Talk:Concentric zone model
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Oddly, chicago doesn't even follow the concentric model any more; with edge cities in the northwest and west suburbs, no clearly defined circular "zone of transportation", a population hub in absorbed joliet, plans for a secondary airport that would further decentralize the concentrations of business towards the south suburbs and an exurban presence that can be argued to extend as far out as Iowa, the area seems to be much more of a multiple nuclei model. it also displays "sector-model" tendencies, with a concentration of wealth from rich to poor moving couterclockwise, begining at the fabulously wealthy north shore, moving to the very wealthy northwest suburbs, to the wealthy/middle class west suburbs, to the middle class/lower middle class/working class south suburbs, and terminating in the eastern suburbs of indiana, an area not known for its material wealth.
The concentric model seems an excellent ideal type for a city that doesn't exist: We all think of cities as dense cores, surrounded by comparatively wealthy suburbs, with a beltway thrown in somewhere. We hear stories regarding the "explosive" amounts of new development occurring at the urban fringe, and assume that this explosive development must occurr in accommodation of a single economic group or urban need, creating uniform layers. Ironically, it is this most simple and readily assumed ideal type which seems to hold true least frequently in real life, for even the most oft-cited example of the 'concentric model" hardly lives up to the definition of what it should be.
[edit] Multiple Entries for this Topic
A search of "Concentric Zone Model" or "Concentric Zone Theory" will direct you to the article "Concentric Zone Model". However, searching "Burgess Model" or "Concentric Ring Theory" brings you to "Concentric Ring Theory". The Zone Model article provides mostly commentary on the model and its history, while the ring model article is an actual explination of the theory. It would be helpful to combind these.
