Central Places: Theory and Applications Ken Keller APHG Teacher’s Conference Boca Raton, FL March...
-
Upload
neil-whitehead -
Category
Documents
-
view
215 -
download
0
Transcript of Central Places: Theory and Applications Ken Keller APHG Teacher’s Conference Boca Raton, FL March...
Central Places:Theory and Applications
Ken Keller
APHG Teacher’s Conference
Boca Raton, FL
March 6, 2010
Walter Christaller
Die Zentralen Orte in Suddeutschland
Central Places in Southern Germany
Originally published in 1933, translated into English in 1966
CENTRAL
PLACE
THEORY
Deduction
Induction
THE CIRCLE OF INQUIRY
What is? vs. What should be?
CENTRAL
PLACE
THEORY
More small places than
big places
Big places farther apart
than small places
Ratio of big places to small places relatively constant
CENTRAL
PLACE
A settlement whose livelihood depends on the sale of goods and services to people in
the surrounding area
Settlement Sizes
• Hamlet
• Village
• Town
• City
• Metropolis
POSTULATES or OUTCOMES“Then . . . “
PREMISES or ASSUMPTIONS“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
POSTULATES or OUTCOMES“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
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
Higher-Order FunctionsHigher-Order Central Places
• Provision of higher-order goods and services
• Trade in goods and services that are more valuable and infrequently demanded
• Because the goods and services are more valuable, people are willing to travel farther to shop.
• Higher-order goods and services are available in higher-order central places.
Lower-Order FunctionsLower-Order Central Places
• Provision of lower-order goods and services
• Trade in goods and services that are less valuable and frequently demanded.
• Because the goods and services are less valuable, people are willing to travel only short distances to shop.
• Lower-order goods and services are available in lower-order central places.
Would you travel farther to buy a new car or the week’s groceries?
To buy a new car
Would you travel farther to go to elementary school or to go to high school?
Would you travel farther to see your family physician or a heart specialist?
To see a heart specialist
To go to high school
A Hierarchy of Educational
Services
Hamlet:
No Schools
Village:
Elementary
School
Town:
High School
City:
College
Stock Exchange
Sports Stadium
Regional Shopping Mall
Major Department Store
Income Tax Service
Convenience Store
Gas Station
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
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.
Deduction
Induction
THE CIRCLE OF INQUIRY
What is? vs. What should be?
“We never knew whether or not a village would have a shop or a restaurant, but we were developing a system. We used to look up the population on the map. The IGN puts this in tiny figures next to the village name. Our system went like this:
A WALK ACROSS FRANCE by Miles Morland
Village Population What to Expect
300+ One all-purpose shop
500+ Shop and café
Occasional pharmacy
700+ 2 shops, 2 restaurants, garage, pharmacy, maison de la presse
200 Forget it.
Tests of Central Place Theory
• J. E. Brush: The Hierarchy of Central Places in Southwestern Wisconsin
• B. J. L. Berry, Trading Centers in Haakon County, South Dakota
• R. C. Mayfield, A Central Place Hierarchy in Northern India
• Y. Watanabe, The Service Pattern in the Shinjo Basin, Yamagata Prefecture
• P. Woroby, Functional Ranks and Locational Patterns of Service Centers in Saskatchewan
According to Central Place Theory, what should we find about 5.5 miles
around Carlisle?
• Mount Holly Springs• Boiling Springs• Churchtown• New Kingston• Carlisle Springs• Plainfield• Mount Rock
Central Place Functions
GREEN VILLAGE
19TH Century 1972
2 churches
2 stores
1 hotel
1 church
1 grocery store
1 school
Central Place Functions
GREEN VILLAGE
1972 1997 2002
1 church
1 grocery store
1 school
4 churches
2 stores
2 restaurants
1 primary school
1 car repair
1 insurance agency
1 rental agency
1 beauty shop
1 garage door
5 churches
3 stores
2 restaurants
2 car sales/repair
1 primary school
1 gas station
1 credit union
1 beauty shop
1 self storage
1 garage door
Villages become towns,and towns become cities.
The ‘Tween Places
Central Places ofIntermetropolitan Corridors
Half-way between Washington and Richmond?
• FredericksburgHalf-way between Richmond and
Norfolk?• WilliamsburgHalf-way between Washington and
Baltimore?• Columbia
Why do we not ever see a perfect central place hierarchy?
• Physical geography is important! Topography and hydrography interfere.
• Consumer behavior is determined by more than economic considerations.
• The automobile has made long-distance travel popular (cheap and easy).
• People make multiple-purpose shopping trips, often bypassing the smallest places.
• The Internet has made it unnecessary to have customers nearby.
The Practical Value ofCentral Place Theory
Where would you go for ideas, if . . . .
You were McDonalds and you wanted to build a new restaurant?
Central Place Theory
You were attempting to place a new Minor/Major League Sports Franchise?
You were Starbucks and you wanted to find a new location?
Central Place Theory
Central Place Theory
You were Dutch and needed to settle the newly drained polders of the Zuider Zee?
Central Place Theory
You were an archaeologist and wanted to know where to dig next?
You were Brazilian and needed to settle people on the Amazon frontier?
Central Place Theory
Central Place Theory
How could central place theory help you to choose a location for:
• A new hospital?
• A new high school?
• A new mall?
• A new café?
• A new grocery store?
• Other services?