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Convenience, market forces, transport networks and the ability to pay for the desired site all<br />
influence the final decision. The result is a pattern <strong>of</strong> land use within the city which appears<br />
simple but is in practice difficult to summarise. Of the several attempts to form relatively<br />
basic models, the most important results are:<br />
(a) the concentric model<br />
(b) the sector model<br />
(c) the multiple-nuclei model<br />
Land use models have been put forward on the basis <strong>of</strong>the idea that towns and cities do not<br />
grow in a haphazard fashion rather that they tend to develop in distinctive patterns <strong>of</strong> land use<br />
as they grow and spread. Land use models are simplified diagrams which are used to<br />
represent the pattern <strong>of</strong> land use functions within a town or city. It should however be<br />
remembered that these are simplifications <strong>of</strong> reality and it is unlikely that any model will fit<br />
every town and city perfectly [www.geobytes.org.uk, (2007)].<br />
The most visible characteristic <strong>of</strong> cities is the form <strong>of</strong>their built environment - tall buildings<br />
located at the city's centre, outlying areas <strong>of</strong> manufacturing and distribution, and residential<br />
areas with greater density near the centre than in the suburbs. It is the location <strong>of</strong> these, and<br />
other, activities that define patterns <strong>of</strong>urban land use [www.uncc.edu, (2007)].<br />
In terms <strong>of</strong> the Integrated Development Plan (IDP, 2005/2006), Ulundi has a large rural<br />
population (83%) and the settlement pattern demonstrates a high concentration <strong>of</strong> people in<br />
and around its peri-urban areas and along the main routes R66 and P700 (Figure 1.2). There<br />
is currently a dominant centripetal force <strong>of</strong> relatively affordable commercial site in the study<br />
area and that has the potential <strong>of</strong>drawing functions and activities towards the centre.<br />
2.4.1.1 The concentric model<br />
This a classical model, based on the study <strong>of</strong>land use patterns in Chicago devised by Burgess.<br />
According to Rix et aI., (1987), Burgess suggests that cities grow outwards from the CBD in a<br />
series <strong>of</strong> concentric rings <strong>of</strong> land use. The oldest part <strong>of</strong> the city is at the centre and the<br />
newest part on the outer edge. The quality and size <strong>of</strong> housing in this model increases with<br />
distance from the CBD. In addition, the height <strong>of</strong> buildings tends to be greatest closer to the<br />
Central Area, where land-values are high and space is at a premium. The quality and size <strong>of</strong><br />
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