Factors accounting for different land use patterns in urban areas
Answers
Explanation:
•The Pattern of Urban Land Use :
Application of the Von Thunen model
The Von Thunen theory of location based on transport costs from a central
market produces a pattern of concentric zones, each zone specialising in a par-
ticular type of agricultural produce. By substituting 'general accessibility' for
'transport costs' we can apply the Von Thunen model to urban areas.
Let us assume: (i) there are just two types of urban user, commercial and re-
sidential; (ii) all urban users prefer to be near the centre of the town because of
its accessibility; (iii) commercial users can outbid residential users for the
CBD; (iv) differences in transport routes and topography can be ignored.
The outcome will be a commercial zone of radius OC surrounded by a resi-
dential zone (Ftgure 14.1). Similarly, land values will fall from the centre to the
periphery as indicated by the thick line LP which shows the highest bid at any
point.
. • A general pattern of land use:
Basically the locational pattern ofland use in an urban area is a reflection of
the demand for and supply of sites. By a process of competition, a site will be
secured by that use which can extract the greatest return from the accessibility
advantages since it can offer the highest rent. Thus a broad zonal arrangement
focused on the centre emerges because similar or functionally-related activities
locate at the same distance from the centre of the urban area, with other uses
being excluded (Ftgure 14.2). Allowing for its simplified assumptions, there-
fore, the Von Thunen model can explain: (i) the pattern ofland use of the urban.area; (ii) the fall in land values from the centre to the periphery; and (iii) how
the urban area grows, since each zone tends to expand into the next as popula-
tion and economic growth occur. The basic pattern eventually results - a sep-
aration between workplace and residence.
Any current pattern, however, is continually being modified through changes
in: (a) the size and composition of the city's population; (b) the level and distri-
bution of income; (c) technology, such as the development of road transport and
information technology; (d) the social and economic organisation of commu-
nity life- for example, TV, Sunday shopping, multi-car ownership; (e) govern-
ment policy - for example, its presumption against further out-of-town
shopping centres (PPG 6); green belts; (f) the growth of the urban area.
In response to such factors, land-use alters by: (a) adapting existing space -
by, for example, dividing large houses into flats; (b) changing the type of use,
such as large houses into offices; (c) demolition and rebuilding; (d) infilling on
vacant land within city boundaries; (e) expanding outwards from the periph-
ery; (f) the development of dormitory areas - for instance, around railway sta-
tions - which eventually form separate nuclei, even eventually becoming part
of the urban area as further expansion takes place.
In most urban areas it is possible to distinguish, in a highly simplified form,
certain broad, but irregular concentric zones, as follows.
•Thank you •
