Urban Land Use

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Vancouver
http//newcity.ca/Pages/CDand_landuse.html
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Urban Land Use

• Land use patterns in cities do not develop by
  chance. They are affected by decisions people
  make based upon their work, their type of home
  and what they have to spend their money on.

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Types of Land Use

• All land use in an urban place can be classified
  into one of five major groups
• industrial, residential, commercial,
  transportation, and other

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Industrial

• important land use for cities
• creates jobs
• generates taxes
• about 11 of all urban land
• grouped according to type of industry and nature
  of transportation used

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• large industries are often next to bodies of
  water for cheap transportation or to use in
  processing
• eg., steel mills, oil refineries, cement plants
• also because of noise, smells and pollution
  located away from residential areas

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• older factories were also built near railways so
  raw materials and finished goods could be
  transported
• however, in the days before widespread personal
  car ownership, industrial areas were close to
  residential areas so workers could walk
• most are now obsolete and have been torn down

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• modern industrial areas are located away from
  residential areas in industrial parks, with
  special services provided
• located close to highways for truck transportation

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Residential

• all places where people live from single family
  homes to huge apartment towers
• 40 of developed land in many cities
• residential density is an important
  characteristic
• density refers to the number of people per unit
  of land area

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• low density detached houses on relatively large
  lots
• medium density 20 to 80 units per hectare - low
  rise apartment buildings and town houses
• high density more than 80 units per hectare -
  high rise apartment buildings

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Classic low density residential
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ges/Low20density20housing-20frontal20garage-no
20sidewalk.jpg
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Medium Density Residential
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High Density Residential
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• two factors affect density of residential
  housing
• the first factor is land value
• cheaper land on the outskirts of the city results
  in low density housing - more single family
  dwellings
• this is the suburbs

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www.kpbs.org/tv/mixed_feelings/
photo_gallery3.htm
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ctures/suburbs.gif
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• locations downtown and on major transportation
  routes have higher land values and therefore high
  density housing (because they generate enough
  money to pay for the land costs)
• eg., Harbourfront

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• the other factor is the age of the neighbourhood
• neighbourhoods before 1930 tend to have higher
  densities
• because people walked or took streetcars,
  driveways or wide streets for cars were not
  necessary
• this led to narrow lots and compact neighbourhoods

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www.cabbagetown.biz/ photo_gallery/
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Commercial

• only 5 of land for retailing, wholesaling,
  offices, and services
• really important to the economy

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• commercial centres can be grouped in six
  different categories
• local service or convenience centres
• neighbourhood plazas or ribbons
• community shopping centres
• power centres
• regional shopping centres
• the CBD, or central business district

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• at each level more choice of services and
  products are offered
• see description on pages 252-255

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The Central Business District
http//www.emporia.edu/socsci/skyline.gif
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Decline of the CBD

• most important factor for many towns and cities
• shopping centres and big box stores in suburbs
  draw shoppers and tenants away

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• why the decline?
• downtown buildings old and out of date
• the CBD hard to reach by car roads clogged
  parking expensive and hard to find
• rents cheaper in suburbs and therefore
  products/services are too

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• but the CBD is the heart of a city.
• Toronto has deliberately tried to improve its CBD
• CN tower, Skydome, Air Canada Centre, Roy
  Thompson Hall, Yonge and Dundas all these and
  others bring the people back downtown
• in addition, there is a lot of new residential
  development in the CBD
• see Fig 21-9, page 255, for solutions

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Massive office towers can breath economic life
into the CBD, but they come at with costs. Can
you name some?
http//www.uncc.edu/hscampbe/landuse/b-models/ban
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Transportation

• nearly 25 of urban land for roads, highways
  railroads and electricity transmission corridors
• roadways grouped into three categories based upon
  size

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• expressways large volumes of traffic long
  distances quickly limited access (interchanges)
• arterial roads moderate volumes, shorter
  distances link local roads to expressways
• commercial ribbons develop along arterial roads

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• local roads are smaller and carry smaller volumes
  of people between peoples homes and arterial
  roads
• local roads tend to be either on a grid or a
  garden pattern (see Fig. 21-13, page 259)
• other transportation land uses parking lots and
  airports

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Other land uses

• institutional schools, hospitals, governments,
  places of worship
• vacant unused land, either previously or never
  used
• open space developed parks, playgrounds, golf
  courses, cemeteries

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Factors Affecting Land Use Patterns

• Four factors affect urban land use patterns land
  value, zoning, technology, and climate.

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Land Value

• generally land values are highest in most
  accessible areas
• eg., in the CBD and along major transportation
  routes, especially at intersections

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• land uses that produce the highest income per
  unit of land occupy the most expensive land
• that is, tall office buildings and high density
  housing
• Yonge at major crossroads like St. Clair,
  Eglinton, Sheppard - all with tall buildings

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Zoning

• governments (mainly municipal) pass laws which
  restricts the land use in certain areas in order
  to avoid conflicts
• see Fig. 21-12, page 259 for a zoning map

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Technology

• land use reflects the technology that existed
  when the land was developed
• eg., residential patterns in cities before the
  Depression and after WWII

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• since WWII near universal ownership and use of
  car has changed the face of urban areas built
  since then wider arterial roads shopping and
  work areas with own parking truck transport and
  the rise of the expressway

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Climate

• today urban planners are taking into account
  cold temperatures, wind, ice, snow, and long
  winters.
• winter-city concept
• indoor shopping malls
• bus shelters, sidewalk barriers etc.
• plus 15s

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Location of elevated pedestrian walkways in
Calgary, which connect major buildings.
calgaryplus.sympatico.ca/ feature/221/6.html