City Growth and Spatial Planning

Theories
Definition of Terms
• Central Business
District (CBD)

• area of a town or city where

most of the commercial
activity is found. This area is
dominated by shops, offices,
entertainment venues, and
local government buildings.
Usually CBDs are
characterized by high rent
and rates, tall buildings, and
chain stores and is really
accessible to pedestrians.
• Bid-Rent
Theory –

• assumption that
land value and
rent decrease as
distance from
the central
business district
increases
Push and Pull Factors
 Multiplier Effect

• Process whereby one change sets in

motion a sequence of events that
result in decline or growth
 Poverty Cycle or Development Trap

• Set of factors or events by which poverty,

once started, is likely to continue unless
there is outside intervention. Once an area
or a person has become poor, this tends to
lead to other disadvantages, which may in
turn result in further poverty. This situation
is often found in inner-city areas and shanty
towns.
Poverty Cycle or Development
Trap

Lack of job skills

Poor education for Low wages, no

employment, poor

Poor housing &

accommodations
 Theories of Growth in Cities
• Concentric Zone Theory
• Sector Theory
• Multiple Nuclei Theory
• Urban Realms Theory
 Six processes at work in the city
1. Concentration —
differential
distribution of
population and
economic activities in
a city, and the
manner in which they
have focused on the CBD of Toronto, Canada

center of the city

 Six processes at work in the city
2. Decentralization — the
location of activity away
from the central city

Suburbanization
 Six processes at work in the city
3. Segregation — the
sorting out of
population groups
according to conscious
preferences for
associating with one Chinatown in London

group or another
through bias and
prejudice Gated
communities &
subdivisions
 Six processes at work in the city
4. Specialization —
similar to segregation
only refers to the
economic sector

Casinos & hotels in Las Vegas

Theater District on
Broadway, NY Times
Square
 Six processes at work in the city
5. Invasion — traditionally, a
process through which a
new activity or social group
enters an area

6. Succession — a new use or

social group gradually
replaces the former
occupants, i.e.
gentrification, adaptive
reuse
 Concentric zone model
• Developed in 1925 by Ernest W. Burgess

• A theory of urban ecology – that cities are

environments like those found in nature, governed by
the same forces that affects the natural ecosystem, i.e.,
competition

A model with
five zones.
Concentric Zone Theory (1925)
 Concentric zone model (1925)
• Zone 1 (CBD)

– The central business

district (CBD)
 Concentric zone model (1925)
• Zone 2 (Transition Zone)
– Mixed industrial and
residential land use

– Rooming houses, small

apartments, and
tenements

– Includes slums and skid

rows, many ethnic ghettos
 Concentric zone model (1925)
• Zone 3 (“Workingmen’s
Quarters”)
– Solid blue-collar close to
the factories

– Blue-collar workers
demanded better housing

– Often characterized by
ethnic neighborhoods
 Concentric zone model (1925)
• Zone 4 (“Better
Housing”)

– Middle-class area

– Commute to work in
the CBD
 Concentric zone model (1925)
• Zone 5
– Higher-income families

– Farthest end of trolley or

commuter railroad lines

– Spacious lots and large

houses

– To avoid congestion and

social heterogeneity
 Concentric zone model
(1925)
• Critics of the model
– Rarely were they linked to
totally surround the city

– Overemphasized residential
patterns and did not give
proper credit to other land
uses
 Sector model
(1939)

• Homer Hoyt, an economist

• High-rent districts shape the land-use structure of

the city

• Transportation routes set the pattern sectors or

wedges
Sector Theory (1939)
Sector Theory (1939)
 Sector model (1939)
• High-rent sector expands:
1. From CBD toward another nucleus of high-
rent buildings

2. Towards high ground, open space or along

waterfronts

3. Along the route of fastest transportation

 Criticism on the Sector model
• Generally along freeways
– Surrounding areas are often low-
rent districts (Contrary to Hoyt’s
theory)
– Freeways are imposed on existing
urban pattern
– Often built through low-rent areas
where land was cheaper and
political opposition was less
 Multiple nuclei model (1945)
• Suggested by Chauncey
Harris and Edward
Ullman in 1945

• CBD was not the sole

generator of change

• City developed with

equal intensity around
various points
 Multiple nuclei model (1945)
4 Factors that give rise to separate nuclei:
- certain activities require special activities
(CBD=accessibility;
warehousing/docks=waterfront;
low density housing=land)

- some activities group together because

they profit from cohesion
(financial/office district; medical district;
manufacturing districts)
-
 Multiple nuclei model (1945)
4 Factors that give rise to separate nuclei:
- - other activities are detrimental to
each other
(heavy industry and high rent resd’l; meat
packing plants and funeral homes)

- certain activities can not afford high

rents
(forced together in the low rent areas)
 Multiple nuclei model (1945)
• Equal weight must be given
to:
– An old community on city
outskirts around which new
suburbs clustered

– An industrial district that grew

from an original waterfront
location

– Low-income area that began

because of some social stigma
attached to site
 Urban Realms
Model (1964)
• James E. Vance Jr.

