AP Human Geography

1. AP Human Geography Central Place Theory

2. Central Place Theory • Based on the work of Walter Christaller, a German geographer • In 1933, Christaller wrote his doctoral dissertation in geography entitled, The Central Places of Southern Germany. • In it, he proposed CPT

3. Central Place Theory: Some Basic ideas • Central places are nodes for the distribution of economic goods and services to surrounding nonurban populations • Central places compete against each other; this competition creates the regular pattern of settlements • Each settlement has a market area, the region from which customers are drawn. • Hexagons rather than circles are used to indicate market areas.

4. Central Place Theory Cont’d • Smaller settlements occur more frequently and are closer together, while larger settlements occur less frequently and are farther apart. • Small settlements provide goods and services that have small thresholds and ranges; large settlements provide goods and services that have large thresholds & ranges. • The good or service provided in a central place has an order (high or low) based on how specialized it is.

5. Market Area • The area surrounding a service from which customers are attracted is the market area or hinterland. • It is a good example of a nodal or functional region- a region with a core, where the characteristic is most intense.

6. Size of Market Area • Range- the maximum distance people are willing to drive to use a service • Threshold- the minimum number of people needed to support the service (customer base)

9. Assumptions • No topographic barriers • No difference in soil fertility • Population & purchasing power evenly distributed • People with similar lifestyles and incomes • Uniform transportation network • Purchase of goods & services at the nearest center

10. What are the advantages of central place theory? • Does a reasonably good job of describing the spatial pattern of urbanization. No economic theory explains why there is a hierarchy of urban centers. • Provides a description of the relationship between a central place-higher order place and its tributary areas-lower order places. • Does a good job of describing the location of trade and service activity.

11. The Real World • Physical barriers, resource distributions, etc. create modifications of the spatial pattern. • Some areas tend to confirm the model • Christaller stimulated urban and economic geography in general and location theory in particular.

12. Conclusions Christaller’s conclusions: 1. Towns of the same size are evenly spaced because they are in the center of liked-sized market areas. Larger towns will be farther apart than smaller towns b/cause their market areas are larger. 2. Distribution of cities, towns, & villages in a region is related to trade areas, pop. size, and distance

13. Rank Size Rule • Holds that in a model urban hierarchy, the pop of a city or town will be inversely proportional to its rank in the hierarchy • For example, if the largest city has 12 million people, the 2nd largest = 6 million (1/2); 3rd largest = 4 million (1/3); • Rank size rule does not apply to all countries, esp. countries w/one dominant city, e.g., France, England, Japan, Mexico, etc.

14. Primate City Rule • According to primate city rule, the largest settlement has more than twice as many people as the second-ranking settlement. • Examples: Paris, France; London, United Kingdom; Mexico City, Mexico, etc. • Pros-lg. market for goods/services/information, compete on a global scale & attract foreign investment, lg. threshold=better services, transportation • Cons-unequal distribution of investments, wealth, transportation & resources; brain drain, slums, environmental impact

15. Where are Business Services Distributed? • Cluster in urban settlements • Global or world cities have lg. #s of business services for many reasons: • Headquarters of lg. corporations are clustered in global cities • Lawyers, accountants, & other professionals cluster there to provide advice to major corporations & financial institutions • Advertising agencies, marketing firms, etc. concerned w/ style & fashion locate in global cities to help corporations anticipate changes in taste & shape those changes

16. Where are Business Services Distributed? • Global cities are centers for finance & attract major banks, insurance co., etc. • Global cities are divided up into 3 levels: • Alpha, beta, gamma • Ex. alpha++ city= NYC and London alpha+ city= Chicago, Tokyo, Hong Kong

17. Where are Business Services Distributed? • Combination of economic, political, cultural, & infrastructure factors are used to identify global cities • Economic factors: # of headquarters for multinational co., financial institutions, & law firms • Political factors: hosting headquarters for international org. & capitals of countries that play lead role in international events • Cultural factors: cultural institutions, media outlets, sports facilities, educational institutions • Infrastructural factors: major international airports, health care facilities, & advanced communication systems

18. Where are Business Services Distributed? • New forms of transportation & communication were expected to reduce the need for clustering of services in lg. cities: • Telegraph & telephone in 19th century and the computer in the 20th century • RR in 19th century & motor vehicle and airplane in 20th century • These new technologies have reinforced rather than diminish the primacy of global cities • Characteristics of global cities: tend to have busy harbors & airports and lie at the junction of RR and highway networks

19. Consumer & Public Services in Global Cities • Retail services w/ extensive market areas • Lg. # of wealthy ppl, so luxury & highly specialized products are especially likely to be sold there • Offer more plays, concerts, operas, night clubs, restaurants, bars, professional sporting events, libraries, museums, etc. • Leisure activities cluster in global cities b/c they require lg. thresholds and lg. ranges, & need for wealthy patrons • Most are national capitals w/ gov’t and related services • Ex. NYC is not but houses United Nations headquarters; Brussels, Belgium center for European Union activities

