CENTRAL

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CENTRAL
More small places than big places
Ratio of big places to small places relatively
constant
PLACE
Big places farther apart than small places
THEORY
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CENTRAL
PLACE
A settlement whose livelihood depends on the sale
of goods and services to people in the
surrounding area
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Settlement Sizes

• Hamlet
• Village
• Town
• City
• Metropolis

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St. Petersburg, FL
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POSTULATES or OUTCOMESThen . . .
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PREMISES or ASSUMPTIONSIf . . .

• 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

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POSTULATES or OUTCOMESThen . . .

• 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

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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

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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.

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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.

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Would you travel farther to buy a new car or the
weeks groceries?

• To buy a new car

Would you travel farther to see your family
physician or a heart specialist?
To see a heart specialist
Would you travel farther to go to elementary
school or to go to high school?
To go to high school
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A Hierarchy of Educational Services
City College
Town High School
Village Elementary School

• Hamlet
• No Schools

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Stock Exchange
Sports Stadium
Regional Shopping Mall
Major Department Store
Income Tax Service
Convenience Store
Gas Station
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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
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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.

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THE CIRCLE OF INQUIRY
Deduction
Induction
What is? vs. What should be?
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A WALK ACROSS FRANCE by Miles Morland
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
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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.
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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

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Central Place Functions GREEN VILLAGE Central Place Functions GREEN VILLAGE
19TH Century 1972
2 churches 2 stores 1 hotel 1 church 1 grocery store 1 school
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Central Place Functions GREEN VILLAGE Central Place Functions GREEN VILLAGE 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
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Villages become towns,and towns become cities.
The Tween Places
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Central Places ofIntermetropolitan Corridors

• Half-way between Washington and Richmond?
• Fredericksburg
• Half-way between Richmond and Norfolk?
• Williamsburg
• Half-way between Washington and Baltimore?
• Columbia

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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.

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The Practical Value ofCentral Place Theory
Where would you go for ideas, if . . . .
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You were McDonalds and you wanted to build a new
restaurant?

• Central Place Theory

You were Starbucks and you wanted to find a new
location?
Central Place Theory
You were attempting to place a new Minor/Major
League Sports Franchise?
Central Place Theory
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You were Dutch and needed to settle the newly
drained polders of the Zuider Zee?

• Central Place Theory

You were Brazilian and needed to settle people on
the Amazon frontier?
Central Place Theory
You were an archaeologist and wanted to know
where to dig next?
Central Place Theory
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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?