Central Business District
The innermost zone is the Central Business District (CBD). In Chicago, Burgess identified this as being the area called the Loup in that particular city. It is the core of the city – the centre of the commercial, social and civil life. It is also the focus of routes and is therefore, in theory, the most accessible part of the settlement. It includes the main theatres, cinemas, clubs, department stores, specialist shops, hotels and head offices of large companies.
Transitional Zones
This is also called the Twilight Zone, which surrounds the central core and contains older houses which are usually deteriorating and becoming either slum property or being taken over by the housing business or industry. This is the area which through necessity attracts immigrants and other poorer social groups.
Low Class Residential
This zone contains the housing for the lower paid groups of people who have perhaps moved out from zone two but who are still compelled by travelling costs or rents to live near their work.
Medium Class Residential
Outwards again is the residential zone containing better classed housing. These are largely single-facility dwellings and may be private properties or council-owned.
High Class Residential
Finally there is the high class zone of residential properties where people can afford exclusive properties and the high cost of commuting. This zone may be on the urban fringe or may take the form of commuter villages situated beyond the designated green belt of the settlement.
- Section Model – Hoyt Model
H.S. Hoyt in 1939 supported Burgess’s view that zones expand away from the city centre, but not concentrically. He suggested that once a sector of a city acquired certain characteristics, these would tend to be maintained as the sector expanded outwards with the urban growth. Thus, an industrial sector will tend to develop along a major route way out of a city centre and a high class residential sector will continue to grow outwards towards the urban-rural fringe.
2
DATA COLLECTION
& PRESENTATION
- DATA COLLECTION & PRESENTATION
On the 31st May, we made a field trip to Bangor to collect data.
The five main areas of collection were;
- Land Use
- Building Heights
- Rateable Values
- Pedestrian Density
- Parking
The streets we chose were;
- Main Street
- High Street
- Bridge Street
- Central Avenue
- Hamilton Road
- Abbey Street
- Castle Street
- Dufferin Avenue
We chose these streets because they were easily covered on foot in one day. They have a wide range of commercial activity, so we have good opportunities for research. The chosen streets seem to cover main commercial area.
The data sheets could cover building heights and land use. While we were walking we could recover both sets of information at the same time. We took data for every building we passed. Land Use was marked on the Left side of the page and Building Heights on the right.
We used the following classification to abbreviate so we would save time;
- Commercial – C
- Pub/Restaurant – P
- Open Space – O
- Banks/Offices – B
- Hall/Church – H
- Park/Playing Field – PK
- Residential – R
- Derelict - D
2.2 Building Heights
For building heights, we used the height of the building in storeys.
- Rateable Values
The rateable value is found by taking a few sample buildings from each main street. Measure the front footage and then find out rateable values from the Bangor Rates Office (Hamilton Road)
Index – Rateable Value
Front Footage
You then average this to give the rateable value of three types of building – Private Dwelling, Shop and Office. These rateable values are multiplied by the commercial or domestic rate to give the final rateable value which is paid to the council every year.
2.4 Pedestrian Density
Measurement of the Pedestrian Density in particular areas was another way of trying to determine the CBD of Bangor was located. Whilst collecting data in Bangor, 10 pedestrian counts were taken at certain locations moving further away from the town centre. These are shown on the location map; each count lasted 10 minutes counting the number of people heading towards the town centre. These results are shown below in the table and on the graph.
These results were the used as the basis for Spearman’s Rank Correlation. The new table is as follows;
RS=1-6x∑d2
n3-n
1-6x298
990
=0.81
This result shows a strong negative correlation between the distance from the town centre and the number of pedestrians. In this case as you move away from the town of Bangor the number of pedestrians decreases.
- Parking Restrictions
Parking restrictions (single, double yellow lines etc) were assessed to determine if the parking restrictions changed as you moved away from the CBD. The parking restrictions had to include extra streets so we could include the residential streets as well and not just the main, traffic heavy roads. Records were taken from both sides of the street.
Spearman’s Rank
This measures the relationship and degrees of association between two sets of data; in this case between the number of pedestrians and the town centre. The limits are +1 and -1, the greater the association, the closer the values will be between +1 and -1.
Rank 1 is given to the highest value, rank 2 to the next and so on. This is done for each set of data. When some values share the same rank, they are tied ranks and assigned the median value of the 2 or more ranks. For example, if there are 2 rank values for rank 3, rank 3 and 4 will be added together and divided by 2, therefore giving a rank value of 3.5. The next rank after that would be 5. After putting each set of data into rank order, the difference in rank (D) between each value is squared (D2). The values of D2 are then summed giving ∑d2 which forms the basis of the formula:
RS=1-6x∑d2
n3-n
where n= the number of samples.
