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The classical models of the city suggest that the highest land values will occur in the CBD
and that the value ofthe land will diminish outwards from the CBD. Many points in the city
have higher land values than the surrounding areas. It is reasonable to suppose that the
highest land value will still be found in the city centre, or metropolitan CBD but the regional
shopping centres, community centres and so on would each have high value land as well. The
land values of the city are therefore best represented as a 'net' of minor peaks around the
main peak value ofthe CBD [www.tierraproperties.com.(2007)].This study considers the
CBD ofUlundi to have high land value because ofdemand for various commercial functions.
The high income residential zone of B north has also a high land value compared to the other
land use zone.
These models do not really apply to the South African city. Black South Africans tend to live
on the outskirts ofthe South African city. As such they are usually the group ofpeople who
are furthest from the CBD. In many South African cities there are today decentralised
industrialized areas. So it may be that the Black work force in the Black residential areas is in
some cases close to work opportunities. Black people in the South African city have not
always lived on the periphery of the city. In the early part of the last century many of the
largest cities had slum areas. The less affluent among them came seeking work in the city and
were frequently forced through circumstances to take up cheap accommodation in the slum
areas. In cities such as Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town the slum areas were close to
the CBD. In that sense the classic models would have been a fair representation of the
situation in some South African cities ofthe late 19 th and 20 th century (Rix eT aI., 1987).
It may be argued that under the policy of urban apartheid, the Black residential areas, or
Townships, could develop along lines suggested by the classical models. In other words it
could be argued that within the Black townships, business districts and various zones of
residential neighbourhood would emerge that would approximate those of say the Burgess or
Hoy! models. This is in fact not the case. Black tmvnships have not been able to develop an
internal structure in accordance with that suggested by the classic models. Again, the manner
in which the residential areas were set up in the Black townships have mitigated against the
possibility of the residential zones approximating those of the classic urban models. These
factors, together with the lack of a free market mechanism that would allo,," houses to be
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