1. Johann Heinrich von Thünen
Presentation by Meghan Cerino

2. von Thünen’s Early life
KING
OF LAND USE
von Thünen’s Early life
Born on June 24, 1783, in Canarienhausen, Oldenburg, Germany
His father died when von Thünen was young, and his mother was re-married to a timber merchant.
Attended school and apprenticed as a farm laborer
Further education at two agricultural schools
From 1803 to 1804, von Thünen attended the University of Göttingen, where he read the writings of political economist Adam Smith.

3. Assumptions of von Thünen’s theory
•The city is located centrally within an "Isolated State" which is self sufficient and has no external influences.
•The Isolated State is surrounded by an unoccupied wilderness.
The land of the State is completely flat and has no rivers or mountains to interrupt the terrain.
•The soil quality and climate are consistent throughout the State.
•Farmers in the Isolated State transport their own goods to market via oxcart, across land, directly to the central city. Therefore, there are no roads.
•Farmers act to maximize profits.
BUT COME ON, JOHANN, THIS ONLY WORKS IN THEORY!

4. Time 4 notes! The model
The model compares the relationships between production cost, the market price and the transport cost of an agricultural commodity and is expressed using the following equation:
R = Y(p-c) – Yfm
R = Rent per unit of land.
Y = Yield per unit of land.
p = market price per unit of yield.
c = Average production costs per unit of yield.
m = Distance from market (in kilometers or miles).
f = Freight rate per unit of yield and unit of distance.

6. WHAT’S UP
WITH
THAT?!

7. Dairy & market gardening
Ranching
Grains & other crops
(Ms.) Ramm
Gets
Fired-up
D-period
Class
Forest
Dairy & market gardening
City

8. A look in the book Von Thunen’s theory is mentioned on pages 329-330
On these pages, the importance of access to marketplaces is discussed as a crucial factor for any group of people
The book takes Von Thunen’s theory one step farther—it discusses how geographers have altered the theory in order to account for national geographic features, i.e. rivers and mountains

9. Bibliography
Biography.com Editors. "Johann Heinrich Von Thünen Biography." Biograpy.com Website. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 11 Sept
"The Human Imprint." The Human Imprint. The Human Imprint--A Geography Website, 2 Feb Web. 11 Sept
The Von Thunen Model: A Model of Agricultural Land Use." About.com--Geography. About.com, n.d. Web.
The Cultural Landscape by James M. Rubenstein