Details and Characteristics of a typical British town
The CBD of a town is an area which mainly has the following characteristics:-
Lack of housing:
The CBD is more of an area where business and commerce reside, exceptions include penthouse flats in large centres.
Not much open space:
More space in areas like suburbs/outskirts.
High rise buildings:
This is due to competition for land and high rents, it costs less to build upwards.
Lack of industry:
Industry tends to be situated on the outskirts where land is cheaper and there is more of it.
Commercial land use:
Most buildings tend to be used for certain types of function e.g. shops and offices.
No Greenfield sites
Where the highest land values and the greatest densities of pedestrians tends to be the shopping area of the CBD, offices are placed in areas where land value is lower. Department stores group in close proximity to the peak land value intersection (usually the ‘main street’) where high density pedestrian flows are depended on. Corner sites for shops give advantage to businesses due to the extra visibility to customers, competition for these sites is very high because shops and offices need to locate where they can attract the most custom. Today, Residential zones have been driven out of the CBD whereas they once used to be fashionable, now the land in the CBD is so expensive few can afford it.
