Concentric ring model

The Concentric ring model also known as the Burgess model was the first to explain distribution of social groups within urban areas. Based on one single city, Chicago, it was created by sociologist Ernest W. Burgess in 1925. This concentric ring model depicts urban land use in concentric rings: the Central Business District (or CBD) was in the middle of the model, and the city expanded in rings with different land uses. It contrasts with the Sector model and the Multiple nuclei model.

The centre was the CBD, followed by the transition zone otherwise known as the Inner City, then by low-class residential homes aka Inner Suburbs, the fourth ring would be that of better middle-class homes also known as the Outer Suburbs; the last and fifth zone was known as the "commuters' zone". Burgess observed that there was a correlation between the distance from the CBD and the socio-economic status of the denizens; richer families tended to live further away from the CBD. As the city grew, Burgess also observed that the CBD would cause it to expand outwards; this in turn forced the other rings to expand outwards as well.