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

A circular urban land use model with six zones: Colonial CBD (blue), Traditional CBD (yellow), Market (green), Mining/Manufacturing (red), Residential (brown), Slums (yellow). Key included.
Model of land use in a Sub - Saharan African City
A diagram of a Latin American city showing zones: CBD, upper class, better residences, active housing improvement, and peripheral squatter settlements.
Model of land use in a Latin American city

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

Last updated:

You've read 0 of your 10 free revision notes

Unlock more, it's free!

Join the 100,000+ Students that ❤️ Save My Exams

the (exam) results speak for themselves:

Did this page help you?

Bridgette Barrett

Author: Bridgette Barrett

Expertise: Geography Lead

After graduating with a degree in Geography, Bridgette completed a PGCE over 25 years ago. She later gained an MA Learning, Technology and Education from the University of Nottingham focussing on online learning. At a time when the study of geography has never been more important, Bridgette is passionate about creating content which supports students in achieving their potential in geography and builds their confidence.

Jenna Quinn

Author: Jenna Quinn

Expertise: Head of New Subjects

Jenna studied at Cardiff University before training to become a science teacher at the University of Bath specialising in Biology (although she loves teaching all three sciences at GCSE level!). Teaching is her passion, and with 10 years experience teaching across a wide range of specifications – from GCSE and A Level Biology in the UK to IGCSE and IB Biology internationally – she knows what is required to pass those Biology exams.