What are urban functions?
Urban functions refer to the main activities of a city or a city area. There are multiple types of urban functions.
Types of urban functions
Political: Places of power/ National & Regional governmental institutions
Residential: neighbourhoods with dwellings
Commercial: areas serving the needs of industry and business
Cultural: Recreation & sports centres, museums, etc.
Transport & communication: the presence of an airport, large port, etc.
The Burgess Model
A heavily simplified version of a city, consisting of a series of concentric rings coming out from the centre of the city. Each ring represented an urban function sector. But the model was also criticised, as it is only applicable to Chicago in the 1920s.
Hoyt's sector model
An urban land use model that is more complex than simple rings of land use:
Industrial land is linked to the transport routes
Location of transport & industry affects the residential location
Urbanisation definition + Causes
Urbanisation is the increase in proportion of people living in urban areas. This usually happens when a country is still developping. There are three main reasons to it:
1. Population pressure and a lack of resources in rural areas
2. Pull Factors: Hope for a higher standard of living, better-paid jobs and better healthcare & education
3. Natural increase caused by a decrease in death rates while birth rates remain high
What is counter-urbanisation?
Counter-urbanisation is the movement of people from cities to surrounding areas. The main reasons are:
The increase in car ownership, which means people are more mobile
Growth in information technology (people can work from home)
Urban areas are becoming increasingly unpleasant places to live (pollution & traffic congestions)