Theories of Urban Development

Human Ecology studies the form, structure, and development of the community in human populations. Ernest W. Burgess developed the Concentric Zone hypothesis of city development in his work, "The Growth of the City," in a 1925 publication (see The City by Park, R.E. and Burgess, E.W. eds U. of Chicago Press, 1967). Burgess was from a very influential sociological program called the Chicago School and he believed that a city grew out much like the trunk of a tree with concentric zones. The Concentric Zone Theory claims that cities grow like the rings of a tree, starting in the center and growing outward.

He identified the following zones: Central Business District; low, middle, and high class residential zones; heavy and light manufacturing, and commuter and suburbs zones to give a short list. Each zone has its realm of influence on the daily lives of city dwellers. Although Burgess' approach has been highly modified, it proved to be a classic in studying the nature of cities. Another scientist named Homer Hoyt noticed that not all city patterns were concentric and he devised a theory to study the pie wedge-shaped zones he came to call "sectors." The Sector Theory claims that cities grow in pie wedge shapes as the city develops (see Hoyt, H. 1939, "The Structure and Growth of Residential Neighborhoods in American Cities;" published by the US Federal Housing Administration, Washington, D.C.).

Later, in 1945 Chauncy O. Harris and Edward L. Ullman wrote a scientific piece in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences called "The Nature of Cities" (page 242 published by Sage publications). Their approach came to be known as the Multiple Nuclei Theory, which claims that cities have multiple centers (Nuclei) that yield influence on the growth and nature of an urban area. These scientists cleared up the issue that a cities growth and development can be universally predictable. They and many scientists since them have established that some commonalities can be predicted, but each city has its own unique history, culture, geography, and resources.

In 2006, an article entitled, "Growth and Change in U.S. Micropolitan Areas" was published by Mulligan, G. F. and Vias, A. C. (see The Annals of Regional Science, Vol. 40, No. 2/ June, 2006 pages 203-228). The relatively new concept of a Micropolitan was discussed. AMicropolitan is an urban area with 10,000-49,000 inhabitants. Mulligan and Vias reported about 581 micropolitans counted in the 1990 US Census. The city I live in Payson, Utah is a Micropolitan. When I first moved my family there it had 3 red lights and we counted them. It had a vending machine with live fishing bait on the main corner at the first red light. According to the US Census Payson's Zip code of 84651 had 17.735 inhabitants and 5,178 housing units.

There are many other official classifications used by Government and educational scientists to study the urban, suburban, and rural experiences among society's members. Let's just learn one more concept that will help you to understand the US Census Bureau's approach to segmenting and analyzing cities, counties, states, and the nation as a whole. A Metropolitan Statistical Area includes one or more adjacent counties that has at least one 50,000 populated urban center that influences the economic, transportation and social connection of the area.

Date: 2015-02-28; view: 945