Town and Urban Growth Chapter

CHAPTER 1: TOWN AND URBAN GROWTH
The definition of town can be from different perspectives but overall it has the same
concept. Town is a place where it is the focus of inhabitants and economic activities.
Some researchers have defined town based on the physical aspects only, while others
have defined it based on society’s characteristics. Most of the time, town can be defined
based on the size of its inhabitants. For example, in Malaysia a settlement with a
minimum of 10,000 people can be considered as a town. The basis of town definition is
crucial as it can influence the definition of township and town growth nationwide.
However, the minimum total of inhabitants is only a general guideline in determining
whether the settlement is a town. In reality, it is often that the term town is defined with
the help of other criteria such as population density, percentage of residents not working
in the agricultural sector of at least 75%, amenities provided, legal administration and
business administration.
Compared to the context of rural area, town is the centre of distribution of specialised
human resources in non-agricultural economic activities. However, the town growth
process depends on the trade with rural areas where their economy is mainly on
agricultural output. Excess of agricultural output from the rural areas is important in
maintaining a two-way relationship and as a catalyst for town growth.
Town Concept
According to W. Lean and B. Goodall in their book “Aspects of Land Economics”, town
concept is referred from the aspects of physical, demography, human life and social
characteristics, elements of concentration of work place and economic activities carried
out. Physical factors here means the physical environment such as river, valley, hill and
others as well as minerals in it. History shows that river played an important role in the
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civilisation of a race and a country’s development. World major towns in the past had a
close relation to the river such as the Ganges River in India, Nile River in Egypt and
Thames River in London.
In his writing “A Bibliography of the Urban Community”, Louis Wirth defined town as a
settlement that is relatively large, crowded and permanent where people from different
backgrounds live.
As an area becomes the focus point of many, the number of its population will rise and
various economic activities will happen. The existence of this settlement will turn into a
town, which is more permanent compared to a rural area. Rural areas are less permanent
due to the inclination of its inhabitants to move to a better area. The town will be
enriched with various customs, cultures and lifestyles due to its residents of many races
and will thus create a variety of economic activities and different levels of income.
In a research by Phillips M. Houser – “The Study of Urbanisation”, a town is defined as a
grouping of a certain size of population within an area. A town definition is focused on
concentration and collection of inhabitants at a specific rate which varies from one town
to another.
The minimum point of measurement for the population density is different from one
country to another. For instance in Denmark, a settlement with a population of more than
250 people is considered as a town whereas in Japan is 30,000 people, France 2,000
people and Malaysia 10,000 people (Census Report 1970). The most important concept
emphasised here is that the town has a specific population and it will grow from time to
time.
From the economics perspective, town growth happens when a community from the
town’s society has shown an increase in the capacity to produce goods and services. This
means that the town’s society has reached a level in development where agricultural land
usage has shifted to industrial and commercial usage.
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In truth, from the beginning, town concept depends wholly on economic power. For
example, the effectiveness use of earth natural resources cannot be separated from the
inhabitants’ concentration and wealth. With the existence of specialised human resources,
a town can be progressive and its productivity will increase.
Furthermore, town growth also depends on trade specialisation in the town and rural
areas. It covers all sectors from agriculture to industrial and so on. This trade requires
excess in output of goods so that exchange of goods is possible.
With these resources of economic power, the town growth will progress and the output of
goods will increase if it is undertaken correctly and properly.
In conclusion, it is clear that town growth is changes in the number of people living in a
town whereas urbanisation is the ratio or percentage of a country’s total population that
lives in urban areas.
History of Early Cities
Cities have long existed since the Neolithic revolution around 8000 B.C. Most of the
earliest human settlement started at river valleys in Central Asia. After at first being
active in hunting activities only, man now has started to dabble in breeding and
agriculture. This newly developed lifestyle is known as Neolithic Revolution that shows
early characteristics of human civilization such as grains production, animals breeding,
invention of the ploughing tools, and invention of wheel for movement purpose.
With these developments, there was an increase in food production and thus villages
developed into towns and small cities. The most important factor during that period was
the surplus of food production. The surplus occured after there was a specialisation
factor, which then became an important factor to design various sectors in town
economy. The surplus had its implication where it freed some people from agricultural
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work. This also means that there was an increase in production of non-agricultural goods,
which became the basis of city life.
This rapid and intensive development had created large cities with elements of social
class. It is estimated that these cities had a population of between 20,000 and 30,000
people. The next city development involved modernisation in agriculture. This
Agricultural Revolution recreated the city into a huge central market due to an increase of
food production.
The Modern Age showed the starting of the capitalist system in trade creating large
powerful colonies such as London, Paris and Amsterdam. During that period, the
development of science and technology also helped in the growth of cities.
The Industrial revolution and society revolution, which happened in France, Germany,
England and America had encouraged rapid urbanisation process due to the following
factors:
1. Industrial advancement such as, the discovery of steam engine, hydro and wind
power, use of fuel to move machineries and the process of changing land use from
agriculture to industrial and trading.
2. Agricultural advancement such as technological advancement and the discovery
of trade and service technique in obtaining food supply from rural areas.
3. Changes in society where city life was desired and this was followed with
migration to Conurbations and Megalopolis.
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Factors encouraging Urban Growth
Urban growth happens due to technological development, migration of residents, and the
development in economic activities from surplus production due to specialisation.
In general, urban growth in this country is influenced by factors below:
1. Migration and development of various economic activities
2. The history of how a city emerge and its development
3. Location factor that determines the growth pattern of a city suitable to be turned
into a city or a business area
4. Organisational, institutional and business facilities such as shopping complexes
5. Beneficial natural resources in an area
6. Good and suitable climatic factor; and
7. Good and strategic communication system that will speed up the city’s
development and growth
Urbanisation Concept
Town exist through a process called urbanisation. It is a changing process in different
aspects such as people, settlement, lifestyles, jobs and economic activities, human
thinking and others, which can create a town.
However, an urbanisation process is also influenced by other factors, such as agricultural
products, mining activities, strategic location, and political stability.
Kingsley Davis (1972) an expert in population studies defined urbanisation as a process
of people concentrating in an area considered as a town. It can be measured by comparing
the percentage of people living in the urban areas with the rural areas in a region, country
or other area units. Through this, the degree of urbanisation in area can be determined.
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R. M Hanson and C. F Schnore in their book entitled “The Study of Urbanisation” stated
that town development or urbanisation depends upon 4 items which are size and total
population, human knowledge of controlling the environment, technology development
and social development.
Urbanisation can also be defined as a process where the shape of society changes from
rural (informal) to town (formal). This is the difference between the rural society and the
town society.
Based on research in population, the major characteristics of an urbanisation process is
the large-scale movement of people from the rural areas to the cities. This process has
resulted in the followings:
1. Change of job ( from rural to city)
2. Change in lifestyle, way of thinking and so on
3. Change of land use from agricultural land, forest or neglected land to housing,
commercial and office buildings, school, hospital, roads and others
4. Change of distribution of population to a higher density
5. Change in society heading towards a more modern one
History of Urbanisation
According to western researchers, urbanisation process was slow prior to 1800. During
that period, cities were moderate centres of administration and business. Facilities such as
modern transportation that can create large cities were non-existent and well-known cities
did not have a population as large as today.
After 1800, rapid urbanisation process happened in Europe and America, as there was a
surplus in agricultural products, better transportation system, political stability and the
emergence of high technology industry. Therefore, there was a greater increase of people
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living in the cities than the increase of people in the world as a whole. It was found that
between 1800 and 1960, the world population has increased 3 times but the city
population with a total of more than 20,000 has increased 40 times while a city that has a
population between 20,000 and 100,000 has increased 90 times. Simultaneously, a city
with a population of more than a 100,000 has increased 60 times.
Urbanisation in Malaysia can be observed from the historical context of the Malaysian
Government before the year 1800. There were a few small towns in Malaysia located at
the mouth of the rivers, which was the King’s central administration. For example,
Malacca was a famous city back then and it was a major trade centre. From there
onwards, Malacca has gone through an urbanisation process and is still going through the
development progress to this present day.
Factors Encouraging Malaysia’s Urbanisation Process
Urbanisation process in Malaysia and other South-Eastern Asian countries are influenced
more by political and social factors compared to economic factors.
Factors that influence the urbanisation process in Malaysia are as follows:
1. Production Activities Based on Local Resources
Products made of newly found mineral and plants such as tin ore and rubber were
produced in a large-scale. These large-scale outputs have created a need to have a
central place for collection, storage and management purpose as well as for
workers residence. Upon the establishment of these centres, a town would emerge
nearby its output area. Examples of towns in Malaysia that have emerged through
this way are Kuala Lumpur, Taiping, Ipoh and Seremban. However, these towns
are located in the inland areas and therefore a port was required in order to market
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the tin ore and rubber products. This need has thus created towns by the sea such
as Port Weld and Port Klang.
2. Migration of People from Rural Areas to Town Areas
Migration of people from rural areas to town areas has started from the period of
the first ten years after the World War 2. The main reason for the migration was
the significant poverty in the rural areas due to scarcity of land and
overpopulation. Furthermore, the unproductive agricultural activities were not
enough to support a large population and this has resulted in unemployment.
Since then, people from the rural areas are drawn to the cities because of the job
opportunities from both the private and government sectors and the facilities in
the city that do not exist in the rural areas. The migration has caused a more rapid
urbanisation process and the movement of the Bumiputera community to the city
has also contributed to the high percentage of population growth in the city.
3. Function Centralisation and Economic Development
Urbanisation can also be linked to the centralisation of economic investment for
the development of the major cities. These readily advanced areas have huge
budget allocation in the country’s development such as amenities and facilities,
social function, culture and trade. The industrial growth in the major cities after
the 1960’s has also caused the centralisation of other functions, followed by the
population increase in the cities that varies the country’s economy and source of
income, and also fulfilling the needs and request of local users on previously
imported products.
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4. Urbanisation of Underdeveloped Areas
The urbanisation process of underdeveloped areas did not happen rapidly due to
the centralisation of the industrial sector in major cities. At the end of the 1970’s,
tremendous efforts have been made through the New Economic Policy to develop
the underdeveloped areas. Among the ways used for social and economic
development is through the formation of new towns in regional development
areas and the development of small towns especially in rural areas with a high-
density population.
5. Natural Increase in City Population
The concentration of inhabitants in the cities is not only caused by migration of
people from rural areas to the cities. The natural increase of inhabitants living in
the cities also plays an important role and Malaysia’s high rate of natural increase
is due to high birth rate and the low death rate.
6. Other Factors
‘The concentration of inhabitants to an area considered as town’ is the basis of
definition for ‘Urbanisation’. Therefore, the extension of the city border areas can
also increase the percentage of inhabitants living in the area. For example, when
the Kuala Lumpur area was extended from 93 square kilometres to 243 square
kilometres through the formation of the Federal Territory in 1974, inhabitants
outside the city border is accounted for the population census for the new Kuala
Lumpur. Other than that, the relocation of inhabitants to new settlements during
the emergency between 1948 and 1963 has also influenced the urbanisation
process.
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Benefits of the Urbanisation Economy
The urbanisation process is linked to the population growth of an area. When the total
population increases, people will live in groups and communities that would allow each
group to be active in a particular field. For example, a group would be active in the
business field while the other groups will be active in administration, service or industrial
fields. This situation creates specialisation and thus encourages economic development of
an area. The benefits of the urbanisation economy are as follows:
1. Specialisation Benefits
Specialisation is an important characteristic in modern economies. Specialisation can
increase production of output, increase on the quality of products, lowering the
average cost of production and providing more job opportunities.
There are two types of specialisation, which are labour specialisation and
specialisation according to regional or area function.
a. Labour Specialisation
This type of specialisation is practised in the cities for example, in the industrial,
manufacturing, construction, service and other sectors that are linked to the
city’s economic activities. The benefits gained from labour specialisation are:
i. Increasing the productivity of labour
ii. Decreasing cost of production
iii. Time saving
iv. The use of machineries and tools that are more efficient
v. Increase of products from the output of goods and services
vi. Large-scale production
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b. Specialisation according to Regional/Area Function
This type of specialisation arises due to differences of factors of production
between areas. Specialisation also depends on the Government’s Planning and
Policy. For instance, Kuala Lumpur CBD has been designated for commercial
and administration activities; whilst town edge area for industrial activities. In
addition to town edge areas such as Cheras and Ampang, certain hilly areas
such as Damansara Heights, Kenny Hills and Ukay Heights have also been
identified as residential areas.
2. Economies of Scale
Town area is the focal point of inhabitants as it provides a wide market for goods and
services. Good infrastructure, a stable economic and political condition encourages
the output of goods at a large scale. Thus, producers can enjoy economies of scale.
These benefits can be divided into two:
a. Internal economic benefits
b. External economic benefits
a. Internal economic benefits
An industry that operates in a declining cost situation has a tendency to group
its output. This situation will increase the profits of the producer and thus the
following benefits are enjoyed:
i. Management economics
Cost per unit management will decrease as the output increases.
This is because the same manager will be instructed to carry out
administration although the quantity changes.
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ii. Technical economics
Usually large firms in the cities have advantages in technical
economics such as the use of machineries and tools in the
production process. These firms can also use larger and more
advanced machineries to increase output and thus able to
decrease cost of production.
iii. Marketing economics
Firms that produce goods at a large scale are going to enjoy
benefits from the marketing aspect. Purchases in bundles and the
use of high and sophisticated technology decreases cost of
production. Large-scale production can increase the producer’s
capital and this would further intensify the promotions or
advertisements of the goods produced.
iv. Financial economics
