Griffin-Ford+Model

Griffin-Ford Model "The Latin-American City"

In 1980, Ernest Griffin and Larry Ford studied Latin American cities and created the Griffin-Ford Model. Griffin and Ford, during their studies, discovered that Latin American cities blend the traditional elements of their Latin American culture with the forces of globalization, which uniquely shape those urban areas.



In the center of the Griffin-Ford Model is the CBD, but unlike our CBDs, Latin American CBDs are connected to a "mall" through a "spine." The spine is a corridor of retail that leads to the mall, a huge urban area fixated on retail. On the other side of the CBD is the "market," a traditional area for selling foods and goods, with connections to the CBD, which is more urbanized and business-oriented. Surrounding the spine and the mall are the "elite residential" sectors, which house the most wealthy; living on the spine and the mall is the most desirable, therefore making it the priciest. Around the CBD and market is a circle consisting of the "zone of maturity" and a zone of "gentrification" (for more gentrification info, see How Do People Make Cities?). The "zone of maturity" is an area of transition between the elite, and the lower classes; this houses the best residential areas outside the spine area, attracting most of the middle-class. Sprouting from the market are the "disamenity" sectors, the poorest part of the entire city, and unique to Latin American cities. In extreme cases, these sectors are not connected to regular city services and are mostly overrun by gangs and drug lords. Outside the "disamenity" sectors is the "zone of in situ accretion;" this consists of modest housing, and is mostly a transitional area between the inner-ring housing (high-class, elitist) and the outer-ring housing (lower-class, poor). On the ends of the "disamenity" sectors is the "periferico," home to the poorest of the poor of the city, usually living in slums, shantytowns, etc. (//barrios// or //favelas//) These are normally overpopulated and unkempt by the city. Extending from the "market" is the "industrial park" giving jobs to those in the middle and lower class, in a convenient place for those who are without transportation, but still need work.

Differences between North American city models and the Griffin-Ford model: - NA models do not have a periferico or any disamenity sectors. - In NA models, the CBD does not connect to a mall through a spine; we have retail in our CBD and have malls and extras located outside the city near residential areas. - in LA cities, the wealthiest live closest to the city; in many NA models, the wealthiest are shown living on the outskirts because of the desire for land. - NA models do not show a separate market from the CBD; those two are encompassed into one, or the markets are located closer to residential areas.

The Griffin-Ford Model seen in the picture above is an adaptation of the original Griffin-Ford Model from 1980, and the more recent Ford Model released in 1996.

Citations for Pictures
City Models Cities Home Page Main Home Page
 * []