Urban Regions : Ecology and Planning Beyond the City

Land-change patterns and models 201

Figure 8.1An early stage of strip development along a radial highway. Note that the

existing clusters of buildings in lower left and upper center are now connected by a

line of houses on very large lots that further bisect and degrade the central farm-

field area. North of Gainesville, Florida. R. Forman photo courtesy of L. D. Harris.

along major transportation corridors radiating from a city produces an over-
all pattern reminiscent of a star with long points or a wheel-hub with spokes
(e.g., Chicago 1850 to 1967 [Schmid1975]). Strip development along a major
radial transportation corridor progressively subdivides the landscape or region.
Focusing urbanization concurrently around satellite cities in an urban region
increases somewhat the size and importance of these small cities, while help-
ing to protect the land near a large metropolitan area (Barcelona), which may
be of considerable ecological importance (van der Ree and McCarthy2005). If
development is targeted to several or many satellite cities, rather than a few,
thepopulation will be considerably dispersed and a much more complex trans-
portation network will probably develop to criss-cross the land.
The dispersed pattern of urbanization is more complex (Jenkset al.1996,
Gordon and Richardson 1997, Theoboldet al.1997, Bullardet al.2000,Hobbs
and Theobold2001,Jenerette and Wu2001,Hobbsand Miller2002,Lopez2003,
Berger2006,Kahn 2006). Most characteristic is where dispersed development,
rather than compact concentric-zone expansion, occurs outside a metropolitan
area. This produces a wide zone of relatively low-density development, or sprawl,