It involves the large and stable firms with facilities to obtain
loans at lower interest rate.
v. Research economics
Large firms that carry out research to improve their product’s
quality, production of new products will further decrease their
cost of production.
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b. External economic benefits
External economic benefits are from the development of the entire industry
and enjoyed by the firms. There are two types of external economics that can
be enjoyed by producers due to urbanisation of an area. These are settlement
economics and information economics.
External economics will increase with the size of development of a town.
Therefore, external economics is dependent upon the market size.
3. Urbanisation economics
There are several types of economic activities that can enjoy benefits as a result of
being in the same location. With the existence of a town, all facilities as stated below
are gathered for its inhabitants:
a. Various types of facilities such as transportation, health and medical,
shopping centres, entertainment, cultural and institution of learning.
b. An increase of job opportunities in various sectors such as small
businesses, restaurants and hotels, tourism, construction and
manufacturing; and financial services, insurance and real estate.
c. Increase in supply of goods and services in the market.
d. Increase of technological design and innovation; and
e. Increase use of management techniques and efficient financing.
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4. Supply of factors of production
A town offers an attractive location for economic activities because all supply factors
can be generally utilised. The benefits are more obvious for labour, entrepreneurship,
capital and land.
Urbanisation Problems
Rapid and uncontrolled urbanisation process will cause a few problems as follows:
1. Concentrated and uncontrolled urbanisation
In general, rapid urbanisation process is mostly focused in the large cities only.
Concentrated urbanisation can create problems such as unbalanced development
between large cities and the continuing underdeveloped areas (Wan Daud,
2002). Inhabitants will continue to converge to the big cities and forced
allocation of social development to be concentrated to those cities only.
2. Migration of people from rural areas to the city
This problem exists in two ways:
a. From the economic aspect, migration of the educated and active young
people from the rural areas causes the agricultural sector from rural areas
to lose skilled and able labour. The decrease in the number of young
people in the rural areas can pose a threat to the rural area’s agricultural
industry.
b. A more threatening problem is the presence of rural inhabitants that is
unprepared with the city’s economic and social pattern and system.
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3. Poverty
A problem of poverty exists due to unemployment and the inhabitants’ low
source of income.
4. Problems in providing basic amenities for the inhabitants
From the social aspect, the government is forced to spend a huge financial
allocation to provide various basic amenities such as services, education,
communication and others. The huge financial allocation to provide these
amenities is a burden that can create liabilities to the government.
5. Housing problems
The low-income earners will face housing problems in the urban areas. With
their limited income, they will find that the houses are unaffordable. This root
problem is difficult to overcome and when this happens, the low-income earners
will opt to live as squatters.
6. Problem in separating the places of residence according to race and socio-
economic status
Poverty will become more complicated if there are city inhabitants who group
themselves according to their races. Separation pattern for places of residence
according to each group’s background would lead to communication tension,
prejudice and threats from illegal gangs.
c. Pollution of the physical environment
Pollution of the physical environment happens due to burning of energy
resources such as oil, coal and waste which has reached a dangerous stage.
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The high content of carbon monoxide together with dirt, smoke and other
particles in the air in the city area is enough to threaten humans’ health.
Indirectly, the increase of industrial area that has changed the land use from
agriculture to industrial has contributed to the pollution. Covered area,
whether it is concrete or tar has increased the rate of water flow, as water
cannot absorb into the earth and thus flash flood will happen.
d. Other problems
Another problem that can arise due to rapid urbanisation process is traffic
congestion. Most of the transportation problem is caused by traffic congestion
at major roads in the city. This usually happens when the road could not
support the existing amount of vehicles.
The next problem that could probably happen would be insufficient supply of electricity.
There are also several short-term programmes to overcome the problems stated above.
Examples are:
1. To develop squatters and crowded settlement areas, including giving advice and
training to the inhabitants in order to eradicate poverty gradually.
2. Prioritising home loan facilities from the public and private sector and also giving
first priority to low cost housing projects to overcome housing problems for the
low income earners.
3. Straightening and widening of roads to overcome traffic congestion problem.
4. Make an effort to maintain a balanced ecology.
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Long-term programmes to control urbanisation process are:
1. To develop new and old cities such as areas at the edge of a large city,
underdeveloped rural areas and regional development areas that can act as the
centre for economic growth.
2. To build more amenities in the underdeveloped rural areas, that can allow the
inhabitants to have a better life and to facilitate their acceptance towards
development.
Theories of Urban and Regional Growth
The theories of urban and regional growth can be considered from the aspect of demand.
Based on the aspect of demand, a number of urban and regional growth models have been
proposed by western economics researchers. Some of the proposed models are as
follows:
1. Central Place Theory (Walter Christaller)
2. Rank-size Rule (Zipf)
3. Urban Base Theory
4. Money Flow Theory
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Central Place Theory (Walter Christaller)
Walter Christaller proposed this theory in the year 1933 based on research done in the
south of Germany. This theory explains the relevance of the market area to the size of a
town’s population and the distribution of settlements. In his opinion, there is a unity in
distribution and pattern of settlement based on the degree of importance of the
centralisation, pictured by its functional characteristics. According to Christaller, central
place is defined as a settlement that provides services such as trading, education, cultural,
health, security and government’s services.
Other than physical space, central concept also covers aspects of economic system,
activity and size of population. Physical space is important in understanding the
distribution, location, arrangement and distance of central place in relation with the
economic system. This concept claims that the larger the size of the city, the greater the
degree of centralisation and thus the city will become more important in a settlement.
Based on the concept, the idea of urban hierarchy is introduced according to the town’s
level of specialisation. The difference of settlements’ specialisation shows different
degree of centralisation of a town that can be measured through different ways such as
population, numbers of function/specialisation, space, various types of goods and
services offered, size of spheres of influence and others.
ASSUMPTIONS IN CENTRAL PLACE THEORY
1. The land topography is a uniform plane. This would create a simple transportation
system in all directions where cost of transportation is compatible with the
distance.
2. Distribution of inhabitants and purchasing power are uniform in all areas where
consumers have the same income.
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3. Market areas for all types of goods and services take the form of a hexagon. The
form of a hexagon was chosen to avoid certain areas not being served and other
areas being served overlapping hinterlands. Market areas main function is to
supply goods and services plus administrative functions to rural areas.
4. The services provided depend on the status or hierarchy of a town. For example, a
medical centre is provided to a high grade town centre while a low grade town
centre is provided with a lower grade medical facility such as a local clinic.
5. Users will head towards the nearest centre that offers the function needed,
therefore long distance travelling is minimised.
Two important concepts that are emphasised in this theory are:
1. The threshold of inhabitants
The threshold of inhabitants is the minimum number of inhabitants needed to
support the existence of a settlement function. The threshold of inhabitants of a
town is largely influenced by the dispersion of purchasing power and its
inhabitants. The threshold of inhabitants is different between different types of
goods and services. For example, a shop is only necessary when the population is
in the region of 300 people while a clinic needs 1,200 people. A school is only
provided when there are around 2,500 inhabitants. These figures are the minimum
market threshold.
This concept is important in settlement research especially from the aspect of
providing basic amenities. This can be shown in the figure below:
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Figure 1.1: The threshold of inhabitants
With reference to figure 1.1, the radius is the potential maximum radius size for
that market area. A to C is the distance of goods.
a. Purchasing Goods Distance
The purchasing goods distance is the market of a service. The distance of the
market goods is related with the travelling distance, which is the travelling
distance back and forth depending on the geographic situation that involves
transportation cost and travelling period.
A :border of market area
where its radius is equal to
distance of goods
C
Size of market area is
determined by minimum
demand
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Figure 1.2: The Relation between Demand for Goods and Distance
(1 type of good and 1 supplier)
The distance from A to C is the distance of goods where users are willing to travel in
obtaining the goods. The distance friction from the cost of transportation will lower the
demand for goods due to the increase of distance from the central place. For example,
when a user is at C, he has to purchase the least amount of goods compared to A because
he has to settle a high cost of transportation.
The layout of centralised area according to Christaller’s theory is as follows:
a. The formation of a specialised area is according to hierarchy where the
arrangement is from the towns with the highest level to the lowest level of
Quantity of goods
A C Distance of goods/ distance
from supplier (price +
transportation costs)
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specialisation. It starts with the District Centre, County Seat, Township Centre
and Market Hamlet. Please refer to Figure 1.3 for a better picture.
b. The market areas of goods and services are hexagonally shaped.
c. For each group of six towns there would be a larger city with more specialised
functions that would also be located an equal distance from other cities and each
has hexagon shaped market area. The lowest ranked centres are 7 km, followed by
the second lowest (Township Centre) that is 7km x √3 = 12km, next is Country
Seat at 12km x √3 = 21km and the biggest is the District Centre at 21km x √3 =
36km
The size of the area and the total population is three times according to hierarchy.
Hence, the trade factor has a pattern referred to as K = 3 hierarchy. The traffic factor has
a K = 4 hierarchy. This refers to the traffic network for a central market area with a
multiplier of 4. Administration factor has a pattern of K=7. This means that a central area
with a higher status has more administration compared to lower status area based on this
multiplier K=7.
Therefore, it can be observed that central place theory has two potential roles: first, as a
guideline to understand the regional space structure and second, as a model for future
planning. One main argument that supports the use of this theory in regional planning is
due to the central hierarchy system that encourages development. Thus, social benefits
from an economic field can be gained. Although, there are problems of using this
structure theory, the ideas contained in this theory is quite fascinating to plan the regional
pattern of an area.
Some of the weaknesses of the Central Place Theory by Walter Christaller are:
a. The assumption of a uniform plane does not exist and Christaller ignored
variations in topography.
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b. The influence of the manufacturing industry especially in developed countries is
discounted. When the industry is focused on a certain product, the pattern of
settlement arrangement would also change.
c. Government’s development policy for an area will also change the arrangement
pattern of function for Central Place.
d. Discount of changes in transportation system and trading between cities and its
effect upon the size of towns of a large in-migration of labour
Although this theory has received a lot of criticism, the Central Place Theory still plays
an important role as stated below:
a. Laying the foundation in understanding the arrangement of town settlements
(please refer to Figure 1.4)
b. The use of centralised settlement distribution of various sizes is important in
regional planning. If there are certain situation that can influence the known
distribution, a solution can be done from the aspect of the town size that can be
created, the amount, distance between one central area to another and the
functions that can be offered (based on the economic background and residents
distribution)
c. The residents limit concept and the distance of purchasing goods are most useful
from the aspect of planning and determining the type of highest goods that can be
offered in a city centre.
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Figure 1.3: Christaller’s Central Place Theory
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Figure 1.4: Central Place Dispersion (Grade 1 & Grade 2) in Peninsular Malaysia
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Rank Size Rule
The rank size rule explains that the cities distribution of a country tends to be a
continuous arithmetic from the biggest size to the smallest.
The cities in a country can be graded from the largest to the smallest size based on the
size of the settlers. Therefore, the largest city can be classified its rank as number 1, the
second largest number 2, and the number continues to the smallest city in that country.
Zipf (1949) explains the relation between the size of the urban settlers with its rank by
using a mathematical equation.
Assume ‘R’ is equal to the size of settlers in the largest city which is Level 1 divided with
‘R’. In other words, the studied urban settlement can be levelled as Rank 1 for the largest
city, ½ for second largest city, 1/3 for the third largest, 1/4 for the fourth and then 1/n for
the smallest city in that country.
In the mathematical equation:
Pr = Pi / Rb
Where Pr is Level ‘R’ urban settlers that needs to be counted
Pi is Settlers from the largest city (Level 1)
R is the known level for ‘R’ city
b is fixed value and often ignored in the calculation as P
value is mostly not explained.
This equation is often stated with different symbols but has the same meaning.
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If the largest city, level 1 has a 1,000,000 population therefore the settlers for R city (for
example level 10) is equal to 1,000,000 / 10 which is 100,000 people. If the urban settlers
for each level is counted, based on the population of the largest city which is level 1,
therefore the city’s size is as though having a systematic sequence from the largest to the
smallest.
Table 1.1: Rank-size of 12 Principal Cities in Peninsular Malaysia, 2000
City Ranks
CR
Name of City Real
Population
Expected Population
Pr = Pi / Rb
1. Kuala Lumpur 1,297,526 1,297,526
2. Ipoh 566,211 648,763
3. Klang 563,173 432,509
4. Petaling Jaya 438,084 324,382
5. Johor Bahru 384,613 259,505
6. Shah Alam 319,612 216,254
7. Kuantan 283,041 185,361
8. Kuala Terengganu 250,528 162,191
9. Seremban 246,441 144,170
10. Kota Bharu 233,673 129,753
11. Taiping 183,320 117,957
12. George Town 180,573 108,127
Source: www.citypopulation.de, Thomas Binkoff, 2003
THE IMPORTANCE OF CITY DISTRIBUTION BASED ON ITS RANK-SIZE
The distribution of a city based on its size is an important study to determine the overall
settlement system. Some of the important contributions of this study are:
1. Rank-size shows the number and frequency of cities of various sizes in a country.
It is useful to observe the cities’ importance from the aspect of size and function.
2. It makes us able to observe the wider perspective of all cities in a country.
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3. Comparison on the distribution of cities in a country with another country can be
done. Thus, it is useful in measuring the balance of cities distribution.
4. It can prove whether the cities are uniformly arranged in a smooth hierarchy as
claimed by Zipf.
In situations when other factors such as history, demography, natural resources and
government policy do not influence much on the development of urban settlements, the
distribution which is of log-frequency character depicts a more balanced social and
economic development between different areas in a country.
The truth is that rank size principle is only effective in helping researchers explain the
cities distribution of a large country. For a small country with an economic system that is
hard to explain, this rank-size principle, may not assist much in understanding the
problems in the distribution of cities.
For small countries like Malaysia that do not have a large population, it is difficult to
determine the most suitable distribution pattern for the cities.
Overall, the Rank-Size Principle is still useful at least to provide a guide in outlining the
urbanisation policy and strategy of a country
Urban Base Theory
Unlike the central place theory which was concerned with the distribution of products
from an urban centre to its hinterland, the urban base theory involves a consideration of
demand from anywhere outside the boundaries of the settlement. Urban growth will thus
depend upon the urban area’s ability to export goods and services to pay for its import
needs.
28