Once a value is obtained the critical value, tables are used to see the strength of significance. If the value is greater than the critical value it’s possible to accept that there is a significant relationship between the two values, in this case, between pedestrians and distance from the town centre. Ten points were chosen throughout Bangor, these are indicated on the next map.
3
DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION
- Building Heights
For building heights we were asked to test the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis (Ho)
<<There is no significant relationship between average building heights and distance from the town centre>>
Alternative Hypothesis (Hi)
<<There is a significant relationship between average building heights and distance from the town centre>>
I decided to collect the data in a series of charts as follows on the next page:
Picture showing the undulating building heights in
High Street.
Picture showing the amount of 3-storey houses
In Dufferin Avenue.
You can see that High Street has the greatest number of two storey buildings, while Dufferin Avenue has the most three storey buildings.
I believe the reason for this is that the streets were all built at different times when different building styles were used. You can see this clearly in Dufferin Avenue as the Victorian terraces built near the start of the century all tended to be 3 storey buildings whereas 1970s style housing tended to be two storeys.
- Land Use
Assessment of land use data shows the type of buildings in a certain street, whether it was Commercial, Banks, Offices or Residential. We were asked to prove the following hypothesis;
Hypothesis (Ho)
<<There is no significant relationship between the average land use and the distance from the town centre>>
Alternative Hypothesis (Hi)
<< There is a significant relationship between the average land use and the distance from the town centre>>
The data gathered from each street was analysed and shown in the following charts;
- Parking Restrictions
In Bangor, there are different types of parking permitted in certain areas. These streets can be seen on the enclosed parking sheets. The different types of parking were – limited parking, single yellow, double yellow, no restrictions and parking bays.
We were asked to prove the following hypothesis;
Hypothesis (Ho)
<<There is no significant relationship between the average parking restrictions and the town centre>>
Alternative Hypothesis (Hi)
<<There is a significant relationship between the average parking restrictions and the town centre>>
In the photo over the page you can see the parking restrictions in Main Street – namely Parking Bays and Double Yellow.
From the sheet of results there appears to be little correlation between distance from the town centre and parking restrictions. In the commercial area of Bangor, i.e. Main Street, High Street and Queens Parade, parking is essential, although badly formed parking would block up the busy roads leading to the seafront. The solution to this is parking bays created from the pavement. This works as it does not affect the size of the road and traffic flow while keeping customers is in close proximity to the shops.
As you move away from the town centre, there does not seem to be much deviation on parking restrictions. There are mostly room for residents parking only, forcing visitors to park in the out of town car parks provided. An example of this is Central Avenue shown in the photo overleaf;
Consequently, I believe analysis of the Parking Restrictions supports Hi as in the town centre parking is mainly restricted to remove as much congestion as possible whereas outside Bangor’s CBD the parking is mainly unrestricted for residential areas and double yellow in the areas between Bangor’s CBD and the residential areas.
- Pedestrian Density
Spearman’s Rank
This measures the relationship and degrees of association between two sets of data; in this case between the number of pedestrians and the town centre. The limits are +1 and -1, the greater the association, the closer the values will be between +1 and -1.
Rank 1 is given to the highest value, rank 2 to the next and so on. This is done for each set of data. When some values share the same rank, they are tied ranks and assigned the median value of the 2 or more ranks. For example, if there are 2 rank values for rank 3, rank 3 and 4 will be added together and divided by 2, therefore giving a rank value of 3.5. The next rank after that would be 5. After putting each set of data into rank order, the difference in rank (D) between each value is squared (D2). The values of D2 are then summed giving ∑d2 which forms the basis of the formula:
RS=1-6x∑d2
n3-n
where n= the number of samples.
Once a value is obtained the critical value, tables are used to see the strength of significance. If the value is greater than the critical value it’s possible to accept that there is a significant relationship between the two values, in this case, between pedestrians and distance from the town centre. Ten points were chosen throughout Bangor, these are indicated on the next map.
From these places on the map the number of people who walked past towards the CBD were counted in a ten minute period.
We were asked to decide which of the following hypothesis was the more conclusive;
Hypothesis (Ho)
<<There is no significant relationship between pedestrian density and the distance from the town centre>>
Alternative Hypothesis (Hi)
<<There is a significant relationship between pedestrian density and the distance from the town centre>>
You can see a busy area right in the middle of the CBD whereas another area away from the CBD is deserted (photo overleaf)
Analysis of this data shows that:
Equation - Rs = 1 – 6x318
103-10
Rs= -0.93
Therefore given that Rs is close to -1, we can conclude that there is a strong relationship between pedestrian data and the CBD. Hence, pedestrian count supports H1. It is a negative correlation.
