Pattern of Residential Areas Within Urban Areas (DP IB Geography): Revision Note

Physical Factors Affecting Residential Areas

• There are four main factors that affect the location of residential land use in urban areas

  • Physical factors

  • Land values

  • Ethnicity

  • Urban residential planning

• The location of residential in HICs, MICs and LICs is often different

• The pattern in LICs can be seen in the models of Sub-Saharan African cities and Latin American Cities below

Physical factors

• Physical factors affecting the location of residential areas include:

  • Proximity to water

  • Slopes 

• These are part of the topography of an area and can impact where residential areas are located in several ways

Proximity to water

• In HICs, the proximity to water is often regarded as a positive feature

• Waterfront residences are high-value, offering nice views and a pleasant environment

• In some areas, old industrial buildings such as docks and warehouses have been converted into high-value apartments

  • Salford Quays in Manchester

  • New York Dock Building

• In LIC cities and some MIC cities, water is regarded as a negative factor

• Housing in these cities, located near water, is often poor quality 

  • The risk of flooding may be high and people do not have the resources to prevent it

  • People may be at risk of water-borne diseases and water pollution

Slopes

• In HICs, residences on hillsides are often high-value due to the views

• In densely populated cities, the hillsides also offer more space

• In hotter climates, higher land is preferred for residences due to the cooler temperatures

  • In Hong Kong, 'The Peak' is a popular residential area for the wealthy seeking to live outside of the main centre of Hong Kong

• In LICs residences on slopes are often low-value 

• In densely populated cities, illegal settlements often develop on slopes which are not suitable for building

• The slopes are often unstable and vulnerable to landslides

  • Landslides in the Morro Bumba favela close to Rio de Janeiro in 2010 killed over 200 people

Land Values & Residential Areas

• Land values have a significant impact on the pattern of urban residential areas

• The closer that land is to the CBD, the higher its value

  • These high-land value areas are often used for retail or commercial purposes

High-income countries

• The areas around the CBD has high-value residential areas

  • Manhattan in New York and the area surrounding the financial centre of London

• The housing is high-density and usually high-rise

• With distance from the CBD, land value decreases and the amount of residential land use increases

  • Old industrial areas surrounding the CBD tend to have the lowest cost residential areas

    • These are often terraced or other high-density, lower-quality housing 

  • Moving further from the CBD, the housing type changes, becoming larger and lower density

    • There are the suburbs and then the rural-urban fringe 

Low-income countries

• Zone of lower to middle income residence is where there is a mixture of old and newer housing occupied by middle classes

• High class (elite) residential often develops in a spine out from the city center, where the land value is highest

• Around the high class residential area, there is likely to be a wide range of housing 

• A zone of squatter settlements are often on the most undesirable land at the edge of a city, this is the lowest value land

Ethnicity & Residential Areas

• Migration to urban areas increases diversity 

• Ethnicity is important in determining the residential patterns in a city

• International migrants tend to cluster in distinctive places across cities (known as enclaves), such as:

  • Russian oligarch families in Kensington and Chelsea, London

  • Indian community in Hounslow, London

• Many of the largest cities in the world, like San Francisco, New York, London and Paris, have an area known as Chinatown

• The location of residential areas as a result of ethnicity is known as segregation and may either have advantages or disadvantages

• The two types of segregation are:

  • Positive segregation

  • Negative segregation

• Positive segregation refers to the benefits such as culture, restaurants, supermarkets and religious buildings which cater for the needs of the population

• When certain groups are excluded from particular areas, this is referred to as negative segregation   

• The level of ethnic segregation varies and changes over time due to:

  • Economic indicators, e.g. income and employment

  • Social indicators, e.g. health, crime and education

Planning & Residential Areas

• Urban planning has become increasingly important in towns and cities

• Many cities in the world are planned around economic activities

• Planning may take a number of forms, including:

  • Land use zoning

  • Development of infrastructure

  • Types of housing

Land use zoning

• The types of land use may be pre-determined by planning laws

• The laws may also affect the type and density of housing

Infrastructure 

• The infrastructure of an area includes roads and services

• These are usually planned by the local government and impact on how desirable an area is for residential areas

Housing type

• Local governments have a role in providing social housing

• The local government may aim to create a mix of housing using social housing and land use zoning