The urban base theory divides the urban area into two activities:
1. ‘Basic’ activity which involves the production of goods and services for export
2. ‘Non-basic’ activity which involves the output of products for distribution solely
to the urban area itself.
Based on this theory, the urban growth depends upon basic industry where it will
encourage development in non-basic activity and increase the overall urban economic
standard. In short, the theory states that non-basic industry will be dependent upon the
basic sector. The theory assumes that once the underlying economic, technological and
social structure of a country has stabilised, the ratio between basic and non basic
activities of an urban area and the ratios between all activities and the total population
remain constant. Furthermore, it is assumed that the open market principle is practised in
the urban area where there is no restriction in trade.
According to the theory, the larger the ratio between basic and non-basic activities, the
higher will be the rate of urban growth. As stated before, non-basic industries will be
dependent upon the basic sector where employees in the later activity provide much of
the demand for the products of the former. This theory also suggests that if an urban area
loses substantial employment in the basic sector, the employment in the non-basic sector
will also decrease.
If there is an injection of basic employment into the town, eventually non-basic
employment will have to increase. Local demand for goods and services will also
increase and this will create temporary imbalance between the local demand and ability
of non-basic sector to meet the demand. This temporary imbalance resulting from an
initial increase in basic employment will be eliminated through an upward adjustment in
both non-basic employment and total population as showed in Table 1.2.
Criticisms against the urban base theory are as follows:
29

