Factors Affecting Location of Activities

Factors Affecting Location of Activities

• Manufacturing location was impacted by the rise of the motor car and subsequent urban sprawl pre-1960s
• Post-1960s, manufacturing shifted from HICs to MICs/LICs
• Modern ground floor manufacturing is unsuitable for multi-story 19th-century buildings
• Intensive land use prevents expansion of factories
• High costs are associated with brown-site clean-up due to land contamination
• Land prices are too high for manufacturing due to high competition
• Urban planning policies in the 50s/70s led to factories in slum housing areas getting demolished
• Companies received government incentives to relocate, breaking inter-firm links
• Inner-city job loss occurred, but surplus labor in suburbs led to new infrastructure and thriving factories
• Lower land costs and better quality of life are now found in the suburbs

Retailing

• Retail is traditionally in the CBD, but there is progressive movement out of the CBD coupled with creation of retail parks and superstores
• Out-of-town shopping centers offer convenience and job creation but can harm the environment and local businesses

Trafford Centre

• A large retail location with 300 acres of land, 150 acres of building and 2 million ft² of floor space
• It has 11,500 parking spaces and an 11-stop bus station, with a catchment of 9 million people
• Trafford Centre sees 31 million visitors annually, 67% of whom are female
• In 2018, there was a 1.6% increase accounting for 500,000 more visits
• It contains 243 shopping units, a 20-screen cinema, and a 16,000-seat food court, with shoppers spending an average of £145 per visit

Health

• Preference is for one large, central hospital over smaller ones
• Land costs and available building space are factors

Education

• Primary schools are dotted throughout local areas, while fewer secondary schools are centrally located
• People travel further for secondary education than primary education due to bigger catchment area
• Accessibility and the size/cost of land factor into school location planning

Leisure/Open Space

• Sports stadiums are moving to the edge of cities because of the shortage of space and congestion in the inner city
• Smaller parks/open spaces are easily added to cities
• Congestion and space is an issue

Changing CBD

• To improve city centres there is an increase in pedestrian zones plus indoor shopping centres
• Environmental and safety improvements are planned
• There is better access via public transport and road networks
• CBD decline is caused by increased car ownership leads and with more mobility leisure shopping is impacted

CBD Planning

• Planning authorities can influence shopping patterns by encouraging/discouraging out-of-town shopping
• Uncoordinated plans can have adverse effects
• Green-field sites offer cheaper land and investments while providing good access and nice environments
• Public perception of CBDs as dirty and unsafe contributes to the decline
• Urban sprawl blurs distinct boundaries
• CBD development and maintenance costs are high

Concentric Zone Model

• Assumes equal movement, uniform land, and free competition for space
• Development expands outwards from the center with in-migration
• CBD is the main point of business activity
• Zones of transition are outwards, through industry and low-class housing
• Lower prices draw migrants
• Better housing is further out and occupied by the middle-class

Bid Rent Theory

• Shares assumptions with the Concentric Model
• City center locations are more expensive to buy/rent
• Retail/offices outbid outwards
• Industry bids most outward, and then housing
• Poor mobility and low-income groups reside is due to CBD access
• Higher land prices are overcome when more people live in high densities
• Affluent and mobile people seek cheaper land for housing and trade it off for commute time
• At line intersection, both uses pay the same, and the use line on top bids more

Sector Model

• The model is based on the premise of access to the CBD for most people
• Industry follows transport routes
• Upper-class residential areas develop around physical/social features like rivers
• Lower-class housing is in less attractive areas near factories and pollution

Multiple Nuclei Model

• CBD is present, but not necessarily at the center
• Low class housing is found in cheap land areas near industry
• Higher class residential is opposite of industrial areas
• Development occurs outside the main settlement around nuclei, like out-of-town shopping centers

LIC/MIC Land Use

• The CBD center develops with transport and waterways industry
• The zone of maturity consists of services and a mix of old/new housing previously occupied by affluent residents
• Elite housing develops along the commercial spine
• 'In situ accretion' has a wide range of housing and is being improved by government projects
• Squatter settlements are in the Periférico, on the most undesirable land

Urban Density Gradients

• Population density falls, with distance increasing from the CBD
• HICs have an initial rise and then decline in density, as affluent populations spread rurally
• LICs have continued density increase
• Due to mobility and transport deficiencies, the CBD has a residential function

Residential Segregation

• It is the clustering of particular groups of people and activities

Causes of Residential Segregation

• High income allows people a wide choice of places to live
• This leads to gated communities
• Lower-income households have limited choices due to house prices and transit access
• As people age, they need larger houses, thus, young people buy flats, and then houses
• Race/ethnicity results in 'ethnic villages'/'ghettos' often related to income as migrants have lower incomes and settle near CBD

Processes of Residential Segregation

• The housing market affects residential segregation, as when demand exceeds supply, prices rise, pushing low-income people to the periphery
• People migrating to an urban area tend to cluster with family and friends for comfort and support
• Culture and comfort levels affects where people choose to reside
• Urban planners aim for a good social mix of people and aim to avoid ghettos
• Good access to mortgages ensures residential segregation is low

Urban Planning

• Urban renaissance emphasizes sustainable and high-quality living, with good public transit and attractive living areas
• Urban mosaic is a pattern of different residential zones that reflects socio-economic variations