• a CBD, but multiple

suburbs that have
suburban downtowns,
also, a "New
Downtown" outside of
the CBD
Spatial Planning Theories
 Spatial Planning Theories
• Central Place Theory
• Growth Pole Theory
 Central Place Theory
(W. Christaller, 1933)

Central places (market town) provide goods and

services
– Higher-order central places – bigger market areas
and fewer and widely distributed (i.e., large
shopping arcades and malls, hypermarket)
 Central Place Theory
(W. Christaller, 1933)

Central places (market town) provide goods and

services
– Lower-order central places – smaller market areas
and provide goods/services that are bought more
frequently (i.e., newspaper stalls, groceries,
bakeries and post offices)
• Threshold – min.
market area
wherein
goods/services
become
economically viable

• Range – max.
distance which
consumers will
travel to purchase
goods/services
 Functional Hierarchies
• The larger the
settlements are in
size, the fewer in
number they will be,
i.e. there are many
small villages, but
relatively few large
cities.
 Functional Hierarchies
• The larger the
settlements grow in
size, the greater the
distance between
them, i.e. villages
are usually found
close together, while
cities are spaced
much further apart.
 Functional Hierarchies
• As a settlement
increases in size, the
range and number
of its functions will
increase ., i.e. more
higher-order places,
greater degree of
specialization
Cultural Center

Specialized Hospitals
 Advantages of Central Place Theory
• The theory does a reasonably good
job of describing the spatial pattern
of urbanization. No other economic
theory explains why there is a
hierarchy of urban centers.

Metro Manila skyline

Advantages of Central Place Theory
• It does a good job of describing the location
of trade and service activity (i.e., business
services and high technology in urban
centers).
Growth Pole Theory
 Growth Pole Theory
• Perroux, French economist, who believed that
the basic fact of spatial, as well as industrial
development is that “growth” does not appear
everywhere and all at once.

• It appears in points or development poles with

various intensities.
 Difference Between Growth Pole and
Growth Center/Point
• Growth Pole – occurs
in economic space

• Growth Center/Point
– refers to spatial
location
 Economic Concepts and their
Geographical Developments
1. CONCEPTS OF LEADING INDUSTRIES
AND PROPULSIVE FIRMS
– Leading industries dominate other
economic units
– Due to localization of resource:
natural or man-made

• There should be no reliance to one

industry; solution is to develop an
industrial complex with a variety of
smaller firms.
 Economic Concepts and their
Geographical Developments
2. CONCEPT OF POLARIZATION
– Leading industries induces
the polarization of other
economic units into the pole
of growth – “Agglomeration
of economies”

• Leading industries itself may

decline; diseconomies of
scale may outweigh Detroit, Michigan is home of the
agglomeration benefits. Big Three Auto Companies –
GM, Chrysler, & Ford
 Economic Concepts and their
Geographical Developments
3. CONCEPT OF SPREAD
EFFECT
– States that growth will
spread outwards into
surrounding areas –
“trickling down” or CALABARZON
“spillover” effects.

• Most difficult to examine;

studies show wide income
distribution in a region.
 Uses of Growth Pole Theory in
Regional Planning
• Useful for understanding regional structures

• Useful as a method for predicting changes in

that structure and prescribing solutions to
certain regional problems.
Growth Pole Theory as a Policy Tool in
Regional Planning
• Owing to the various agglomeration
economies, it tends to be a very efficient way
of generating development

• The concentration of investment in specific

growth areas costs less in terms of public
expenditure than wholesale grants to large
areas
Growth Pole Theory as a Policy Tool in
Regional Planning
• The spread effect out of the growth areas will
help to solve the problems of depressed
regions

• The theory provides a complement to Central

Place Theory to explain regional anatomy and
provide various concepts of value and
relevance to the regional planner
Theories of spatial organization and behavior

Location Theory
 Location of Industry
• Explains the internal structures of regions
• It has to do with the needs of production and
economics
• Production involves the use of inputs (factors of
production) --> to produce outputs (goods and
services) ==> as efficient as possible
• The location of the unit of production, the firm, will
obviously be determined in relation to the source of
the inputs and the market for the output
 4 Sectors of Industry
1. Primary - agriculture, mining,
lumbering, hunting, and fishing
(activities that take something from
the natural environment - raw
materials)

2. Secondary - manufacturing
(converts raw materials into finished
products for consumers)
 4 Sectors of Industry
3. Tertiary - trade and commerce
(buy and selling of goods) and
services (an activity which
produces no physical product)

4. Quaternary - a type of service –

intellectual services (e.g., Research
& Development, consulting, ICT,
education)
Factors of Production

1. Land: geographical location and availability

of the necessary infrastructure
2. Labor: quality and quantity
3. Capital: money
4. Enterprise: business
5. Market factor: primary determinant of
location
6. Central and local government policies
7. Behavioral factors
 Two Main Approaches to the Study of
These Factors of Industrial Location:

1. Theoretical Approach - attempts to abstract from

reality, constructing an all embracing system of “pure”
rules.

