Student handout

KEY QUESTION What factors (social, economic, environmental and political) affect the location of activities within urban areas?

Central Business District The land in urban areas is used for many different purposes: Leisure and recreation may include open land, e.g. parks or built facilities such as sports centres Residential - the building of houses and flats. Transport - road and rail networks, stations and airports Business and commerce - the building of offices, shops and banks.･Industry - factories, warehouses and small production centres The Central Business District (CBD) in the city centre is where most business and commerce is located.

Features of the cbd 1 Highest Land Values- Intensive competition for space Centre of routes Multi Storey buildings Lack of Space, high road and building density Commercial and Financial Land Uses ( High Profit) Large Department Stores – John Lewis, Debenhams, Marks for large sales turnover Specialist shops e.g. jewellers Offices-Banks, Solicitors etc

Features of the cbd 2 Transport termini – Bus & rail stations High Traffic and Pedestrian Flow, especially at rush hour Historic Core- Old buildings, tourist attractions e.g. Cathedral Variety of Retailers (optimum population) Entertainment – Cinemas, Theatres, Nightclubs Low Residential Population because of high land values Pollution Traffic Congestion Grid Street Pattern

Bid rent curves Each different land use in the city has its own bid rent curve. These curves are steepest where the land use can charge the highest amount for land in the city centre. These land uses are usually retail. The gentle curves represent housing which can not afford to pay the high land prices of the CBD.

BID RENT THEORY Bid rent theory is a geographical theory that refers to how the price and demand on land changes as the distance towards the CBD (Central Business District) increases. It states that different land users will compete with one and other for land close to the city centre. This is based upon the idea that retail establishments wish to maximise their profitability, so they are much more willing to pay more for land close to the CBD and less for land further away from this area. This theory is based upon the reasoning that the more accessible an area, the more profitable it is going to be.

Bid rent theory 2 The different land users all compete with one and other for the more accessible land. The amount that they are willing to pay is called Bid Rent. As a direct result of this, a pattern of concentric rings of land use develops. It could be assumed that, according to this theory, the poorest houses and buildings will be on the very outskirts of the City (the suburbs), as that is the only place that they can afford to occupy. However, in modern times this is rarely the case, as many people prefer to trade off the accessibility of being close to the CBD, and move to the edges of the settlement, where it is possible to buy more land for the same amount of money (as Bid Rent states). Likewise, lower income housing trades off greater living space for greater accessibility to employment. For this reason low income housing is found in the inner city, and high income housing is at the edges of the settlement.

Bid Rent Theory Commercial land uses and businesses which can afford higher rents can afford the most accessible and expensive sites in the city centre and along main roads. Industry and residential land uses take up more space and can not afford expensive city centre land, so they are located on cheaper land on the edge of the city.

Land Use Values (peak land value intersection) Land is expensive in the CBD where competition for the land is greatest. Land becomes increasingly cheaper towards the edge of the city. The most expensive area of land is known as the PEAK LAND VALUE INTERSECTION, this is in the CBD. There are smaller peaks of value at other desirable areas – e.g. at major crossroads and suburban shopping centres.

Peak Land Value Intersection The Diagram opposite shows that Retail (shopping) occupies the PLVI. It also shows that PVLI location is in the CBD. In London the PVLI would be occupied by a large department store such as Harrods.