concentric zone theory

The theory, proposed by E. W. Burgess (1926), that urban land use may be classified as a series of concentric zones.

Zone I, the CBD, lies at the centre of the city. Zone II is in transition. It is the crowded, multi-occupied zone of the city first invaded by migrants. Within this Zone are the ghetto areas (these are not necessarily slums). In Zone III are the working men's houses, the area of second generation immigrants, one step up from Zone II. Zones IV and V are residential; Zone IV for the better-off and Zone V for the commuters. All these zones are held to have evolved separately and without planning. They result from the competition of different socio-economic groups for land. This competition results in variations in the cost of land and, therefore, causes segregation within a city. The model assumes uniformly flat, and available, land, and ignores the importance of transport routes, but relies on the theory that city growth results from distinct waves of in-migrants, that is to invasion and succession. In this last respect it is therefore more applicable to cities in the USA than to European cities. See also sector theory, multiple nuclei model, Mann's model.

Concentric zone theory