THE CENTRAL PLACE THEORY

Key Terms:

Basic/Non-Basic Industry

Multiplier Effect

Range

Threshold

Low Order Good

High Order Good

Urban Hierarchy

Site and Situation

Question: State a product that is perishable but it is not food?

Basic Industry: …

Non-Basic Industry: …

Multiplier Effect: …

We can call this the B/N ratio and give it a value of 1:3

Range: …

How far are you willing to travel to purchase bread or milk?

How far are you willing to travel to purchase a new car?

Threshold:…

How many people are needed to support a variety store?

How many people are needed to support a museum?

High Order Goods:

Low Order Goods:

How has the Internet and shopping on-line changed the concept of Range and Threshold and shopping patterns in general? How has the Internet even changed the idea of where to locate a store?

Urban and Rural Interactions

• There has been significant movement of people in Canada between urban and rural areas over time.

• Urbanization• Urban HierarchyThe order of goods also increases as you go

up.

Urban Hierarchy

hamlet village town suburb city metropolis

Urban Hierarchy

The larger the urban place the less of them you have and the more variety of goods and services that you will find.

Urban Hierarchy• Why are large cities generally located far

apart?• Why are small towns generally located

close together?• German geographer Walter Christaller

created the central place theory, based on the number of people needed to support an activity - threshold

Urban Hierarchy• Does Christaller’s theory work in the “real

world”?• Let’s take a look at a map of southcentral

Ontario and see if we can apply his theory to the settlements that exist here.

• Draw lines on the base map according to this legend:

Low Order: Bread

Medium Order: Video Game

High Order: car or washing machine

Lake Huron

Lake Ontario

Lake Erie

Lake Erie

Lake Huron

Lake Ontario

London

Hamilton

Burlington

Oakville

Mississauga

Cambridge

Kitchener-Waterloo

Walter Christaller’s Central Place Theory

Why don’t squares work?

Hamlets

Central Place Theory

Market areas are arranged into a regular pattern according to central place theory, with larger settlements fewer and further apart.

Urbanization• Urbanization is the movement of people UP

the urban hierarchy or in simple terms movement from rural to urban. This has been the main migration pattern of Canadians since the creation of our country.

Year % Rural % Urban1853 85 151908 50 502001 15 85

Urbanization

– reduced need for farm labour due to farm modernization (e.g. tractors)

– improvements in mobility (better transportation systems reduces need for local stores)

– consolidation of goods & services (most things one needs has relocated to urban areas)

Urbanization

NetMigration

Rate

City Size

•Why did people leave the countryside to live in the big cities?

Counter-Urbanization• Counter-urbanization …

Counter-Urbanization• Why are people leaving the cities to live in

smaller towns and villages?Counter - Urbanization

NetMigration

Rate

City Size

– health issues, security, “community”

– “back to nature” movement (desire to live in the country)

– increase in telecommuting (less need to be at an office)

– cheaper land and house prices

Site: …

Situation: …

Of course in real life this type of pattern is difficult to attain. There are mountains, rivers, lakes etc. in the way that will distort the hexagon pattern.

Also, certain cities locate where they do for other reasons than to just service it’s hinterland.

Manufacturing Cities/Resource Cities: …

Transportation Hubs: …

Tourist Cites: …

Government Centres: …

Equidistant – Central Place Linear - Water

Cluster Linear – Road/Water

The End!