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
