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Central Place Theory

Central Place Theory. Written by Walter Christaller A central place can be any place to which people travel to make purchases. Central Place Theory tries to help us understand one of two things: Where goods and services are located and why? How cities in an urban hierarchy are distributed.

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Central Place Theory

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  1. Central Place Theory

  2. Written by Walter Christaller • A central place can be any place to which people travel to make purchases. • Central Place Theory tries to help us understand one of two things: • Where goods and services are located and why? • How cities in an urban hierarchy are distributed What is Central Place Theory?

  3. Walter Christaller Die Zentralen Orte in Suddeutschland Central Places in Southern Germany Originally published in 1933, translated into English in 1966

  4. Each central place function is a good or service that is provided by the central place. • These functions have an order or relative ranking based on how specialized they are, how large a market area is needed to keep them in business, and how far people are willing to travel to obtain them.

  5. Size of a Market Area Market area, or the area surrounding a central place function from which customers are attracted is known as the hinterland. To determine the extent of a market area, you need to calculate two pieces of geographic information about a service: • Threshold: the minimum number of people needed to support a service. • Each industry has a different customer base, and must consider location accordingly • Range: The maximum distance people were willing to travel to acquire certain good. • This isn’t the distance that the most remote customer will travel to get a service, but the maximum distance that most customers are willing to travel. • Also, people don’t think in terms of distance, but time. Therefore, using a perfect circle based on distance doesn’t always work. (think: traffic and road conditions that might affect the time it takes to get somewhere

  6. A low-order central place function is one that is obtained on a regular basis, and only needs a small market area to be profitable. • People are un-willing to travel far for these functions • A high-order function is one that a person uses less frequently, and is willing to travel a long distance for • These include specialty doctors, a luxury car dealership, etc… • A medium-order function falls somewhere in between. Low-order and High-order Central Place Functions

  7. Movie Theatre Pizza Shop Pediatrician Major League Baseball game Suit from a fashion designer Gas for your car Massage therapist Lawyer Grocery store High, medium, or low-order function?

  8. PREMISESorASSUMPTIONS • Isotropic Surface • “featureless plain” with no barriers to movement • Even Population Distribution • similar in purchasing power and behavior • Homo Economicus • “economic man” with purely economic motives • Integrity of the Law of Supply and Demand • customers needed for a business to stay open

  9. In Central Place Theory, Christaller used hexagons (C) to represent hierarchy of settlements and service/market areas because it combines the best of both worlds: all sides are equidistant from the center, and it covers all space without and overlapping.

  10. CENTRAL More small places than big places Ratio of big places to small places relatively constant PLACE Big places farther apart than small places THEORY

  11. Hamlet – small cluster of farms with a few basic services (low order) • Gas station, general/convenient store, small restaurant • Village – several dozen services (low order) • Stores specializing in goods (clothes, groceries) • Town – larger than a village • Offers medium and low-order goods for its residents • Bank, post office, hospital, school, library Urban Hierarchy

  12. 4. City – large population, more functional specialization, larger hinterlands • Have well-defined Central Business Districts (CBD’s) • May also be surrounded by suburbs • Specialize in high order functions

  13. 5. Megalopolis- cluster of large cities • Bosnywash is the largest in the U.S., extending from Boston down to Washington D.C. (Boston, New York, Philly, Baltimore, D.C.)

  14. City: College Town: High School Village: Elementary School Hamlet: No Schools A Hierarchy of Educational Services

  15. Stock Exchange Sports Stadium Regional Shopping Mall Major Department Store Income Tax Service Convenience Store Gas Station

  16. Puerto Piritu – 20,000 Anaco, Population: 125,000 El Tigre, Population: 276,000 Puerto La Cruz/Lecheria/Barcelona, Population: 1,100,000 Which towns would be likely to have a... gas station? fast-food restaurant? general practitioner? shopping center? Pizzeria shopping mall? movie theater? theater for plays or performances? lawyer for traffic court? neurosurgeon? lawyer for international litigation? luxury fashion shop (e.g., Fendi, Prada, Versace)? Professional sports stadium, arena, etc…

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