Transcript URBAN MORPHOLOGY

URBAN
MORPHOLOGY
some (very general) geometrical
regularities
[graphics from The Human Mosaic
by Terry Jordan-Bychkov and Mona
Domosh]
Why model urban morphology?
To explain urban processes
 To permit comparison between cities
 To help predict urban changes
 Not a good strategy for predicting smallscale variations and peculiarities in the
urban fabric
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Zone Model
Zone Model
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Ernest Burgess
1920s
Sociologist at the
University of Chicago
Invasion and succession
drove formation of
concentric rings
An ecological model, with
ethnic groups as the
species
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His model included “Little
Sicily,” Chinatown,
Deutschland, “underworld
roomers,” “single-family
dwellings,” and
“bungalow section”
Pertained to early 20th c.
Chicago in time of
European immigration
Zone Model (additional factors)
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Burgess’ model is
obsolete now, partly
because of changes in
theoretical approach and
partly because of
changes in the city
Still, zones appear
because accessibility
drives land rent and land
in the CBD remains more
valuable than in the
periphery
As we will see there are
now multiple nuclei
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different land uses
benefit different
amounts from
accessibility
Different distancedecay slopes
 retail
(steepest slope)
 factories
 warehouses
 housing (most shallow
slope)
The
logic
behind
the
model
Actual Land Values in
San Francisco 1926-27
Note prominent
shopping corridors
complicating the zonal
pattern and driving the
formation of sectors
Types of housing reflect land rent
Montreal, Canada
the CBD
The
Transition
Zone
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Core
Frame
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Zone of
assimilation
(residential
gentrification
and landuse
transformation)
Zone of discard
Suburban strip-mall (middle income
residential)
The ethnic theme (Vietnamese) does not disrupt the
essential features of this place.
New neighborhoods (commuter residential)
Sector Model
Old industrial development axis
Canal de Lachine,
Montreal
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Old linear feature
dating from 19th c.
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Enduring area of
working-class
housing
Sector Model
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Homer Hoyt
1930s
wedges form along
transportation
corridors
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 railroads
& canals
lined by industrial
districts
 main roads & some
waterfronts lined by
houses of the
wealthy
Households of
different income and
ethnic groups filter
towards outer edge in
the pre-established
direction
 Vacancy
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chain
Freeways do not
follow this pattern
 why
not?
Sectors and
zones in a real
city (Chicago)
What accounts for the
high-income sector north of
the CBD?
Multi-nucleated metropolis
(Harris & Ullman)
Why are some industrial regions located in the transition
zone and others are at the outskirts of the city? (hint: think
of economic utility in conjunction with urban growth)
Low-rent residential (DC)
Decentralized city
What might be happening near to the pedestrian mall?
Festival marketplace (Quincy Market,
Boston)
Decentralized city
Why is the newest housing separated from the rest of the city?
Leapfrog development
Office park
locations
in Atlanta,
GA
Office park
Gated Community
What are 3 factors that determine where the richest families will live?
Factors affecting where the
richest families will live
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6.
lower cost of land
newer infrastructure
access to desired facilities and
geographical locations (what are these?)
negative perception of certain social
groups (racism and classism)
status-seeking behavior
willingness and ability to commute
Factors affecting where the
poorest families will live
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
scarcity of affordable housing
inability to avoid inadequate or
decaying infrastructure
inability to maximize access to desired
facilities
spatial avoidance by those in more
favored groups
ability/inability to commute (creates
two zones of low-income housing)