Transportation, Activity Systems and Land Use

Activities have spatial locations creating a land use pattern, which is influenced by the existing urban form and spatial structure. This form is strongly related to the types of activities that can roughly be divided in three major classes:

• Routine Activities. This class of activities is occurring regularly and is thus predictable. They involve journey to work (residential to industrial / commercial / administrative) and shopping (residential to retailing). The land use pattern generated is thus stable and coherent. Generally, these activities are zonal and links are from areas to areas.
• Institutional Activities. Most institutions are located at specific points and generally have links with individuals. This activity system is linked to an urban environment where links are occurring irregularly and according to the lifestyle (students, sports, leisure, etc.) or special needs (health).
• Production Activities. This involves a complex network of relationships between firms, such as control, distribution, warehousing and sub-contracting. This activity system can be linked to a specific urban environment, but also to a region, nation, or even the world. Some activities are strongly linked to the local urban area, while others are far more linked to the global economy. The land use pattern of an activity may thus be linked to an external (international) process.

These activity systems underline the importance of linkages between land uses, which require movements of people, freight and information. The results of these linkages are land use patterns. Thus, understanding the set of relationships an industrial district has with its labor, suppliers and customers will provide an overview of the land use patterns in an urban area, but also with other urban areas.