1. This theory assumes that the underlying economic, technological and social
structure of a country is stable but in reality, it often changes especially changes
in technology.
2. There is unlikely to be a constant basic - non- basic ratio for an urban area with
other urban areas. The ratio will change when there are changes on the factors that
were assumed stable.
3. The theory only suggests what might happen if there is a change in the basic
activity but gives no indication of what future changes that may be anticipated in
an urban area.
4. The theory ignores the importance and effects of imports in urban growth
5. The theory states that a non-basic activity is dependent upon a basic activity but in
reality, the reverse is often true where there will be no basic activity without
excess factors from a non-basic activity.
6. By focusing on exports, the theory has ignored other variables such as
autonomous investment that can influence urban growth.
Nevertheless, the urban base theory is still important for the following purposes:
1. To provide a guideline in forecasting population growth in an urban area.
2. To determine the inter-relationship between economic sectors in a region.
3. To determine the strength of principal economies of an urban area, in order to
anticipate future development.
30

4. To provide guidelines in determining sector of employment for urban areas that
needs to be developed.
5. To measure the rate of unemployment and underutilised labour; and
6. To determine the type of basic amenities, services and other facilities that can be
provided.
Table 1.2 : Balance between Basic and Non-basic ctivities
Level І
Number Initial equilibrium ratio
to basic employment
Basic employees 10,000 1.0
Non-basic employees 18,750 1.5
Total employees 25,000 2.5
Total population 50,000 5.0
Level П
Number Disequilibrium ratio
to basic employment
Level Ш
Number Possible equilibrium ratio
to basic employment
31

Level П – shows that an injection has been given to the numbers of employees and
therefore the ratio to basic employment changes temporarily
Level Ш – shows that the ratio to basic employment has returned to the original
equilibrium
Money flow theory
J.M. Keynes introduced money flow theory in the year 1930. There are 4 role playing
sectors in the cash flow cycle which consists of households, firms, government and
overseas sectors. Figure 1.5 shows the income flow cycle as follows:
1. Consumers’ income is used for income tax payment, payment for goods and
services produced by the manufacturers as well as for savings.
2. Manufacturers’ income is used for tax payment imposed by the government,
payment for factors of production from households (consumers) and payment for
capital goods and imported raw materials.
3. Government’s income is used to pay civil servants’ wages and salaries and
government’s expenditures on goods and services produced in and out of the
country.
Savings made by the households or consumers and firms in financial institutions will be
borrowed and used by the producers for investment. Leakages and injections will happen
in the money flow. According to Keynes, these leakages consist of savings, government
taxes and imports whilst the injections comprise of investments, government’s
expenditures and exports.
In the open economic system model, savings made by the consumers and firms are the
leakages in the income flow and will cause the income flow to decrease. This is because
32

the savings made are not used immediately for investment (frozen savings). On the
contrary, investments made by the manufacturers are injections to income flow and
causes the income flow to increase. This is because the investments made are used to
increase the national production. Therefore, the larger the investment rate, the larger is
the income flow.
Tax imposed by the government is a leakage to this income flow. This is because the part
of consumers’ income used to pay the tax is not used by the consumers but will be
channelled to the government sector and this happens to the firm sector too. If the
government keeps the income they obtain from the taxes, the cash flow in the country
will decrease. However, government’s expenditure on goods and services is an injection
to this cash flow. Government’s expenditure on goods and services will increase firm
sector’s income. Besides that, the use of labour (civil servants) from the household sector
will increase income in this sector.
The action from household, firm and government sectors to import goods and services
from abroad is a leakage where it will cause cash to flow overseas. This is because there
is no income for factors of production in the country and there are expenses for imported
goods. On the contrary, export to overseas is an injection where the export of goods and
outgoing services will result in the inflow of money into the country for spending and the
balance to be saved.
33

Figure 1.5: Income (cash) Flow in a Four Sector Economy
34
SALARY AND WAGES, RENT, INCOME AND PROFIT
GOVERNMENT SECTOR
TAX TAX
PAYMENT FOR
GOODS AND
SERVICES
PAYMENT FOR
PRODUCTION
FACTORS
FIRM SECTOR
HOUSEHOLD
SECTOR
IMPORT
OVERSEAS
SECTOR
FINANCIAL
BODIES
IMPORT IMPORT
EXPORT
FIRM FUND HOUSEHOLD
FUND
ENTREPRENEUR’SINVESTMENT
USERS EXPENSES
SALARY AND WAGES, RENT, INCOME AND PROFIT
GOVERNMENT SECTOR
TAX TAX
PAYMENT FOR
GOODS AND
SERVICES
PAYMENT FOR
FACTORS OF
PRODUCTION
FIRM SECTOR
HOUSEHOLD
SECTOR
IMPORT
OVERSEAS
SECTOR
FINANCIAL
BODIES
IMPORT IMPORT
EXPORT
FIRM SAVING HOUSEHOLD
SAVING
ENTREPRENEUR’SINVESTMENT
USERS EXPENSES

The total allocation of money is based on the Marginal Propensity to Consume (MPC).
The process is continuous until the total money spent is small. The total income
generated is based on the concept of multiplier that is the multiplication of income flow
in the economy as a result of an injection.
Below is how the size of the multiplier is derived:
K = 1
1-MPC
= 1
1-0.8
= 1 or 1
0.2 MPS
= 5
When the change of investment that was earlier mentioned is said to be RM10 million,
MPC = 0.8, MPS = 0.2, therefore the change in output is
1 x change in investment
1 - MPC
= 1 x 10
1 - 0.2
= RM50 million
From the above equation, the size of the multiplier in the economy is 5 times from the
investment. This means that the economic income increases 5 times from the initial
investment, thus, the change in investment as much as RM10 million previously will
generate an income flow as much as RM50 million. Here, the economic level that was at
RM1,000 million increases to RM1,050 million.
35

Thus, an investor is able to know the economic situation of a place or an area through the
multiplier value.
Based on Figure 1.5 above, it is clear that the high income in the city will cause an
increase in utilisation and thus encourage urban growth. When injection is made in the
cash inflow or the income into the country, export creates an income for the factors of
production. Multiplier will also cause the income to change at a higher rate from the
changes in those expenses. The formula to arrive at a multiplier is related both to MPC
and Marginal Propensity to Save (MPS) as follows
Multiplier Formula:
MPC is the changes in total consumption due to the changes in disposable income. MPS
is the change in total saving due to the changes in disposable income.
Although this theory relates to urban growth, it has its weaknesses from the aspect of
national economy as follows:
1. Insufficient data that make it difficult to predict when variable changes will occur.
2. Insufficient information on activities that is not payable by money where
originally these activities have to be considered in determining the income of a
city.
3. This theory also concludes that the higher the income, the higher is the
consumption and thus demand for goods in a city will also increase. However, if
the percentage change in income is equal to the percentage change in price of
goods, it will cause no difference in the purchasing power. If there is no increase
in the consumers’ expenditure, there would be no increase in the demand for
K = 1 or 1
1-MPC MPS
36

goods in a city and thus the city will develop slowly. This is also the case if
inflation happens.
Urban Growth from the Aspect of Supply
Urban growth from the aspect of demand can only happen in the short term, as it does not
consider the need for factors of production. Since the available factors of production are
limited, the subsequent long-term urban growth process would need an increase and
modification in factors of production in accordance with the current increase in demand.
There are two ways to upgrade the factors of production in an urban area. First, the
capability to attract resources within and outside the urban area. Second is the capability
to modify the output from production resources within the urban area or region itself.
This urban growth analysis can be further considered from the four factors of production;
labour, land, capital and entrepreneurship.
Labour
Labour is defined as the mental and physical capacity of workers to produce goods and
services other than the direct benefits gained from the employment. From the aspect of
economics, all labourers who receive wages in the form of money or goods for their
services are called labour. In general, there are three types of labour; skilled labour, half
skilled labour and unskilled labour.
An economics supply of labour is influenced by the size of inhabitants, ratio of employed
inhabitants, the total hours of each individual is willing to work, custom and beliefs
toward the job, labour mobility and others. In general, a large population would have a
large supply in labour. A country’s population rate of increase is dependent upon the rate
of birth, death and migration of inhabitants from rural areas.
37

The supply of labour is influenced by the rate of inhabitants that are willing to work. This
depends on the gender, age and the level of education of the inhabitants of a country.
The power in determining the labour supply for different jobs depends upon the number
of jobs available and the ability to enter or to get involved in a job and the amount of time
that they are willing to work. The supply curve of labour from an individual worker is of
a normal shape as below.
Figure 1.6 : Supply Curve of Labour
When wages increase, so does labour. Thus, the total supply will increase to a certain
level. If wages still increase, the supply curve of labour will curve backwards as
illustrated in figure 1.7 below.
Total labour’s working
hours
Real wages
0
Pn
38

Figure 1.7 : Supply Curve of Labour that Curves Backward
Trade unions are labour associations that were formed to represent workers in a collective
negotiation in an industry. Trade unions have become the spokespersons for the workers
in fighting for their interest and welfare. Examples of active trade unions in Malaysia are
the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC). MTUC acts as a public relation and
spokesperson on behalf of its members. MTUC is dependent upon financial contribution
from each international labour trade society.
The main purposes of trade unions are as follows:
1. To increase wages and obtain more benefits
2. To ensure a better working environment such as shorter working hours,
comfortable working area, leave and others
3. To protect workers from unjust action such as dismissal of employment
0
Total labour working
hoursK1K
H1
H
Pn
Real wages
39

