.
Main Points of this Section
Sociologists, economics, and geographers have developed three models to help explain where different types of people tend to live in an urban area. The three models describing the internal structure of cities were developed in Chicago. Since Chicago developed on a flat prairie, few physical features interrupted the growth of the city and its region.
Classic models of urban structures 1
Classic models of urban structure 2
Classic models of urban structure 3
Three Models
According the the concentric zone model, created in 1923 by sociologist E. W. Burgess, a city grows outward from a central are in a series of five concentric rings, like the growth rings of a tree. According to the sector model, developed in 1939 by land economist Homer Hoyt, the city develops in a series of sectors. According to the multiple choice model, created by C. D. Harries and E. L. Ullman in 1945, a city is a complex structure that includes more than one center around which activities revolve.