A CBD’s accessibility produces extreme competition for the limited available land. As a result, land values are very high in the CBD. In a rural area a hectare of land might cost several thousand dollars. In a suburb it might run tens of thousands of dollars. In the CBD of a global city like London, if a hectare of land were even available, it would cost more than $200 million. If this page were a parcel of land in the CBD of London, it would sell for $1,000.

As a result of intense competition for land, the CBD has distinctive features:

• Land uses commonly found elsewhere in the urban area are rare in the CBD, especially industrial and residential activities.

• The CBD has a three-dimensional character, with more space used below and above ground level than elsewhere in the urban area.

Removing Manufacturing from the CBD

Modern factories require large parcels of land to spread operations among one-story buildings. Suitable land is generally available in suburbs. In the past, inner-city factories and retail establishments relied on waterfront CBDs that were once lined with piers for cargo ships to load and unload and warehouses to store the goods. Today’s large oceangoing vessels are unable to maneuver in the tight, shallow waters of the old CBD harbors. Consequently, port activities have moved to more modern facilities downstream.

Port cities have transformed their waterfronts from industrial to commercial and recreational activities. Derelict warehouses and rotting piers have been replaced with new residences, offices, shops, parks, and museums. As a result, CBD waterfronts have become major tourist attractions in a number of North American cities, including Boston, Toronto, Baltimore, and San Francisco as well as in European cities such as Barcelona and London. The cities took the lead in clearing the sites and constructing new parks, docks, walkways, museums, and parking lots. They have also built large convention centers to house professional meetings and trade shows. Private developers have added hotels, restaurants, boutiques, and entertainment centers to accommodate tourists and conventioneers.

Baltimore Inner Harbor

(a) In 1903, when industry was the principal land use. (b) In recent years, shops, restaurants, marinas, the National Aquarium, and other consumer services have replaced industry.

Residents in the CBD

Many people used to live in or near the CBD. Poorer people jammed into tiny, overcrowded apartments, and richer people built mansions downtown. In the twentieth century, most residents abandoned downtown living because of a combination of pull and push factors. They were pulled to suburbs that offered larger homes with private yards and modern schools. And they were pushed from CBDs by high rents that business and retail services were willing to pay, as well as by the dirt, crime, congestion, and poverty that they experienced by living downtown.

In the twenty-first century, however, the population of many U.S. CBDs has increased. New apartment buildings and townhouses have been constructed, and abandoned warehouses and outdated office buildings have been converted into residential lofts. Downtown living is especially attractive to “empty nesters” whose children have left home or young professionals who do not have children. These two groups are attracted by the entertainment, restaurants, museums, and nightlife that are clustered downtown, and they are less concerned with the quality of neighborhood schools. Despite the growth in population in the center of some U.S. cities, some consumer services, such as grocery stores, may still be lacking.

Pause & Reflect 13.1.3

What might be the attractions of living in a former factory near the CBD?

The Vertical CBD: Underground

The CBD makes more intensive use of space below and above ground. A vast underground network exists beneath most CBDs. The typical “underground city” includes garages, loading docks for deliveries to offices and shops, and pipes for water and sewer service. Telephone, electric, TV, and broadband cables run beneath the surface as well because not enough space is available in the CBD for the large number of overhead poles that would be needed for such a dense network, and the wires would be unsightly and hazardous. Subway trains run beneath the streets of large CBDs.

Cities in cold-weather climates, such as Montréal and Toronto, have built extensive underground pedestrian passages and shops. These underground areas segregate pedestrians from motor vehicles and shield them from harsh winter weather.

Underground Montréal

(a) Montréal’s Underground City is the world’s largest underground complex. It is known as RÉSO, which is an abbreviation for Réseau Souterrain (underground network) and a homophone of the French word réseau (network). (b) Winter in Montréal discourages outdoor shopping.

The Vertical CBD: Skyscrapers

Demand for space in CBDs has also made high-rise structures economically feasible. Skyscrapers are an interesting example of “vertical geography” (Figure 13-8). The nature of an activity influences which floor it occupies in a typical high-rise.

John Hancock Center and Water Tower Place, Chicago

The lower floors of the Hancock Center and neighboring buildings, such as Water Tower Place, are devoted to commercial activities. The middle floors are offices, the upper floors are apartments, and the top two floors are commercial activities (observation deck, restaurant, and bar)

Downtown skyscrapers give a city one of its most distinctive appearances and unifying symbols. Suburban houses, shopping malls, and factories look much the same from one city to another, but each city has a unique downtown skyline, resulting from the particular arrangement and architectural styles of its high-rise buildings.

The first skyscrapers were built in Chicago in the 1880s, made possible by several inventions, including the elevator, steel girders, and tempered glass. Artificial lighting, ventilation, central heating, and air-conditioning helped adjacent properties overcome problems caused by skyscrapers blocking light and air movement. Most North American and European cities enacted zoning ordinances early in the twentieth century in part to control the location and height of skyscrapers.

The one large U.S. CBD without skyscrapers is Washington, D.C., where no building is allowed to be higher than the U.S. Capitol dome. Consequently, offices in downtown Washington rise no more than 13 stories. As a result, the typical Washington office building uses more horizontal space—land area—than in other cities. Thus the city’s CBD spreads over a much wider area than those in cities of comparable population.