4. To discuss and negotiate economics and industrial policy
5. To participate in political organisations and to console the government to pass
bills that benefit workers
In conclusion, it can be stated that labour plays an important role in urban growth. At the
early stages, labours that are focused in an urban area originate from the inhabitants of
that area itself and from nearby areas. This is because labour supply is greatly needed in
the development of a pioneer city. When the city starts to develop, labours from rural
areas will migrate to the city.
Land
According to the National Land Code, land can be defined as all items that are attached to
the earth including plants and other natural resources whether it needs to use energy
periodically in its production or not.
Land is an important factor because it is a source of raw materials, vegetation for
agriculture, and site for development plus nature where it can further encourage the
process of urban growth. The finding of important raw materials such as minerals and
agricultural products for trade has pushed efforts to produce in a large scale. The need for
a central place to collect, store, manage and workers quarters has resulted in the
emergence of new cities nearby the production area.
In the 19th
century, history has proven that urban growth is linked to high demand for
natural resources of an area. It can be observed, that the developed areas are places with
plenty of raw materials such as tin ore and petroleum or fertile soil suitable for
agriculture. In these areas, the number of inhabitants have increased, large cities have
emerged, railroads and highways were built and public amenities were provided.
40

The need to build a port has also resulted in new urban areas by the sea to emerge such as
Pelabuhan Kuala Sepetang (Port Weld), Port Klang and Teluk Intan. In addition, the
growth of a city population is indirectly linked to land factor and its use which naturally
creates higher need for housing, jobs and basic amenities. This will involve the process of
changing land use from agriculture, forest or neglected land to housing, commercial
buildings, offices, schools, hospital, roads and others. Therefore, it can be stated that the
change of agricultural land use to non-agricultural use is part of the urban growth
process.
Capital
In economics, the term capital means “tools to produce other goods”. Capital is surplus
goods such as factories producing raw materials, highways, railroads, factories,
machineries and others. Therefore, capital is a factor of production and helps to produce
other goods that can give satisfaction to consumers.
There are several types of capital:
1. Fixed capital
Fixed capital is a long-term production tool that is long life and does not change
form during production. In this category, we can include factors of production like
factories, machineries, highways and railroads, tractors and others that assist
further production.
2. Employment capital
Employment capital is a production tool that is only used once such as rubber,
clay and fuel. They change form entirely at different stages of production.
41

Employment capital needs to be replaced once it is all used which is different
from fixed capital that takes a long time to be replaced.
3. Social capital
Each community has large capital that is indirectly used in production. Schools,
hospitals, flower nursery and playgrounds are part of the country’s capital but are
not directly involved in the production of goods. This type of capital is important
to improve the standard of health, provides education and training and other
aspects to upgrade the standard of living. Indirectly, this type of capital will
increase the capacity to produce.
The relationship between capital and urban growth is crucial. Without capital, a city
cannot be developed or expanded properly. This is because capital is much needed at the
early stages of urban development.
Entrepreneurship
Lastly, an entrepreneur is needed to manage the three factors of production as explained
above to become one production unit. There must be a person to decide on:
1. What to produce (type and quantity of goods)
2. How to produce (method of producing)
3. Where to produce (factory location) and the risk involved in the decision-making.
The person who makes these decisions and undertakes its risk is called an entrepreneur.
An entrepreneur is a person who produces to seek profits. He will undertake on a
production that he believes has a satisfactory demand with prices that can give him
42

profits. He will decide on the location of the factory, hiring factors of production and
combining it in ratios that he thinks is effective. He is also ready to face risk of using his
savings by incurring all the expenses before his products hit the market. In conclusion, all
these four factors of production play an important role in the growth of urban economics.
Tutorial Questions
1. State the important concepts in the Central Place Theory (Christaller). How far does
the theory contributes in planning the structure of a settlement in a new developing
area that you know.
2. Explain the concept of ‘Urban Growth’. How far is the urban-regional growth
dependent upon the capacity to attract productive resources that is needed from
outside?
3. State an economics definition for urbanisation. Discuss the problems that may arise
due to rapid and uncontrollable urbanisation process that most developing countries
face.
4. Explain the factors that encourage urbanisation process in Malaysia and state the
economic benefits from the process.
5. Provide comments on two (2) from below:
a. Rank-size rule (Zipf)
b. Urban Base Theory
c. Money Flow Theory
43

CHAPTER 2: URBAN AND REGIONAL LAND USE MODEL
Introduction to Urban Land Use
From the aspect of physical planning, land use can be defined as a form or way how the
land is to be used. Therefore, land use is the land function or the activities carried out on
a piece of land and it can be classified into certain categories such as trade, commercial,
industrial and residential.
Urban and Regional Land Use Models
There are several theories that have been brought forward by economists and planners.
Among them is the earliest theory by Heinrich Von Thunen. He put forward the theory
where agricultural land use is different based on how far it is located from the market
centre. William Alonso has adapted this theory by suggesting the urban land use pattern
and Land Rent Value Principle. Another theory was put forward by David Ricardo who
emphasises that the land rent value is influenced by certain factors.
Von Thunen Land Use Model
In the year 1826, Johan Heinrich Von Thunen, a German economist came out with the
Agriculture Land Use theory. This theory is contained in his book, Der Isolierte Staat
(The Isolated State).
The theory’s main objective is to show the difference in land use with the increasing
distance from the market. Von Thunen tries to explain the location of different
agricultural land uses through economic principles with the rural land use pattern.
44

Basic Principles in Von Thunen’s Theory
In general, this theory has 2 basic principles. First, the intensity of a particular
agricultural output will decrease when its location gets farther from the market.
The farther is the farm from the market, the lesser is the intensity of its cultivation.
Therefore, intensive cultivation are carried out in areas that are located nearby the market
whereas an extensive agriculture system is carried out in areas far from the market.
Adaptation to the agriculture system is made to reduce transportation cost and cost of
production. This cost includes cost of transporting agriculture input from the field to the
market, cost of frequent supervision and tight care. For areas that are far from the market,
agriculture inputs including labour are reduced to save cost and maximise return and
products.
The second principle is that different types of land use follow the distance from the
market. Land use or types of plants are different with the increasing distance from the
market in order to cut cost of output and to increase the returns.
The assumptions proposed by Von Thunen are as follows:
1. A state has only one city centre in the middle.
2. The city centre has only one place to market agriculture goods.
3. The land area is uniform or similar from the aspect of soil fertility, climate and
geography.
4. There is only horse carriage as a form of transportation at the time.
45

5. Transportation cost is determined by the travelling distance.
6. All farmers in the area act as a human economy. This means that the farmers have
the attitude to maximise profits.
Economic Rent or Location Rent is an important concept in this theory.
Economic rent is the difference between the total revenue of a farmer for a particular
agriculture goods planted in a land area and the total production and transportation
cost of the particular agriculture goods. The revenue gained is based on the price of
the agriculture goods in the market.
It is found that transportation cost increases as the farther the agricultural activity is
from the market. The higher the transportation cost, the smaller is the difference
between revenue and the total cost. Thus, the location rent will become smaller.
The location rent of an area of land will decrease as it gets farther from the market.
For example, location ‘A’ has a revenue equal to the cost. Therefore, location ‘A’ has
location rent of zero for a land unit. Location rent is what a farmer would offer for a
land area.
46

Figure 2.1 : The Relationship between Location Rent and Distance from Market
1. Intensity model
As illustrated in figure 2.2 below, the Von Thunen model can also be explained in the
context of an intensity model.
Location Rent
0
A
Distance from Market
47

Figure 2.2 : Intensity Model
Based on the intensity model, location rent is different due to the distance from
the market for different intensity of output.
2. Location model for a number of crops related to the market.
This involves two types of crops, location rent and distance from the market as
illustrated in figure 2.3.
48
Intensive Extensive
Extensive
Intensive
km
Locationrent
Market

Market
Figure 2.3 : Location Model for a Number of Crops Related to the Market
In reality, the market price, durability, portability, rate of return and production
cost are always different between one agriculture product to another.
Therefore, the crop that can guarantee the highest location rent for a unit of land
will be cultivated.
Location rent is paid in the form of land price or land rent.
The location rent formula for a particular crop is:
SL = Hp - Hk – Htj
= H ( p – k – t)
Where:
SL : Location rent for a unit of land
H : the goods for a unit of land
49
Crop A Crop B
Crop A
Crop B
LocationRent

P : the market price for a unit of commodity
K : the cost of production for a unit of commodity
T : transportation cost for a unit of commodity
j distance from the market
Pattern and Arrangement of Von Thunen Model of Land Use
Von Thunen depicts the suggested model’s pattern of arrangement as a circle.
This circle is then divided into six zones where there is one city centre in the
middle. (Figure 2.4)
50
Small town with its
own production zone

Figure 2.4: Von Thunen Model
The zones are as follows:
1. Zone 1
This zone is the area closest to the city centre. Agriculture and economic
activities are focused on milk and vegetables production. The product is
not durable and the rent is the highest.
2. Zone 2
This zone is used for the production of forest resources. During Von
Thunen’s era, wood is important for fuel and building materials. As this
production creates transportation problem, it is important that production
be nearby the city.
51
Town centre
Fresh vegetables and milk
Small forest
Six-year seasonal crop
Seven-year seasonal crop
Three field system
Animal breeding
River

