
The multiple nuclei model recognizes that some suburbs of major cities focus on industrial production that may be cheaper (e.g., lower taxes) or easier (e.g., closer to less-congested transit routes) for businesses to carry out than in the neighboring major city. There are many types of residential suburbs for people of all income levels, and most are oriented toward outlying business districts. People left undesirable conditions in cities and moved to outlying areas with more space, cleaner air, lower crime, and so forth. Suburbs emerged in the 20th century with the widespread availability of private automobiles. One of the features of US cities is suburbia. Still, they very well may be located next to recreational areas as well as small business districts with shops and restaurants.įor the AP Human Geography exam, it is essential to understand the differences between the Concentric Zone Model, the Sector Model, and the Multiple-Nuclei Model and their similarities. Thus, universities, which tend to increase surrounding land values, will not be located near airports. Economic activities that bring down land values, such as airports (because of the noise), will repel activities that bring up land values. One of the assumptions of the multiple-nuclei model is that like attracts like, and different repels different. Many but not all of these are minor in size compared to the CBD they may include districts around universities, hospitals, airports, recreational zones, and so forth. Outlying Business DistrictĪs US cities grow, new city centers appear.

This district is farther from the city than middle-class neighborhoods and is not connected spatially to the CBD. This is the largest district in any US city and tends to connect to most other districts it is on much better land than Low-Class Residential. The many disadvantages include various forms of pollution and the risk of environmental hazards like flooding.

The people with the least income reside in this district, the only advantages of which are its proximity to employment in the CBD and manufacturing zones. This district just needs to be located along main transportation lines. This district is spatially separated from all other districts except Low-Class Residential because it requires a lot of space and produces a lot of noise, environmental contamination, and other issues that make surrounding land values relatively low. Wholesale and Light ManufacturingĪttached to the CBD is a separate district for light manufacturing and wholesale warehouses that comprises businesses that cannot pay the high rents of the CBD but need to be close to the hubs of long-distance transportation (rivers, rails, highways, a lake, or sea coast) and accessible to workers (but not shoppers). There are also restaurants and other service establishments for the large worker population in the CBD during the day. Government buildings are also found here (city hall, federal buildings, and so forth), and some high-rise apartments. You will likely see the most expensive shops here.ĬBDs have many major retail stores, but they also contain the headquarters of numerous companies, particularly in the financial services industry (banks, insurance firms, etc.). This influences the fact that the CBD has the highest land values in the city. Because the CBD is the most accessible place to get to for people across the city, it is the best place to be located if you want to sell people things. The main bus and train stations are here. The model retains this original feature of all US cities, which initially grew up where transportation routes of different types join or cross. 1 - The Multiple Nuclei Model Central Business District (CBD) The shape of an actual city varies from this abstraction.įig.

Harris and Ullman Multiple Nuclei ModelĪn abstract colored diagram is usually used to represent the descriptions of the multiple nuclei in this model. While the Concentric Zone Model has six zones and the Sector Model has five, the Multiple-Nuclei Model is more complex, with nine components found in many big US cities. It is based on the following premises: 1) some types of economic activities have to have their own locations 2) economic activities attract other economic activities to their locations 3) certain economic activities exclude other economic activities 4) some economic activities can't afford real estate in certain areas. Multiple-Nuclei Model: A US urban geography model that describes cities with more than one center.