20. Business Services in Developing Countries • Developing countries usually specialize in 2 distinctive types of business services: offshore financial services & back-office functions • These services are located here for reasons such as supportive laws, weak regulations, & low wage workers • Sm. Countries (islands/microstates) offer offshore financial services. Off shore centers provide 2 important functions: • Taxes: taxes on income, profits, & capital gains are typically low or non-existent • Companies incorporated in an offshore center also have tax-free status, regardless of the nationality of owner • Companies are able to conceal their assets & countries lose out on millions/billions of tax revenue

21. Privacy: bank secrecy laws can help individuals & businesses evade disclosure in their home countries • Creditors cannot reach such assets in bankruptcy hearing • Short statues of limitation protect offshore accounts from long-term investigations • The International Monetary Fund, UN, & Tax Justice Institute identify the following places as offshore financial services centers: • Dependencies of the UK: Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar off Spain • Dependencies of other countries: Cook Island controlled by New Zealand, Aruba & Curacao controlled by the Netherlands, Hong Kong & Macau by China • Independent countries: Barbados, Grenada, Turks & Caicos, Samoa, Mauritius, Seychelles , Ireland, Liechtenstein, Costa Rica, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, etc.

22. Cayman Islands • Several hundred banks w/ assets of more than $1 trillion are legally based there • Most banks have only a handful of ppl, if any, working in the Caymans • Crime to discuss confidential business learned on the job in public • Offshore assets are not covered by lawsuits originating in the U.S., so additional lawsuits would have to be made & privacy laws can shield individual/corporation from undesired disclosures

23. Back Office Functions (business process outsourcing or BPO) • Includes insurance claims processing, payroll management, transcription work, & other clerical activities • Also as centers for responding to billing inquiries related to credit cards, shipments, claims, technical support for things like installation, operation, & repairs • High rent prices in downtown global cities has induced business services to move routine work to places in suburbs or nearby sm. Towns • Selected developing countries have attracted back offices for 2 main reasons: • Low wages and ability to speak English

24. Economic Base of Settlements: • Settlement’s distinctive economic structure derives from its basic industries (export primarily to consumers outside settlement) • Nonbasic industries: enterprises whose customers live in the same community, essentially, consumer services • Community’s unique collection of basic industries defines its economic base • Exportation of basic industries brings $ to local economy, thus stimulating more nonbasic consumer services for the area • New basic industries attract new workers to the settlement • The settlement then attracts additional consumer services to meet the needs of the new workers • New basic industries stimulates new nonbasic industries but not visa-versa

25. Economic Base of Settlements: • Basic industries can be computed by the % of the community’s workers employed in different types of businesses • % of workers employed in a particular industry in a settlement is then compared to the % of all workers in the country employed in that industry • If % is much higher then it is a basic economic activity for that settlement • Settlements can be classified by their basic activity such as: • manufactured goods (steel, cars) located btw. Northern Ohio & SE Wisconsin and Great Lakes • nondurable manufactured goods (textiles, apparel, food, chemicals, paper) in SE, especially the Carolinas

26. Economic Base of Settlements: • Other examples • computer and data processing in Boston and San Jose • High-tech industries support services: Austin, Orlando, Raleigh-Durham • Military activity support services: Albuquerque, Colorado Springs, Knoxville, Norfolk • Management-consulting: Washington D.C. • Entertainment/Recreation: Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Reno • Medical: Rochester, Minnesota • Public Services: state capitals like Sacramento and Tallahassee, Arlington for military bases • North and Eastern states have expanded their business services more rapidly ex. Cleveland & Pittsburgh once relied on steel production but now rely on health services such as hospitals, medical high-technology

27. Distribution of Talent • Some cities have higher % of talented individuals than others • Ex. Raleigh-Durham, Washington D.C., Austin, Colorado Springs, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle • Enticement of cultural rather than economic reasons bring talent to these cities

28. Services in rural settlements: • Rural settlements are either clustered or dispersed • Clustered rural settlement includes homes, barns, tool sheds, & other farm equipment plus consumer services (religious structures, schools, shops) • Usually has a commons areas • Villages or hamlets are clustered rural settlements • Brings about a sense of community • Ex. New England colonists & their focus around the Church

29. Services in rural settlements: • Dispersed rural settlements: • More individual areas w/ lg. chunks of land • Typical of Middle Atlantic colonies settled by groups like the Germans, Dutch, Irish, Swedish, etc. • Dominates the American Midwest where land was plentiful & cheap • Enclosure movement in England is a good ex. of dispersed rural settlements