- Rateable Values
The rateable values were collected from the rates office on Hamilton Road in Bangor. Ten random properties were chosen from each street. These were then averaged to give the rateable value of three types of dwelling;
These rateable values are multiplied by the commercial or domestic rate to give the final rateable value, which is paid to the Council each year.
We were asked to prove the following Hypothesis.
Hypothesis (Ho)
<<There is no significant relationship between rateable values and distance from the CBD>>
Alternative Hypothesis (Hi)
<<There is a significant relationship between rateable values and distance from the CBD>>
On the combined bar chart of rateable values above, it shows that on every street, shops had the highest rateable value, second was offices and third were private dwellings. This shows that if the shops have the highest rateable value, they are likely to be placed near the CBD. Judging by the graph, I believe that the CBD of Bangor is in and around Main Street. High Street disagreed with my prediction of it being in the CBD as it has relatively low rates.
In addiction, Main Street and Bridge Street has no private dwellings, further reinforcing the idea that they are in the CBD. Assuming this, it could be assumed that rateable values would decrease with distance from the CBD. For example, the rateable values of in Dufferin Avenue are 75% lower than those in Main Street.
Analysis of rateable values supports the hypothesis Hi that the CBD of Bangor can be delimited using this data.
4
CONCLUSIONS
- Land Use
Assessment of land use data showed that there was a direct relationship between the types of buildings on a certain street whether it was Commercial, Bank, Offices, Pub etc and the CBD.
From the picture above, it shows that land use in High Street is mainly Commercial with some Pubs / Restaurants. This is mainly the case the whole way to the top of the street.
From the picture of Dufferin Avenue you can see it is nearly entirely Residential. Thus, you would expect it to be far away from the CBD, which it is.
From this picture of Hamilton Road you can see it is also residential, with a few Halls / Churches dotted along the road. Hamilton Road is also outside the CBD, which is reflected in its residential tendency’s.
One of the churches on Hamilton Road.
The graph shown above is the comparison of land use for a sample of streets in Bangor. It shows the highest area of commercial buildings is in High Street followed by Main Street and decreasing as you move away from the CBD.
Consequently, land use supported Hi, as there is a significant relationship between land use and the distance from the CBD of Bangor.
The typical land use in Central Avenue
- Building Heights
For building heights we were asked to test the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis (Ho)
<<There is no significant relationship between average building heights and distance from the town centre>>
Alternative Hypothesis (Hi)
<<There is a significant relationship between average building heights and distance from the town centre>>
A photograph showing building heights in Main Street. You can see the different building heights along the street.
Building heights in Hamilton Road. These seem to be a lot more consistent although this is not the case everywhere.
From the graph over the page you can see that High Street has the greatest amount of two storey buildings and Dufferin Avenue has the most 3 storey buildings.
By comparing the data on all the streets it is clear that there is absolutely no direct relationship between the heights of buildings and distance from the CBD. Therefore, my results supported the hypothesis Ho.
- Pedestrian Density
In order to collect data for this, ten points were chosen on a map of Bangor and the people who walked past were counted and placed on a table.
The line graph above shows pedestrian density. It shows clearly that, with a few exceptions, the pedestrian density fell steadily the further away from the CBD you go.
The picture on the last page was taken outside the CBD, and you can clearly see the lack of pedestrians.
This photo was taken in the heart of the CBD and you can see the large amount of pedestrians.
Thus you can you the data recorded to prove that pedestrian count supported hypothesis Hi as it was a valid way of delimiting the CBD of Bangor.
- Rateable Values
The information for the rateable values was gathered from the rate office on the Hamilton Road. The data showed that the rates for shops were the highest among all land uses. More importantly, the data was able to show that the further away from the town centre, the cheaper the rates got.
High Street (High Rates)
Central Avenue (Low Rates)
The assessment this data showed that the rateable value of property decreased with distance from the CBD of Bangor. This criteria supported hypothesis Hi that could be used to delimit the CBD of Bangor.
- Parking Restrictions
Central Avenue – Double Yellow
To collect this data, streets were chosen and the data was logged on worksheets to investigate different types of paring restrictions in Bangor. The idea was that the more restricted the parking, the closer you would be to the CBD. The data here supported Hypothesis Ho. There was no valid way of showing the CBD of Bangor using these criteria.
5
EVALUATION
- Evaluation
When I went to Bangor it was a very beautiful day with lots of pedestrians.
I think Bangor was an excellent area to study as it could easily be covered on foot in one school day and the layout of the route was well thought out. It was a simple town as well as it followed a scheme and it was not complicated by multiple CBD’s etc.
I also think that if I was to extend the project I would enlarge my area of study to encompass outer boundary areas of interest such as Bloomfield Shopping Centre. It would be interesting to discover if the pedestrian density would increase as you neared the shopping centre.