3. Zone 3, 4, 5
Activities carried out are in the form of agriculture too. Less intensive
agriculture is undertaken here and the agriculture products include
potatoes, dry grass and cereals that are cultivated alternately. The main
type of cereal is rye. The rental rate for this area is lower.
4. Zone 6
This area is for animal breeding. The rent is the lowest.
The Weakness of Von Thunen’s Theory
The weaknesses in the Von Thunen’s theory are as follows:
1. This model is only suitable in explaining the pattern of agriculture land use only.
It is very different from now, as land use displays a few important characteristics
such as the existence of a city centre and activities like commercial, trade and
services. In the suburbs, there are residential and industrial uses while in rural
areas there are intensive agriculture activities.
2. This model considers the distance aspect only and do not consider soil fertility
although it plays an important role in determining the suitable type of land use
and cultivation.
3. In his assumption, Von Thunen ignores technology advancement in the
transportation sector although in today’s reality it is one of the factors that
determines urban land use pattern.
4. Nowadays, there is no isolated state as explained by Von Thunen.
52

5. Von Thunen assumed that the land area is uniform from the aspect of fertility,
climate and topography. In reality, this is impossible as no place on earth has the
same topography.
6. The assumption that all farmers know the market price with the total revenue in
the future is inaccurate.
David Ricardo Land Use Model
Ricardo land use model is known as Rent Difference Theory. Through this theory,
Ricardo has denied Von Thunen’s opinion on constant soil fertility. According to
Ricardo, the rate of soil fertility is different and thus has influenced the agriculture land
use pattern. Hence, soil fertility is a major factor in determining different production cost
based on its economic function.
Assumption in Ricardo’s Theory
Among the assumptions that was put forward by Ricardo are as follows:
1. The market price of agricultural goods is higher than the cost. With this surplus
over production cost, profits from the agriculture produce are gained.
2. The land use pattern is based on the concept of marginal land. This concept refers
to land productivity where land is considered economical if it is intensively
utilised to create the surplus.
3. The land use pattern is based on the soil fertility itself where the type of activities
carried out will become more economical.
53

David Ricardo has created a formula to determine the land use pattern based on rental as
follows:
L = E (p - a) – EFK
Where:
L = Land rental
E = Production rate for each land unit
P =Market price for each commodity unit
a = Cost of production for each commodity unit
F = Cost of transportation for each commodity unit
K =Distance
With this formula, it is clear that the Ricardo Land Use Model is more focused on the rent
difference based on the supply and demand measured through the soil fertility.
Weakness of Ricardo Theory
Ricardo’s theory also has a number of weaknesses as follows :
The emphasis of this theory is on agricultural land use only. This theory does not give a
complete explanation on the urban land use.
Ricardo focuses more on the soil fertility without considering other factors of production
such as labour, capital and entrepreneurship and development of modern technology.
In reality, the market price is not always higher than the cost of production. Product
abundance, price fluctuation and other economic factors can affect the market price.
54

In conclusion, the theories brought forward by Ricardo and Von Thunen only emphasise
on agricultural land use pattern. Emphasis was also given on factors like soil fertility, rent
difference, influence of distance and cost of transportation. However, it is clear that the
given theories still fails to show other factors that influence the land use pattern such as
planning, government policy, technology advancement and change in current taste.
Urban Land Rent Value (William Alonso)
William Alonso in the year 1964 introduces this land use theory, which is a century after
the Von Thunen theory was introduced.
This theory was introduced based on the principle of the land rent where William Alonso
states that the land rent of an area is influenced by its distance from the central market
(city) and it will differ according to the land use in the particular area.
Basic Principles and Characteristics of W. Alonso Theory
This theory is based on the principle that land rent will decrease for areas that is getting
further from the city centre. This is the result of the rising cost of transportation needed to
get to the city centre despite the decreasing incomes received by the residents in that area.
Thus, it is W. Alonso’s opinion that the fall in rental rates will balance out the increasing
cost and the decreasing income.
As a result of the theory’s basic principle, a series of bid rents curve would emerge which
shows the steepness or the rent gradient. Different rent uses would have different rent
gradients. Here, Alonso has divided it into three types of land use which are commercial,
office and residential.
55

In figure 2.5, the horizontal axis shows the distance from the city centre while the vertical
axis shows the bid rent. Exhibit B shows that the land rent varies according to its land use
where the land rent for retail land is higher compared to land rent for office and
residential land use respectively.
a-a rent curve is a bid rent curve for retail land use. The rental rate is highest and has the
closest distance to the city centre. B-b curve shows the bid rent curve for office land use
while c-c curve is the bid rent for residential land use. Both bid rent curves have gradients
that gets steeper when the distance is further from the city centre.
For each land use mentioned, the bid rent is proportionally inversed with the distance
from the city centre. This is because the land rent will decrease when the distance of the
land increases from the city centre.
56

Exhibit A
Figure 2.5 : Land Rent by Alonso
57
Bid Rent
Distance from the
City Centre
Bid Rent Curve

Exhibit B
Figure 2.5: Land Rent by Alonso
Exhibit A and B are bid rent curves that show the total resources that can be allocated to
own land closer to the market.
W. Alonso came up with a few assumptions in forming his theory. The assumptions are
as follows:
1. There is only a single market centre
58
b
Bid
Rent
c
Commercial
Office
Residential
a b
c
Distance from
City Centre
a

2. A uniform plain low land exist
3. Soil being of constant fertility
4. Perfect market; and
5. Goods located in city centre
W. Alonso’s model also has two approaches:
1. Total land use needed for each developer
2. Developer’s total revenue that is allocated for the purpose of purchasing land and
travelling cost needed due to the location of purchased land including cost of
service and purchasing of goods.
The individual capacity in competing and paying rent for the land partially depends on
the land size needed and the necessity to spend for other goods.
Critics on the Land Rent Theory can be summarised as follows:
1. The concept of a single city centre is not accurate because now many sub-centres
exist to support rapid growth of activities in the city centre area. For example, in
Malaysia the government has tried to spread these centralised activities to
surrounding areas to avoid the emergence of various problems such as the
increasing population that is getting denser due to process of migration that leads
to higher needs in other facilities such as residence facilities, transport facilities,
business centre and others.
59

2. The assumption that the topography is plain lowland that is uniform does not exist
in reality. Therefore, factors such as distance, physical and topography are also
important in determining the land use pattern and rent value in the city area.
3. The land rent does not always decrease as it gets further from the city centre. For
example, the Golden Triangle area in the Kuala Lumpur city centre has higher
land rent compared to the land rent of the city centre itself. The Golden Triangle
area has a high land rent because of the existence of exclusive buildings of
international status in the area. The materials used in the construction of the
buildings are also of high quality. In addition, other internal factors have also
attracted the interest of foreign investors to invest in this area.
4. In W. Alonso theory, the assumption is that inhabitants do not focus towards the
city centre. The opposite situation happens in Kuala Lumpur City, where it is the
inhabitants’ central focus. Migrations are focused here. This is due to the
attraction factor of easily obtaining a job and the social amenities and services
offered.
5. W. Alonso theory also ignores the industrial land use factor. Industrial activities
are ignored although the industrial revolution has already happened when the
theory was introduced. Due to modern advancement, various industries emerged
especially the light industries to increase the production of goods.
Determining the Urban and Regional Land Use Pattern
Besides the factors observed in the model analysis by Von Thunen, Ricardo and W.
Alonso, there are other factors that also influence the land use pattern of an urban area as
below:
a. Physical factor
60

b. Location
c. Accessibility
d. Demand and Supply
e. Grouping
f. Refusal
g. Government’s Policy and Planning
Physical factor especially topography will determine the positioning of a city whether it
is on top of a hill, at the hill’s terrace, on a plain, at the edge of a river estuary or by the
beach. From the aspect of climate, a city can be built in an area where it is too cold or too
hot. For example, a typhoon free area will have a different kind of building design.
Location factor plays an important role in determining the urban and regional land use
pattern. It is clear that the private sector, firms and local residents will try to obtain a
piece of land in the city and willing to bid prices if the land has a good location from the
aspect of communication and fulfils the total area of space needed. That location will
have a high land value because of its good potential.
Accessibility is another facility in order to communicate with the agents involved in the
city area, for example between the supplier, wholesaler, sundry shop owner and buyer. In
general, there are several types of relationship, which are relationship between
individuals, relationship from the information aspect and relationship from the aspect of
production factor. A site that has capabilities to offer these facilities will have a huge
profit where the value will increase and cost of production will decrease.
Agglomeration is the focus of all economic activities nearby the cities so that economies
of scale can be enjoyed. For an industrial area, this factor can cause distribution of social
class according to income level. Thus, this will attract other activities such as trading and
services sector to fulfil the demands from this social class.
61

Pushing aspect is found when there is an unsuitable economic activity and hence would
reject other activities in the same particular location. For example, palm oil factory is not
suitable to be placed next to a hospital area.
The demand and supply factor work alongside in determining the land use pattern.
Demand for an area is based on user incomes which are too dependent on location aspect,
accessibility, concentration and refusal. Therefore, users are willing to pay more to get
their ideal location. Here is when the demand for the location is said to be inelastic. Land
supply for a particular location at a particular time can be assumed to be less elastic due
to factors as follows; physical, communication, transportation and public services. A
suitable site from the accessibility aspect has a good potential and thus will have high
demand. The approach for land that has that quality will become the main principle in
determining the urban land use pattern. This result and reaction from demand and supply
are the main determinant for a particular site (land) in a location. Due to this
characteristic of shortage of land supply, a site is utilised to the best and highest level of
usage.
Lastly, planning is an important factor in determining urban and regional land use pattern
as a whole. Since economic factor shows supply of urban land is limited for a certain
purpose, negative planning factor will increase the problems in urban land market by
interfering in the open market system. This happens through planning influence as below:
1. In land division, where certain purposes are written in the development plan of an
area
2. In limiting change of land use to other uses; and
3. In limiting intensive usage level
The planning approach factor is the main determinant in forming the urban and regional
land use pattern.
62

