A spatial model illustrating urban land use patterns arranged around several discrete nuclei rather than a single central business district. These nuclei emerge because certain activities require specialized facilities or particular locational characteristics, benefitting from clustering or avoiding conflicting land uses. For instance, a university district thrives on proximity to educational institutions, while industrial parks often locate near transportation hubs and away from residential areas. This decentralized pattern contrasts with models emphasizing a singular urban core.
This framework provides a valuable lens for understanding the complex and evolving structure of modern cities. Its significance lies in acknowledging the influence of factors beyond simple distance decay from the city center, such as transportation infrastructure, specialized activity nodes, and land value variations. Developed in the mid-20th century, it served as a response to the limitations of earlier urban models in explaining the increasingly polycentric nature of metropolitan areas. The model helps to analyze and interpret patterns of economic activity, residential segregation, and the development of suburban centers.
