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Many cities are really too large and complex to be organised around any single centre. They
are perhaps more like living organisms. Many have their functions arranged almost in a
cellular form, with distinctive types ofland use having developed around a number ofgrowth
points or nuclei. The CBO may occupy a position ofconsiderable accessibility but in a large
city there may be no single most accessible point.
From an industrial point of view, a cell-like point may develop for two reasons. First,
industries that are interlinked can minimize costs by clustering, while they achieve further
economies by using the same services. Secondly, the manufacturing industry is unable to
afford high ground-rents, largely because factories occupy large areas. As a result industry
would most unlikely concentrate near the city centre even along major route-ways, but rather
at some distance from it where rents are lower. Peripheral locations are also an advantage to
the workforce that cannot afford high rents for their homes. Similarly, shops and services
providing a similar function frequently cluster so as to provide a recognisable area for
customers and clients [www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedi1!, (2008)].
The layout of Ulundi locates its industrial zone far away from the central business district on
account ofcosts, pollution and proximity to the residential places ofworkers in the industries.
Although the study area has little involvement in industrial activities, the area demarcated for
the latter is in the affordable peripheral locations. This pattern however does not deviate from
common global perspective ofland use.
In reality, therefore, a city, because of its large size, complicated functions, and the
restrictions imposed by the physical features of its site, will show broad elements both of
concentric rings and of sectors, but distinct cells. Current trends in planning are based on
segregating the functions of a city, so the multiple-nuclei model is almost bound to be the
most appealing in the future (Knapp, 1986; \'