Who created the Concentric Zone Model of the North American city?

Who created the Concentric Zone Model of the North American city?

• A. Burgess, Ernst
• B. Hoyt
• C. Harris
• D. Vance

Answer: (A)

The question tests understanding of the Concentric Zone Model, which imagines a city growing outward from a central point in circular rings. In this model, the center is the Central Business District, surrounded by successive rings with distinct characteristics—such as a transitional zone with industry and housing, followed by working-class housing, better residential areas, and finally a distant commuter belt. The idea comes from Ernst Burgess, who analyzed Chicago in the early 20th century and proposed that land value and use change with distance from the core as transportation and social factors push people and activities outward. That’s why Ernst Burgess is the right answer. The other names are associated with different urban models: the Sector Model emphasizes growth in wedges radiating from the center; the Multiple Nuclei Model suggests several centers of activity rather than one central core; and Vance is linked to other urban theories not based on concentric rings around the CBD.

The question tests understanding of the Concentric Zone Model, which imagines a city growing outward from a central point in circular rings. In this model, the center is the Central Business District, surrounded by successive rings with distinct characteristics—such as a transitional zone with industry and housing, followed by working-class housing, better residential areas, and finally a distant commuter belt. The idea comes from Ernst Burgess, who analyzed Chicago in the early 20th century and proposed that land value and use change with distance from the core as transportation and social factors push people and activities outward.

That’s why Ernst Burgess is the right answer. The other names are associated with different urban models: the Sector Model emphasizes growth in wedges radiating from the center; the Multiple Nuclei Model suggests several centers of activity rather than one central core; and Vance is linked to other urban theories not based on concentric rings around the CBD.