Theories of Urban Structure
Rapid urban development since the early 20th
century, either from the aspect of
population size or from the width of the bordered area will cause the layout and the land
use development to be disorganised and unmanageable. Control and planning problems
of land use will emerge and these have influenced economists, sociologists and planners
to undertake research in solving these problems for the purpose of an effective
management.
Their research focuses on the layout and urban land use structure in its relation to
economic activities and socio-economic traits of its residents. The researchers make an
effort to prove that uniformity exist from the aspect of land use arrangement of a city and
another city of the same size. This generalisation is useful for anticipating, managing and
planning purposes of urban land use development.
Attention is next given to opinions that were brought up on the urban land use structure.
Among it, are researches done by:
1. E.W Burgess (Concentric Zone Theory)
2. Hoyt (Sector Theory)
3. C.D Harris & E.L Ullmann (Multiple Nuclei Theory)
Concentric Zone Theory (E.W Burgess)
Concentric zone theory emerged from the work of E.W. Burgess on Chicago city in the
year 1900. He suggested that the urban land use structure of Chicago city has
characteristics of concentric circle. This pattern can also be observed in other large cities
in the United States of America at that time.
63

According to Burgess, Concentric circle can be distinguished into five zones, which are:
a. Central Business District (CBD)
b. Transitional Zone
c. Low Income Housing
d. High Income Housing
e. Commuter Zone
The diagrammatic representation and the explanation is shown in Figure 2.6 and Figure
2.7 respectively.
Legend:
1. Central Business District (CBD)
2. Transitional Zone
3. Low Income Housing
4. High Income Housing
5. Commuter Zone
Figure 2.6 : The Concentric Zone Theory
64

1. Central Business District (CBD)
This zone is the focal point of shops offices, high-rise buildings and traffic. A
small part of the land is used for residential. It is also allocated for hotels and
entertainment centre where this area becomes the central focus of residents during
the day and will subside in the evening. Therefore, the price and land rent of this
area is very high.
2. Transitional Zone
This zone places some business that needs ample space. There are a few hotels,
supermarkets, and public buildings with a small part of the land used for
residential areas. The population density is moderate. Therefore, the price and
land rent is also moderate.
Dwelling houses in this zone are usually shabby and may consist of low income
housing which are dilapidated and have been allocated for factory workers. The
residential areas are crowded with busy and narrow roads. The land rent in this
area is moderate and relatively cheap.
This zone would be residential areas that are comfortable and complete with a
park, wide roads with trees planted by the roadside. Parts of the area which is not
developed are still agricultural areas that produce fruits, vegetables and milk. The
population density is moderate and the price and the land rent in this area is still at
a high level.
65

5. Commuter Zone
This area is the isolated residential township. It is connected to the city by roads.
The population is small and its density is moderate. Therefore, the price and the
land rent are moderate and low.
Increase of inhabitants, migration, economy and income cause each zone to encroach
into another zone outside it. The figure below will show the effect of an increase in
rent towards urban land use focal pattern.
Figure 2.7: Rent for Urban Land Use Concentric Zone Slope
a
b
Distance from City
Centre (km)
Rent per sq. m.
0
c
66

Comments on Burgess Theory and the Development of Central
Business District (CBD)
The development of CBD can be clearly seen in cities of America and the development
of CBD is moderate in European cities and old colonised cities in South America such as
Buenos Aires and Caracas. CBD can be found in countries where the majority is
Europeans such as Australia, South Africa and Rhodesia. CBD is not progressive in cities
of Asia, Africa and Europe due to several reasons:
1. The desire to preserve ancient buildings in the city centre will block efforts to
build sky scrapers, for example in Europe, Asia and Africa.
2. Shop houses institution will not only make the city centre a focal commercial
centre but also as the densest residential area in the city such as cities in Asia.
However, the CBD pattern is slowly being copied by countries such as Hong
Kong, Bangkok, and Singapore. In city of Kuala Lumpur, squatter areas have
been cleared and flats or condominiums have been built. The construction of high
office blocks in the city centre has been encouraged.
3. In most African or Asian cities, the land use structure is not really in the shape of
concentric circle. Since certain ethnic groups specialise in certain activities, the
Inhabitant Zone becomes a Functional Zone. For example, Chinese in the
Southeast Asia causes a Residential Zone to become a Trade Zone.
4. The land use for several areas in the city is heterogenic. Shops, offices, factories
and residential area may be located near to each other despite varying requirement
for the location and site. It is possible that there are a few locations suitable for
different activities and do not have to follow the Burgess model.
67

5. Concentric model does not take into account the following items:
• Physical factors
• Industrial use
• Effect of radial route ways or highways towards the land value and its use
• A star shaped land use pattern may exist, taking account of travelling time
factor.
• Imperfect market; and
• Planning control
However, Burgess still emphasised that these land use zones are not static in their
characteristics as this structure will change from time to time. Changes happen outwards
where the first zone will invade the next zone and so on. With the emergence of the
Burgess Model, more theories or other models on land use model have been proposed.
Sector Theory (H. Hoyt)
Homer Hoyt formulated the sector theory in the year 1939. This theory is a continuation
from the debate on the Burgess Concentric Zone Model. The sector theory is based on the
arrangement of residential land use where the urban growth is a continuation of the
growth of residential area and the result of high-income earners that moves along the
main road. Hoyt’s study is mainly on the surrounding cities in America. Hoyt explains
that the residential land use should be arranged in the shape of a sector with radius
patterns emitted from the city centre that are parallel with the main transportation roads.
Basis of Sector Theory
68

Hoyt’s theory is based on the difference of land value between zones that are located in
the city centre and the suburbs.
Hoyt’s study focused on the area of New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Washington and
Philadelphia. In Hoyt’s opinion, the land rental value of cities in America can show the
sector pattern where the tendency for the most expensive land rent are those located along
the transportation road and that the highest land value does not need to be located in the
city centre.
The characteristics of the sector theory are as follows:
1. The expansion of land use moves outwards from the city centre usually parallel
with the direction of the main transportation roads.
2. The arrangements of the main roads are radial where each road focus towards the
city centre and emits out toward the suburbs. This would create different rents and
in the end would create different land use too.
In this theory, there are a few fractions of different land use, which are known as sector
where:
a. Production and storage areas are located far from the areas of high-income earners.
b. Areas of low-income earners are located next to the production and storage areas.
c. Medium-income areas are located between the high-income and low-income areas.
d. There are network of highways exiting the sector area.
e. A railway connection crosses the sector area.
69

Figure 2.8 shows the different sectors in the Homer Hoyt’s model.
1. Central Business District
2. Manufacturing and Warehousing
4. Medium Income Housing
Figure 2.8: Sector Model (Homer Hoyt)
70

The assumptions in the theory brought forward by Hoyt are as follows.
1. There are various group of society in the city
2. The city source of economics is industrial and trade
3. Individual ownership of assets
4. There is competition in land use
5. There is no focus on heavy industry
6. There is no land use due to heritage of historical city
7. The transportation road is not uniform but heading towards a specific direction in
the city.
In Hoyt’s model, there are several factors that result in different sectors to form:
a. Income factor
According to Homer Hoyt, there is a different stratum according to the people’s
income. For the high-income earners (prioritise comfort and able to afford it), they
will choose luxurious residential areas. Thus, the sector formed will extend out from
the city centre (sector 5).
For medium income earners, their housing are located between the high-income
housing and low cost housing (sector 4). In time, this group would be in the high-
income housing from their own effort.
For the low-income earners, they will occupy the area between the manufacturing and
warehousing area, the low cost housing area (sector 3). The shorter distance to work
can reduce their travelling expenses further.
71

b. Connection Factor
The city centre is connected to other cities through a network of roads and railways.
Thus, the city centre would function as the pulse of land use and urban growth.
Different land use occurs along these series of road based on the facilities provided.
c. Culture and Social Factor
This factor is more focused on the elite and high–income group. The focal influence
will cause the land price and rent of that area to be expensive. This is due to demand
and competition which snap up the areas with the required characteristics.
d. Physical Factor
Recreation area with a beautiful natural view that is also safe will become the focus
of high-income group.
Factors that encourage the growth of high cost residential area in the city can be
summarised as below:
i. The existence of a good transportation road
ii. The site speciality (no flood threats, beautiful view, clean air and far from
pollution)
iii. The focus of luxury housing around the homes of leaders and other elite groups
iv. The growth of commercial areas, financial institution and administration offices
that becomes an attraction, which encourages the development of luxury housing
v. The growth direction for high cost area will last for a certain period.
72

The Criticism on Sector Theory
Since Hoyt model was developed based on observation done on several cities in the
world, not many researchers have make an effort to test it. However, Walter Firey (1947)
did a study to observe the land use of Boston City, America. From the comparison made,
it was found that the Boston land use contradicts with the model formulated by Hoyt. The
difference on the physical factor of a city with another city, cannot be combined to make
one generalisation. The approach, performance and the cartography of the study is also
questioned by Firey and was considered insufficient to form a theory. To Firey, factors
such as social, history, sentiments and aesthetic value sometimes have more influence.
In 1964, Hoyt himself admitted that the high cost housing is not characteristically a full
circle instead it is in sectors at few urban areas. According to Hoyt, the high cost housing
is not changeable. The construction of express transportation road has caused new high
cost housing sector to expand outside its traditional area. Although Hoyt explained that
high cost housing expand towards the suburbs in the shape of sector, there is still a
tendency of layers of circular zones to exist based on the building’s age where the old
buildings are at the city centre and the new buildings at the suburbs as though it depicts
the pattern of concentric zone. Therefore, the sector model is only as a redevelopment
towards refining and completing the Burgess Model.
Multiple Nuclei Theory (Harris and Ullmann)
The Multiple Nuclei Theory was proposed by Chauncy D. Harris and Edward l. Ullmann
in the year 1945. In this theory, the development of land use structure does not focus on
certain areas only as other central point can grow and has its own attraction. These city
centres are known as ‘nuclei’ and are able to plan a different land use with other cities.
73

