Central Place Theory Christaller

What are services?  Labor more important, but fewer unions  More women (“pink-collar” workers)  Tertiary, quaternary, or quinary Where are services?  From local to global  More developed = more service jobs  “Post-industrial” economies

Central place theory  How are services distributed?  Why does a regular pattern exist?  How are large and small cities connected?  Central place: market center for region

Central place theory  Range: how far are you willing to travel for a service?  Threshold: how many customers do you need?  Assume shortest distance possible  Market area, not city size, matters

Central place theory  Hexagonal market areas –Cover all space –No overlap  First order: largest threshold and range  Second order, etc.

First order Range

First order Range

First order New range

First order Second order

First order Second order

First order Second order New range

First order Second order Third order New range

First order Second order Third order

First order Second order Third order

Central place theory  Accessibility based on time, not distance  Administrative principle –Political boundaries affect consumers –Lower taxes, more permissive rules

So what?  Model for regional development  Explains decline as well as growth –Neighborhood or city scale  The point is not the hexagons, but the hierarchy and interconnectedness of places

Central Place Theory in Action A real example in Wisconsin between Eau Claire and Madison

A pilot study proved that the location, distribution, and type of business advertised on billboards along Interstate Highway 94 between Madison and Eau Claire in Wisconsin significantly demonstrated the concepts of the Central Place Theory. To simplify (and demonstrated in Figure 1), Central Place Theory states that a customer will travel farther to purchase a product that is unique or scarce (Foust and deSouza, 1978).

The pilot study showed that fast food restaurants and gas stations tended to advertise between interstate interchanges; the majority of billboards advertising gas stations and fast food establishments were located at the next exit.

On the other hand, billboards advertising ski hills, the Wisconsin Dells, and House on the Rock (recreation venues) advertised much farther away from the destination (Figure 2). This implies that a much greater threshold number of customers was necessary to make these businesses profitable.

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Figure 2