Urban+Realms+Model

Urban Realms Model

The Urban Realms Model, created by James E. Vance Jr., in the 1960s, shows the spatial components of a modern metropolis. Each "realm" of the model is separate and used for a different purpose, but are linked together to make one large, fluid city. The city modeled by the Urban Realm Model is automobile-dependent, which enables it to be as large as necessary for that city's purposes.



The model includes a central business district, which is not only the center of the city, but meshes with the surrounding realms to create a fluid transition into each separate realm. It also includes a central city; a "new" downtown, most likely an edge city that has become so urbanized that it mimics the central city without being the central city; and a suburban downtown, the center of the suburbs of that city, giving those residents a downtown to go to if travelling to the central city is unlikely.

Each realm has a different purpose, and serves separately from all other realms; in some realms, edge cities are apparent--small residential areas that have become so urbanized that they become a smaller version of a major city (i.e. Cary). Four criteria shape the extent, character and structure of each urban realm: 1. terrain (water, topography, etc.) 2. size of metropolis 3. amount of economic activity in each realm 4. internal accessibility of each realm based on its dominant economic core

The Urban Realms Model constitutes the latest step in identifying and modelling the modern American urban structure. It shows that the outer cities are not "satellites" of the central city, but are in fact becoming cities themselves and shaping the metropolis.

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