Central Place Theory

How was his theory depicted on a model?

Cities are furthest apart; hamlets closest together; hexagons show economic reach of a settlement

Walter Christaller's Central Place Theory

Describes the spatial patterns of urban and outlying areas based on the flow of goods and services; Establishes a central place surrounded by a market area

Range

How far a consumer will travel to obtain a good or service

City

More specialization and a larger hinterland (economic reach); has suburbs Ex: San Antonio, Austin, Houston

higher order goods

Relatively costly and have a larger range (ex: an arena, hospital)

Conclusion #1: Rank size rule

The population of a city is inversely related to its ranking

Why central place theory?

Was trying to explain distribution of urban areas on the northern european plain

Hinterland

economic reach of an urban area --> economic pull

centrality

how influential a city is how important is it economically and culturally on a global scale refers to overall influence

Threshold

how many potential customers are needed to support a business

Conclusion #3

larger cities are placed further apart than smaller towns and cities

Town

larger than a village, and has more degree of specialization Ex: Lockhart, TX

Lower order goods

less costly; have a smaller range ex: convenience store

Village

likely to offer several dozen services; limited specialization Ex: Hutto, TX

Conclusion #2

places of the same size with the same number of functions would be spaced the same distance apart

Hamlet

provides some basic services to the people living there and those nearby Ex: Andice, TX

Urban hierarchy

ranking of settlements according to their sizes and functions population, specialization, and variety of products increase with size

Assumptions of Central Place Theory

1. broad, flat plain 2. no physical barriers 3. even soil fertility 4. uniform transport network 5. constant range in all directions for the same of any good

Limitations of central place theory

1. there are unitary systems of government 2. primate cities: where a large portion of the population lives in one city