2. Empirical Approach - involves the listing of factors which

might be important, together with examples of
situations where they have been important, in the
location of particular industries.
 Key Elements in Location Theory
1. Transport
2. Labor
3. Market
4. Agglomeration
 3 Approaches to Industrial Location
Theory

1. Least Cost Approach

2. Market Area Analysis
3. Profit Maximization Approach
 Least Cost Approach
• Alfred Weber’s “Theory of the Location of
Industries” (1909)
• Businessman would locate where his costs
were least (i.e., minimum transport and labor
cost)
• (Weight of Local Material Inputs) = x
(Weight of Final Products)

If x>1, firm is material-oriented (bulk-reducing)

If x<1, firm is market-oriented (bulk-gaining)
3 Factors that would influence industrial
location
1. Transport costs –directly
proportional to distance
moved and weight carried

i.e. Bulk-reducing industry

(copper mining, timber mills,
furniture manufacture,
agricultural activities) =>
material-oriented firms

Weight-gaining industry (car

industry, soda bottling,
brewing) => market-oriented
firms
 3 Factors that would influence
industrial location
2. Labor costs – can attract a firm
to new location, other than the
least transport cost if the savings
in labor cost per unit of output
are greater than the extra
transport cost per unit involved.

i.e., Unskilled labor (garment

industry) – cheap and available
everywhere

Deskilled labor (i.e., Silicon

Valley) – skilled labor and
difficult to find
3 Factors that would influence industrial
location
3. Agglomerative or deglomerative forces

• Economies of agglomeration (pool of skilled labor,

establishment of specialist services, i.e. Marikina Shoe
Industry, Fashion District in NYC);

• Diseconomies of agglomeration (increasing land

prices, congestion, pollution, high crime rate, etc. –
i.e., Corporate HQ, Industrial Parks
 Market Analysis Approach
• August Losch’s “The Economics of Location”
(1954)
• Instead of emphasis on the input side (cost
minimization), emphasis is on output or demand
side (market)
• Optimum location is the place of maximum
profits, where revenue exceeds costs by the
largest amount.
 Profit Maximizing Approach
• W. Isard’s “Location and Space Economy”
(1956)

• In practice, both costs and revenue vary with

location and optimum location is the one
which yields the greatest profit.
 Profit Maximizing Approach
Issues:
• Locational Interdependence – unpredictable to
predict what rivals might do in the future (i.e.,
Microsoft vs. Apple)

• Difficulty in evaluating the relevant variables, i.e.,

differing costs in differing locations, differing market
conditions, and policy of rival firms (i.e., Bangalore –
Indian Sillicon Valley)

• Impact of large modern corporations – can produce

a variety of products, not all of which can be
produced at one optimum locations (i.e., Computer
& car industry)
 Profit Maximizing Approach
• Whether firms produce profit or not (i.e., state-
owned firms)
• Behavioral factors – business’s attitude to labor
conditions; attitude to “social life” in certain
locations
Major Categories affecting Industrial
Location
1. Labor –
• Quality
• Quantity
2. Transport and
communications
• Access to main market
• Link to Producers
• Access by road, rail, & air
3. Site and premises –
• Land cost/ rental fees
• Fully-serviced facilities
Major Categories affecting Industrial
Location
4. Government aid
• Tax Incentives
• Subsidies
5. Environmental factors –
• Climate & landscape (IT
industries)
• Social infrastructure (housing,
schools, town centers, etc.)
• Availability of ancillary services
 Types of Locational Orientation of
Industries
Orientation Decisive Optimum Examples
Character Location

Transport-cost
Oriented

• Materials- Weight-, Close to materials Ore refining, steel,

oriented perishability-, sources fruit and vegetable
losing process canning

• Market-oriented Weight-, Close to market Brewing, Baking,

perishability-, or automobile
fragility-gaining assembly
process
 Types of Locational Orientation of
Industries
Orientation Decisive Optimum Examples
Character Location
Production-cost-
oriented
• Labor-oriented Labor-intensive Low-wage area Textiles
process
• Power-oriented Power-intensive Cheap-power area Aluminum refining
process
• Amenity- Employs high Attractive physical Research and
oriented proportion of and social development
specialized, highly environment
paid personnel
 Types of Locational Orientation of
Industries
Orientation Decisive Optimum Examples
Character Location

Agglomeration-oriented
• Economies of Need for City of specialized Apparel
localization specialized character manufacturing,
ancillary services broadcasting
and labor

•Economies of Need for face-to- City of sufficient Corporate head

urbanization face size offices,
communication advertising, law,
with customers or investment
suppliers banking
 Location Factors in the Future
• Decline in the importance of
proximity to markets and supplies
• Improvements in transport and
communications are likely to make
movement over large distances
more acceptable
• Increase automation and
rationalization and more space
intensive processes, site and
premises become increasingly
more important (i.e., industrial
estates, IT-related industries).