1 – Central Business District (CBD)
2 – Wholesale, light manufacturing
3 – Low Class Residential
4 – Middle Class Residential
5 – High Class Residential
The strengths of The Hoyt Model…
- Allows for a more complex view of what a city looks like.
- Displays that some areas grows outwards faster than others.
The main weaknesses of The Hoyt Model…
- General conclusions over-emphasize the characteristics of the places where the studies are undertaken (it is still not entirely accurate to the real world).
Geography – Settlement Processes & Patterns – Urban Models 29/03/03
Page Three
The Mann Model (1965)
Mann used the ideas of Burgess and Hoyt to apply a model to cities within the United Kingdom. The Mann Model takes into account the age of residential areas, and these are identified within the diagram itself. As well as these features, he included surrounding settlements within the model.
Key to The Mann Model…
1 – CBD
2 – Transitional zone (small terraced houses in sectors C and D and large old houses in sector A
3 – Pre 1918 housing
4 – Post 1918 residential areas, with post 1945 development mainly on the periphery
5 – Commuting distance dormitory settlement
A – Middle class sector
B – Lower middle class sector
C – Working class sector (and main council estates)
D – Industry and lowest working class sector
The strengths of The Mann Model…
- It applies to not only US cities but UK ones as well.
The main weaknesses of The Mann Model…
- The model cannot be applied to a map, unlike The Robson Model (see next page).
Geography – Settlement Processes & Patterns – Urban Models 29/03/03
Page Four
The Robson Model (1963)
Robson tried to apply the US models to the layout and land uses found in the UK city of Sunderland. Basic land features such as rivers and coastal areas are allowed for in The Robson Model. Something to note in the following diagram is the large quantities of low and medium classed housing. Also observe the industrial areas are situated along the river bank.
What are the strengths of the model…
- The model can be “overlaid” onto a map to give the viewer a better overview of how the city is laid out and the reasons for it being this way.
- Geographical features such as rivers and coastal regions can be included in the diagram.
What are the main weaknesses of the model…
- The model begins to become more complex. It is not a good model for those who want a quick overview of what a city is like.
Geography – Settlement Processes & Patterns – Urban Models 29/03/03
Page Five
SAO PAULO CASE STUDY
1) What are the main social, economic and environmental problems of Sao Paulo?
Sao Paulo has a number of social, economic and environmental problems. With a population of 16.5m some problems are inevitably bound to arise.
As the city has grown in size and population, the water system has failed to maintain the quality of the cities water supply. It is directly linked to the illegal settlements of shanty towns which are located in the water supplies “catchment area” around the city. This is largely an environmental problem, because the water has lost its quality and therefore become polluted. Sao Paulo has also faced a water shortage for a long period of time, unless the water systems can provide the city with more water.
A social and perhaps even economical problem of Sao Paulo is that there is a shortage of housing for people. Since about 65% of Sao Paulo’s population growth is from urbanisation, this has been caused by rural to urban migration. The severe shortage of housing has led people to build their homes in Sao Paulo from scrap materials and wood, these areas of temporary accommodation are known as “Favelas”. In Favelas, there is no sewage supervision, water supply is often limited and poor, and disease is common and many of the people who live there are unemployed. The authorities in Sao Paulo have taken a number of steps to reduce problems in favelas. They have set up self-help schemes. This is when the local authority provides local residents with the materials needs to construct permanent accommodation. This includes breeze blocks and cement. The local residents provide the labour. The money saved can be spent on providing basic amenities such as electricity and water.
Sao Paulo from 1965 to 1988 the urbanised area increased by 200 km sq. The majority of this area was in use by illegal land sectors which resulted in an irregular road system with roads that did not connect and that were built without considering the “lay of the land” and other important essentials of traffic engineering. This pattern increased the difficulties in providing satisfactory public transit services to densely established areas. An inadequate road system is mainly a economic problem as it will cost the city money to maintain these “badly placed” roads, even if they are not being used.
2) What are the benefits to Brazil of having this large urban settlement?
The benefits to Brazil of having a large urban settlement such as Sao Paulo are that the city attracts foreign investors to the country. Businesses may wish to set up in Sao Paulo and begin trading there, this in turn brings money into the country and helps boost Brazil’s economy. Sao Paulo is most likely a “primate city”, which means it is twice as large (in population) than the second largest city in Brazil. Not only do primate cities dominate a country in size, they also dominate in the level of commerce, industry, services and wealth they obtain. Governments of countries which have a primate city often plough money into these cities in order to try to regenerate any run-down areas, and to continue to attract the foreign investors so that the city continues to grow and make money for the country. A city of Sao Paulo’s size (25m people) can create a lot of wealth for a country. Sao Paulo is the 5th largest city in the world, so businesses are likely to “set-up shop” in a city where there are lots of people (as people equal customers).