AMERICAN RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURE: TESTING THE ADAMS MODEL IN OMAHA, NEBRASKA

In 1970, John S. Adams developed a descriptive model of residential structure for midwestern cities. The model is based on the assumption that American residential structure has been shaped during four major transportation eras--walking/horsecar, streetcar, recreational auto, and freeway. He suggests that during the walking/horsecar and recreational auto eras, a concentric ring pattern of residential growth prevailed, while during the electric streetcar and freeway eras growth was axial. Testing his model in Minneapolis, Adams came to the conclusion his model fits reality. Other than a map depicting isoage lines for Minneapolis, no quantitative evidence was given to support the validity of the model. This dissertation tests the Adams model in another city Omaha, Nebraska, develops a methodology that permits labeling growth as concentric or axial with some degree of statistical certainty, and assesses the importance of the classical urban models to residential structure. Following Adams model, isoage lines of Omaha\u27s residential growth are constructed for the census periods from 1920 to 1970. These isoage lines are compared to Omaha\u27s mean growth rings for the same periods. If deviations of the isoage lines from the mean are within one standard deviation (SD), growth is considered concentric, and if not, growth tends toward being axial. With the mean growth ring as a base, beyond- and behind-the-mean growth ring areas for census periods from 1940 to 1970 are designated and studied further. A series of housing variables available in the U.S. Census of Housing, along with a transportation accessibility index and a topographic indicator (local relief), are collected for each area and analyzed using discriminant analysis. Other data from sources such as address books, newspapers, historical accounts, and personal interviews are also used to study Omaha\u27s residential structure. Results indicate that the Adams model is a valid approach to conceptualizing American urban structure, and that aspects of the classical models are simultaneously at work shaping residential structure in American cities