According to Ullmann, the growth of multiple nuclei in a large city is motivated by a few
factors as follows:
1. The need for facilities or attractions by an economic activity at certain sites in the
city. For example, an industrial area is very suitable to be placed nearby ports,
railway tracks, highways or ample water supply.
2. The grouping of economic activities that will bring agglomeration benefits. For
instance, general stores will benefit if located in the middle of the city whilst
financial institutions and private office administration tend to locate together.
3. Incompatible land use at an isolated area.
4. The site cost factor plays an important role in determining the dispersion of an
economic activity in the city.
5. Historical result that can influence the urban land use. For example, certain cities
with older areas have become the traditional trade focal point in the city.
The characteristics of this theory are as follows:
a. A city will grow from one nucleus. When the city grows, then new city centres
will grow.
b. A few cities expand from more than one central point and later joined to become a
big city. For example, London and Westminster are two separate central points,
which have different specialisation.
c. There are a few groups of land use type that can expand around the nucleus of big
cities; and
74

d. Other city centres may grow due to certain needs by the city society.
The Multiple Nuclei Theory does not suggest a general model that can be used in
understanding the land use structure such as in figure 2.7. One of the critics for this
theory is that it cannot explain other situations such as the existence of concentric zone as
mentioned by Burgess and Hoyt, where in reality concentric and sector zones do exist.
Division of Zones:
1. Central Business district
2. Wholesale and Light Manufacturing
3. Low Income Residential
4. Middle Income Residential
5. High Income Residential
6. Heavy Manufacturing
7. Outlying Business District
75

8. Residential Suburb
9. Industrial Suburb
Figure 2.9: Multiple Nuclei Model (Harris & Ullmann)
The other weakness of this theory is the relation between the land uses and the main
transportation system rule pattern. The Multiple Nuclei Theory does not focus directly on
the role played by roads in influencing the growth of multiple nuclei in a city as
explained in the Sector Theory.
Land Use Development in Developing Countries
Although there is no suitable model that can explain the urban land use structure for all
countries, nevertheless, opinions suggesting the existence of land use structure according
to certain zones in the Western cities can be generally accepted.
Not many studies have been done on land use structure in the developing countries.
However, not so long ago, T.G. McGee has made a generalisation on South East Asian
urban land use structure. According to him, the existence of dualism economy in South
East Asian countries has created developed and underdeveloped sectors in these
countries.
Part of this scenario is reflected in the urban land use structure. A developed sector is
characterised by a commercial area similar to Western commercial area with large capital
and more formal arrangements while the underdeveloped sector is self reliant and
informal.
In certain parts of the city commercial areas, there are markets and bazaars besides
emporiums and supermarkets to place poor self-relying economic activities. Outside this
area, are poor housing areas especially those that consist of squatter and crowded areas.
As for the suburbs, it consist of high-income housing area especially those on higher
grounds.
76

The edge of a housing estate and industrial area reflects the efforts made to apply the
Western planning ideas. However, the land use structure is disorganised and far from the
accepted western standards due to obvious poverty problems. Studies of other areas in
developing countries such as Taipei, Calcutta, Cairo and Istanbul also proved the
significant difference in land use pattern between a developed and a developing country.
This proves that the Western land use model has to be modified before it can be applied
to the developing countries.
It is clear therefore, that certain land use structure exists in cities. However, there is a
difference in the shape and pattern between a developed and a developing country. The
difference on development of land use structure is because of dissimilarities in factors
such as the historical background, culture, level of development, inhabitants and others.
The knowledge on land use pattern is useful for the purpose of social and urban
economics planning specifically in formulating the urban development plan.
The Land Use Structure in City of Kuala Lumpur
Since the early 19th
century, the Sumatrans have lived in villages around the confluence
of the Klang and Gombak Rivers. The first group of people to come on a large scale to
Kuala Lumpur in 1857 was led by Raja Abdullah and 87 Chinese miners to explore and
open tin mines. This group landed at a muddy pier at the confluence of Klang and
Gombak Rivers and succeeded in finding tin ore in Ampang. The discovery of tin ore has
quickened the economic growth and numbers of inhabitants. A small village has
developed into a town. In the year 1880, Kuala Lumpur became the capital of Selangor
with 2000 inhabitants only.
On 1st
February 1972, Kuala Lumpur was awarded city status and was placed under the
Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territory Development Division). The Mayor of
Kuala Lumpur holds the administration of Federal Territory and as the local enforcer, his
77

role is focussed on service provision and development besides concentrating efforts in
developing Kuala Lumpur City as Malaysia’s capital.
As the nation’s capital, Kuala Lumpur would be the source of the country’s life with
various activities, covering politics, administration, religious, trade, finance, culture,
sports and education. Today, Kuala Lumpur has a population of 1.7 million people and is
a dynamic capital that is on par with other nation’s capital in the world.
Main Development Areas in Kuala Lumpur
In general, Kuala Lumpur can be divided into four (4) main zones:
(See figure 2.8)
Zone A - Main Planning Area
Zone B - Area of New Developing Towns (Bandar Tun Razak, Wangsa Maju, Bukit
Jalil and Damansara)
Zone C - Existing Development Area (Jinjang, Sentul, Setapak, Dato’ Keramat,
Maluri, Bukit Anggerik, Seputeh, Bukit Indah, Penchala and Edinburgh)
Zone D - Industrial area
78

Figure 2.10 : Kuala Lumpur and Main Development Areas
79
Main Road
Zone A
Central Planning Area
Zone C
Existing Developing
Area
Zone B
New Growth Area

Kuala Lumpur Development Strategy
Several future alternative-development strategies has been developed and tested before it
is applied into the concept contained in the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan. These
strategies try to visualise the implication that allows development trend that is centralised
and distributed.
Decisions made on the strategy of development of Kuala Lumpur are based on a number
of factors as follows:
1. The potential in achieving the objective and target of Structure Plan;
2. To allow a balanced development in Kuala Lumpur City without an interest in
congested private investment in the city;
3. To take into account of current development trend and the objective in
rearranging and redistributing development in Kuala Lumpur City;
4. To provide an approach that is most pragmatic towards the hierarchy of centres
development and the execution of the concepts contained in the Structure Plan;
5. Enhance the working, living and business environment of the City Centre;
6. Designate and develop International Zones;
7. Designate and implement Comprehensive Development Areas (CDAs);
8. Encourage and facilitate the development of Malay Reservation Areas, traditional
kampungs and new villages;
9. Initiate and implement the redevelopment of blighted areas;
80

10. Ensure complete and integrated city linkages;
11. Provide priority and incentives to development in areas around transit terminals;
12. Ensure the functional distribution of centres and facilities;
13. Consolidate the development and enhance the environment of stable areas; and
14. Consolidate the development and enhance the environment of major entry points.
These strategies and their underlying principles are described in greater detail below.
(refer to figure 2.11 and figure 2.12)
81

Figure 2.11 : Kuala Lumpur Development Strategies Plan 1
Source : Draft Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 (2003)
82

Figure 2.12 : Kuala Lumpur Development Strategies Plan 2
Source : Draft Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 (2003)
83

This chosen strategy estimated that the Planning Unit 1, which is the Central Planning
Area as Zone 1 (City Centre) due to the surplus number of controlled labor (375,000) and
the population (360,000), compared to other planning units.
Planning Unit 5 (Wangsa Maju), Planning Unit 6 (Bandar Tun Razak), Planning Unit 12
(Bukit Jalil) and Planning Unit 13 (Damansara) are grouped into zone 3 which are
Existing Developing Area and Zone 4 that is Specialised Planning Unit.
The niches of the chosen strategy are as follows:
a. The ability to develop and prioritise development for Wangsa Maju and Bandar
Tun Razak where a huge part of it are government’s land
b. The ability to spread out some of the activities in the city centre and to reduce
commuting to the Central Planning Area
c. The ability to encourage a more balanced development in the Federal Territory.
Development centres are created at area outside the city centre.
d. It would be the city centre hierarchy where the new developing area will function
as a residential and labour zone. This would create a better environment and
structure for Kuala Lumpur.
84

Table 2.1: Federal Territory: The Distribution of Land Use and Population According
to the Planning Unit
ZONE LAND USE
Area (ha)
% POPULATION %
Zone 1
City centre (CPA) 370,000 35.8 128,721 16.4
Zone 2
New Developing Area
1. Planning Unit 5
Wangsa Maju
2. Planning Unit 9
Bandar Tun Razak
3. Planning Unit 12
Bukit Jalil
4. Planning Unit 13
Damansara
306,000
72,000
72,000
72,000
90,000
29.7
7.0
7.0
7.0
8.7
510,000
120,000
140,000
120,000
130,000
23.2
5.5
6.4
5.5
5.8
Zone 3
Existing Developing Area
1. Planning Unit 2
Jinjang
2. Planning Unit 3
Sentul
3. Planning Unit 4
Setapak
4. Planning Unit 6
Dato’ Keramat
5. Planning Unit 7
Maluri
6. Planning Unit 8
Bukit Anggerik
7. Planning Unit 10
316,000
33,000
49,000
27,000
17,000
25,000
24,000
36,000
30.6
3.2
4.8
2.6
1.6
2.4
2.3
3.5
1,255,000
185,000
140,000
160,000
50,000
100,000
100,000
150,000
57.0
8.4
6.4
7.3
2.3
4.5
4.5
6.8
85

Town and Urban Growth Chapter

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