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Concept
Central place theory
Summary
Central place theory is an urban geographical theory that seeks to explain the number, size and range of market services in a commercial system or human settlements in a residential system. It was introduced in 1933 to explain the spatial distribution of cities across the landscape. The theory was first analyzed by German geographer Walter Christaller, who asserted that settlements simply functioned as 'central places' providing economic services to surrounding areas. Christaller explained that a large number of small settlements will be situated relatively close to one another for efficiency, and because people don’t want to travel far for everyday needs, like getting bread from a bakery. But people would travel further for more expensive and infrequent purchases or specialized goods and services which would be located in larger settlements that are farther apart.
To develop the theory, Christaller made the following simplifying assumptions:
All areas have:
an unbounded isotropic (all flat), homogeneous, limitless surface (abstract space)
an evenly distributed population
all settlements are equidistant and exist in a triangular lattice pattern
evenly distributed resources
distance decay mechanism
perfect competition and all sellers are economic people maximizing their profits
consumers are of the same income level and same shopping behaviour
all consumers have a similar purchasing power and demand for goods and services.
Consumers visit the nearest central places that provide the function which they demand. They minimize the distance to be travelled
no provider of goods or services is able to earn excess profit (each supplier has a monopoly over a hinterland)
Therefore, the trade areas of these central places who provide a particular good or service must all be of equal size
there is only one type of transport and this would be equally easy in all directions
transport cost is directly proportional to distance travelled
These assumptions generally mean that the theory has no utility beyond abstract discussions.
Official source
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