Central Place Theory

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Central Place Theory

• Models are not real, but help us understand
  reality

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Central Place Theory

• Central Place market center for the exchange of
  goods and services by people attracted from the
  surrounding area
• Theory explains how services are distributed and
  why a regular pattern of settlements exists
• German geographer Walter Christaller (1930)

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The Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania is a
portion of the Great Valley of the Appalachians.
Broad valley floor, agricultural, settled in the
early-to-mid 1700s
Note the regularity of spacing between urban
centers -- towns. Local lore has it that the
distances between towns evolved because it was
the distance someone could travel in a day.
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If . . .

• 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

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Then . . .

• There will be a regular spatial order in the
  number of central places of different population
  sizes.
• Few large places
• Many small places
• There will be a regular spatial order in the
  spacing of central places of different population
  sizes.
• Large places relatively farther apart
• Small places relatively closer together

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Central Place FunctionsCategories of like
services found in a central place

• Grocery Stores
• Gas Stations
• Jewelry Stores
• Book Stores
• Hair Stylists
• Auto Dealerships

• Houses of Worship
• Schools
• Doctors
• Dentists
• Museums
• Concert Halls

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Would you travel farther to buy a new car or the
weeks groceries?

• To buy a new car

Would you travel farther to see your family
physician or a heart specialist?
To see a heart specialist
Would you travel farther to go to elementary
school or to go to high school?
To go to high school
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A Hierarchy of Educational Services
City College
Town High School
Village Elementary School

• Hamlet
• No Schools

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Stock Exchange
Sports Stadium
Regional Shopping Mall
Major Department Store
Income Tax Service
Convenience Store
Gas Station
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How big is the trade area of a service center?
It depends on . . . - How far a consumer is
willing to travel for the service- How many
customers a service needs
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Each central place function has a

• Threshold the minimum number of people needed to
  support a central place function
• With fewer customers a store cannot afford to
  stay in business.

• Range the maximum distance beyond which a
  person will not travel to purchase a good or
  service
• Beyond a certain distance people cannot afford
  the travel costs.

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Optimal Location (for Pizza Shop)
Fig. 12-6 The optimal location for a pizza
delivery shop with seven potential customers in a
linear settlement (top) and with 99 families in
apartment buildings (bottom).
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Supermarket and Convenience Store Market Areas
Fig. 12-8 Market area, range, and threshold for
Kroger supermarkets (left) and UDF convenience
stores in Dayton, Ohio. Supermarkets have much
larger areas and ranges than convenience stores.
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Best Location in a Linear Settlement
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Rank Size Rule George Zipf 1949

• The countrys nth largest settlement is 1/n the
  population of the largest settlement

• 2nd largest city is ½ the largest
• 4th largest city is ¼ the size of the largest

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Rank-Size Rule United States
City Population
New York City 8,391,881
Los Angeles 3,831,868
Chicago 2,851,268
Houston 2,257,926
Phoenix 1,593,659
Philadelphia 1,547,297
San Antonio 1,373,668
San Diego 1,306, 300
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Rank-Size Distribution of Cities
Fig. 12-9 Cities in the U.S. closely follow the
rank-size distribution, as indicated by the
almost straight line on this log scale. In
Romania, there are few settlements in two size
ranges.
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Primate City Rule

• The largest settlement has more than twice as
  many people as the second-ranking settlement.
• Primate Citylargest city

• Denmark
• Copenhagen 1 million
• Arhus 200,000
• United Kingdom
• London 8 million
• Birmingham 2 million
• Thailand
• Bangkok 1.5 million
• Nonthaburi 250,000