---
title: "Burgess Model — AP Human Geography Definition & Exam Guide"
description: "The Burgess Model (concentric zone model) explains city structure as five rings around the CBD. See how it connects to bid-rent theory on the AP HUG exam."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-hug/key-terms/burgess-model"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP Human Geography"
unit: "Unit 6"
---

# Burgess Model — AP Human Geography Definition & Exam Guide

## Definition

The Burgess Model, or concentric zone model, is an urban land-use model that organizes a city into five rings expanding outward from the Central Business District, with the zone of transition just outside the CBD and residential areas getting wealthier toward the edge.

## What It Is

The Burgess Model (you'll also see it called the [concentric zone model](/ap-hug/key-terms/concentric-zone-model "fv-autolink") or the [Burgess concentric-zone model](/ap-hug/unit-6/internal-structure-cities/study-guide/bmmlitd92K8BXI98qRxQ "fv-autolink")) pictures a city as a set of rings, like a dartboard. At the center sits the **Central Business District (CBD)**, where land is most expensive and accessible. Moving outward, you hit the **zone of transition** (older industry and low-income housing), then working-class housing, then middle-class housing, and finally a wealthy commuter zone at the edge. The pattern is simple. Distance from the center predicts who lives there and what the land is used for.

Here's the intuition that makes it click. The Burgess Model is essentially bid-rent theory drawn as a map. Land near the CBD costs the most, so only businesses can afford it. People who can afford bigger homes and a commute buy cheaper land farther out. Burgess built the model on 1920s Chicago, so it assumes one downtown and growth in every [direction](/ap-hug/unit-1/intro-maps-types-maps/study-guide/5yjxIwMtQuImgNT0QdaT "fv-autolink"), which is exactly why later models like Hoyt's sectors and the galactic city model were created to fix its blind spots.

## Why It Matters

This term lives in **[Unit 6](/ap-hug/unit-6 "fv-autolink"): Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes**, specifically Topic 6.5 (The Internal Structure of Cities). It directly supports learning objective **6.5.A**, which asks you to explain the internal structure of cities using various models and theories. The CED's essential knowledge (PSO-6.D.1) lists the Burgess concentric-zone model by name, right alongside the Hoyt sector model, the [Harris and Ullman multiple-nuclei model](/ap-hug/key-terms/harris-and-ullman-multiple-nuclei-model "fv-autolink"), the galactic city model, and bid-rent theory. Translation: the College Board expects you to know this model specifically, not just 'urban models' in general. It's usually the first model in the sequence because every other model is, in some way, a response to what Burgess got wrong.

## Connections

### [Concentric Zone Model (Unit 6)](/ap-hug/key-terms/concentric-zone-model)

These are the same model with two names. 'Burgess Model' credits the sociologist Ernest Burgess; 'concentric zone model' describes the shape. The AP exam can use either name, so treat them as interchangeable.

### Zone of Transition (Unit 6)

The ring just outside the CBD is the model's most-tested zone. It's a mixed area of aging industry and low-income housing, and it's also where [gentrification](/ap-hug/key-terms/gentrification "fv-autolink") often happens later, which links the model to modern urban change.

### [Central Business District (CBD) (Unit 6)](/ap-hug/key-terms/central-business-district-cbd)

Every ring in the Burgess Model is defined by its distance from the CBD. If you understand why the CBD wins the bidding war for central land, the rest of the rings explain themselves.

### [Galactic City Model (Unit 6)](/ap-hug/key-terms/galactic-city-model)

The [galactic city model](/ap-hug/key-terms/galactic-city-model "fv-autolink") is what happens when cars break the Burgess Model. Edge cities and suburban nodes mean activity no longer radiates from one downtown, so the neat rings fall apart in modern North American metros.

## On the AP Exam

On multiple choice, the Burgess Model shows up two ways. First, definition stems ask how the model organizes urban land use (rings outward from the CBD). Second, scenario stems describe a spatial pattern and ask which model fits, like a city where lower-income neighborhoods sit near downtown and wealthier suburbs sit at the edge. That income-by-distance pattern is the Burgess signature. Your main job is distinguishing it from its rivals. If the question says rings, it's Burgess. If it says wedges along transportation routes, it's Hoyt. If it says multiple separate centers, it's Harris and Ullman. No released FRQ has used 'Burgess Model' verbatim, but Topic 6.5 models are classic FRQ material, where you might apply a model to a real city or explain its limitations (it's based on 1920s Chicago and assumes a single center).

## Burgess Model vs Hoyt Sector Model

Both models start from the CBD, but the shape and the logic differ. Burgess says land use forms rings, so distance from the center is what matters. Hoyt says land use forms wedges (sectors) that follow transportation corridors outward, so direction matters too. A practice-question stem describing wealthy neighborhoods 'extending outward along major transportation routes in wedge-shaped patterns' is Hoyt, not Burgess. Quick check: rings mean Burgess, wedges mean Hoyt.

## Key Takeaways

- The Burgess Model and the concentric zone model are the same thing, a model of city structure built as five rings expanding outward from the Central Business District.
- The core logic is bid-rent theory in map form, where expensive central land goes to commercial users and residential land gets cheaper, then wealthier, as you move outward.
- In the Burgess Model, income increases with distance from the center, so the poor live near the CBD and the wealthy live in the outer commuter zone.
- The zone of transition sits just outside the CBD and contains aging industry and low-income housing, making it the model's most frequently tested ring.
- The model is based on 1920s Chicago, so it struggles to explain modern multi-centered cities, which is why the Hoyt, multiple-nuclei, and galactic city models exist.
- On the exam, match the shape to the model. Rings point to Burgess, wedges point to Hoyt, and multiple separate centers point to Harris and Ullman.

## FAQs

### What is the Burgess Model in AP Human Geography?

It's the concentric zone model of urban structure, which divides a city into five rings radiating from the Central Business District, with the zone of transition next, then working-class, middle-class, and commuter zones. It's named in the CED under Topic 6.5 (PSO-6.D.1) as one of the models you need to explain internal city structure.

### Is the Burgess Model the same as the concentric zone model?

Yes, they are two names for one model. Ernest Burgess developed it using 1920s Chicago, and the AP exam may use either name, so know both.

### How is the Burgess Model different from the Hoyt sector model?

Burgess organizes land use in rings based on distance from the CBD, while Hoyt organizes it in wedge-shaped sectors that follow [transportation](/ap-hug/key-terms/transportation "fv-autolink") routes outward from downtown. If an exam question mentions land uses extending along major transit corridors, that's Hoyt, not Burgess.

### Does the Burgess Model still apply to cities today?

Not very well for most modern North American cities. Cars, highways, and edge cities created multiple centers of activity, which the galactic city model captures better. Knowing this limitation is itself testable, since 6.5.A asks you to explain city structure using various models.

### Where do the rich and poor live in the Burgess Model?

Lower-income residents live close to the CBD, in and near the zone of transition, while wealthier residents live in the outermost commuter zone. Income rising with distance from downtown is the model's signature pattern on multiple-choice questions.

## Related Study Guides

- [6.5 The Internal Structure of Cities](/ap-hug/unit-6/internal-structure-cities/study-guide/bmmlitd92K8BXI98qRxQ)

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