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Urban Models

Urban models help geographers understand how land use changes from the city centre to the suburbs. This quiz tests classic models and what they show about urban structure.

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Fascinating Fact:

The Harris and Ullman multiple nuclei model proposes that modern cities grow around several centres, such as shopping malls, business parks, and industrial estates.

In GCSE Geography, urban models are used to show how land use changes from the central business district to the outskirts. You compare different models, such as concentric zones, sectors, and multiple nuclei, to see how each explains patterns of housing, industry, transport, and services in real cities in the UK and around the world.

Key Terms

Land use model: A simplified diagram that shows how different types of land use are arranged within a city.
Central business district (CBD): The main commercial area of a city, with shops, offices, and important services.
Suburb: A residential area towards the edge of a city, often with lower housing density than the inner city.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What is an urban model in geography?

An urban model is a simplified diagram that shows how different land uses, such as housing, industry, and the CBD, are arranged within a city and how they relate to each other.

Why do we study different urban models for GCSE?

We study different urban models to compare their ideas with real cities, understand patterns of land use and change, and explain issues such as congestion, inequalities, and regeneration.

How is the multiple nuclei model different from the Burgess model?

The multiple nuclei model suggests cities grow around several centres of activity, while the Burgess model shows land uses arranged in rings around a single central business district.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a CBD?

Lots of green spaces

High-rise buildings

Good communications infrastructure

High land and property prices

Land in CBDs is usually too expensive for individuals to buy

2 .

How does the Hoyt urban model differ from the Burgess model?

It uses different colours

It takes into account sectors of similar land use concentrated in parts of the city

It is drawn to a more accurate scale

It shows the CBD as more accurate by using an irregular shape

This approach creates zones radiating out from the CBD on the model

3 .

Which of the following types of house would you be most likely to find in a typical UK inner city?

Victorian terraces

Large detached houses

Modern development

Semi-detached houses with gardens

Inner city industrial brownfield sites are sometimes developed to provide modern homes but you are a lot more likely to find the Victorian terraced houses that were built to house the workforce of local factories

4 .

What is the first zone on both the Burgess and Hoyt urban models called?

Central economic area

Central economic district

Central business area

Central business district

This is abbreviated to CBD

5 .

Which of the following is the most likely to be different when drawing an urban model of a city in an LEDC?

There will be no CBD zone

There will be no industrial zone

There will be a green belt zone

There will be an illegal housing zone

Cities in LEDCs attract migrants from rural areas who cannot afford proper housing and settle around the outskirts of the city

6 .

Which of the following best describes the Burgess urban model?

Concentric squares

Concentric circles

Tesselated hexagons

Sectors and segments of circles

The Burgess model was developed in the 1920s to look at the US city of Chicago

7 .

Which of the following statements about cities in MEDCs is NOT usually true?

The oldest areas of a city are usually near the centre

The Hoyt model shows where sectors of industry have been developed along main access roads leading to the CBD

The oldest areas of a city are usually found in the urban rural fringe

The CBD is drawn at the centre of urban models

Cities usually grow outwards from the original settlement

8 .

Which of the following is least likely to be found in the urban rural fringe of a city?

Retail parks

High-rise office blocks

An airport

High-class housing

Businesses make the most of the land in a CBD by building upwards, this is not so important in urban fringes

9 .

There are differences between the development of cities in poorer and richer countries. Which of the following is not correct?

In cities in LEDCs, the poorest housing is often at the edge of the city

Cities in MEDCs usually have large squatter settlements in their suburbs

There is often high-class housing close to the CBD in an LEDC city

Housing in the outer fringes of an MEDC city will often have gardens

The high-class housing of LEDC cities often extends along a main road from the CBD to the suburbs and consists of colonial houses with servant accommodation

10 .

The Hoyt urban model was developed because the Burgess model was becoming less useful. Which of the following is not a reason that geographers needed a new urban model?

Air travel meant that it was easier for cities to expand

Mass ownership of cars

Cities were more complex than the one on which the Burgess model was based

Housing and working trends changed over time

The Burgess model did not allow for the development of industry or housing along the main roads, rivers flowing through cities or development alongside railways

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Urban issues and challenges

Author: Kev Woodward (PGCE, Science & Chemistry Teacher, Quiz Writer)