Zone model

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The ring model illustrated

The zone model (or rings model ) of the Urban Development in 1925/ 29 by Ernest W. Burgess developed and is the first of the three classic urban structure models in modern urban research. The model was developed using the example of the city of Chicago , which was affected by large waves of immigration at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century and thus showed enormous growth. Burgess made two basic assumptions:

  • The change in cities under the influence of location competition
  • The change in one sub-area has consequences for the other sub-areas

Burgess assumed that the city, with constant growth , extends in a circle around the city ​​center (“loop”) to the periphery and forms different zones with different uses. The immigrants initially settled in the immediate vicinity of the "Loop" in residential areas threatened by decay. This transition zone (“Zone in Transition”) was characterized by ghettoization and a large proportion of companies in light industry . The social status of the residents in the zones rose towards the periphery. After Burgess, the transition zone was followed by a workers' living area ("Zone of Workingmen's Homes"), a middle-class living area ("Residential Zone") and finally a commuter zone ("Commuting Zone") with a predominantly high-status population.

criticism

A fundamental problem in Burgess' model is that he only takes one center (the “loop”) into account and his model therefore does not deal with sub-centers and their effect on the city. Traffic-related differences in the various parts of the city and their effects on the layout of the zones are also insufficiently taken into account. It is also criticized that such homogeneous and symmetrical zones rarely occur in reality. If only because not the straight line distance to the center is decisive for the growth of a city outwards, but the time-cost expenditure, i.e. the accessibility. This is best guaranteed along arterial roads or railway lines. Therefore - initially in the USA - the idea has been developed that districts of different usage and social structures tend to be attached to the central city in wedge-shaped sectors. Homer Hoyt tried to solve these and other problems in his sector model and Harris and Ullman in their multi-core model .

See also

literature