
What is the k value of K in geography?
In central places theory, the k value is often used to define the geographical relationship between different orders. With a k=3 relationship, each market area of a higher-order contains three market areas of a lower order. Several other values of k are possible in regional representations of urban hierarchy, but the most common are 3, 4, and 7:
What is the central place theory of Christaller?
Central-place theory. The German geographer Walter Christaller introduced central-place theory in his book entitled Central Places in Southern Germany (1933). The primary purpose of a settlement or market town, according to central-place theory, is the provision of goods and services for the surrounding market area.
What is the central place theory in geography?
German economic geographer Walter Christaller developed central place theory in 1933 to describe southern Germany's spatial patterns. Central place theory can be used to explain the hierarchy of urban areas. Central place theory is based on economic principles of markets and, when applied to a homogeneous plane, results in a hexagonal structure.
What is central place theory (CPT)?
Central Place Theory is a spatial theory in urban geography and urban economics. CPT explains the spatial arrangements, patterns and distribution of urban areas and human settlements.

What are the 3 parts of the central place theory?
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.
What is the concept of central place theory?
Introduction. Central place theory is concerned with the size, number, functional characteristics, and spacing of settlements, which are nodal points for the distribution of goods and services to surrounding market areas.
What are the 5 key assumptions to the central place theory?
evenly distributed resources. similar purchasing power of all consumers and consumers will patronize nearest market. no excess profits (Perfect competition) consumers are of the same income level and same shopping behavior. Uniform transport network that permitted direct travel from each settlement to the other.
What is the name of the principal associated with K 3 as per christaller's central place theory?
Christaller noted three different arrangements of central places according to the following principles: 1. The marketing principle (K=3 system); 2. The transportation principle (K=4 system); 3.
In which of the following the K 7 hierarchy order implies?
According to K = 7 administrative principle (or political-social principle), settlements are nested according to sevens. The market areas of the smaller settlements are completely enclosed within the market area of the larger settlement.
What is rank size rule?
The Rank Size Rule, inspired by Zipf's Law Applied to Distribution of Cities (1935), says if all cities in a country are placed in order from the largest to the smallest, each one will have a population 1/nth the size of the largest city in the country.
What are the main features of central place theory?
Central-place theory attempts to illustrate how settlements locate in relation to one another, the amount of market area a central place can control, and why some central places function as hamlets, villages, towns, or cities.
What are the five sizes of communities?
Complete, compact, connected, complex, and convivial describes everything that you want a neighborhood to be.
Why are hexagons used in the central place theory?
The hexagon is ideal because it allows the triangles formed by the central place vertexes to connect, and it represents the assumption that consumers will visit the closest place offering the goods they need.
Who first proposed central place theory?
The intellectual roots of central place theory can be found in the works of rural sociologists and geographers in the early 1900s, but the main contributions to the development of the theory were made in the 1930s and 1940s by two German scholars, Walter Christaller and August Lösch.
What is the main function of central place?
A central place has the main function of supplying goods and services to the surrounding population. It specializes in selling various goods and services. The market area is the summation of consumers traveling to the central place, which is a part of a hierarchy with other central places.
What is isotropic of Christaller?
It attempts to explain the number, location, size, spacing and functions of a settlement within an urban system. Christaller based his theory on a set of following assumptions; 1. There is an isotropic plane (flat surface) on which natural resources are evenly distributed. 2. Population is evenly distributed on plane.
What is an example of central place theory?
For example, when there are two cities, there would be six towns, 18 villages, and 54 hamlets. There is also the transportation principle (K=4) where areas in the central place hierarchy are four times bigger than the area in the next lowest order.
How does central place theory apply to tourism?
Successful sport initiatives can result in heightened use of a destination's attractions, resources, and services. Central place theory assists in predicting the type of location that stands to benefit from sport tourism development.
Who first proposed central place theory?
The intellectual roots of central place theory can be found in the works of rural sociologists and geographers in the early 1900s, but the main contributions to the development of the theory were made in the 1930s and 1940s by two German scholars, Walter Christaller and August Lösch.
What is the central place theory quizlet?
A theory that explains the distribution of services, based on the fact that settlements serve as centers of market areas for services; larger settlements are fewer and farther apart than smaller settlements and provide services for a larger number of people who are willing to travel farther.
What is central place theory?
Central-place theory attempts to illustrate how settlements locate in relation to one another, the amount of market area a central place can control, and why some central places function as hamlets, villages, towns, or cities. The German geographer Walter Christaller introduced central-place theory in his book entitled Central Places in Southern ...
When was central place theory introduced?
Edward Ullman introduced central-place theory to American scholars in 1941. Since then geographers have sought to test its validity. Iowa and Wisconsin have been two areas of empirical research that have come closest to meeting Christaller’s theoretical assumptions.
What is location theory?
Location theory, in economics and geography, theory concerned with the geographic location of economic activity; it has become an integral part of economic geography, regional science, and spatial economics. Location theory addresses the questions of what economic activities are located where and….
What is Christaller's theory?
Christaller’s theory assumes that central places are distributed over a uniform plane of constant population density and purchasing power. Movement across the plane is uniformly easy in any direction, transportation costs vary linearly, and consumers act rationally to minimize transportation costs by visiting the nearest location offering the desired good or service.
What is the determining factor in the location of a central place?
The determining factor in the location of any central place is the threshold, which comprisesthe smallest market area necessary for the goods and services to be economically viable. Once a thresholdhas been established, the central place will seek to expand its market area until the range—i.e.,the maximum distance consumers will travel to purchase goods and services—is reached.
Which theory offered geometric explanations as to how settlements and places are located in relation to one another?
…Walter Christaller’s formulation of the central place theory, which offered geometric explanations as to how settlements and places are located in relation to one another and why settlements function as hamlets, villages, towns, or cities.…
Who expanded on Christaller's work?
The German economist August Lösch expanded on Christaller’s work in his book The Spatial Organization of the Economy (1940). Unlike Christaller, whose system of central places began with the highest-order, Lösch began with a system of lowest-order (self-sufficient) farms, which were regularly distributed in a triangular-hexagonal pattern. ...
Where did Christaller test the central place theory?
He mainly tested the theory in southern Germany and came to the conclusion that people gather together in cities to share goods and ideas and that communities—or central places—exist for purely economic reasons. Before testing his theory, however, Christaller had to first define the central place.
How many orders does central place theory have?
In addition, central place theory has three orders or principles. The first is the marketing principle and is shown as K=3 (where K is a constant). In this system, market areas at a certain level of the central place hierarchy are three times larger than the next lowest one. The different levels then follow a progression of threes, meaning that as you move through the order of places, the number of the next level increases threefold. For example, when there are two cities, there would be six towns, 18 villages, and 54 hamlets.
What were Christaller's assumptions?
Christaller's Assumptions. To focus on the economic aspects of his theory, Christaller had to create a set of assumptions. He decided that the countryside in the areas he was studying would be flat, so no barriers would exist to impede people's movement across it.
What is the central place?
In keeping with his economic focus, he decided that the central place exists primarily to provide goods and services to its surrounding population. The city is, in essence, a distribution center.
Why did August Losch modify Christaller's central place theory?
In 1954, German economist August Losch modified Christaller's central place theory because he believed it was too rigid. He thought that Christaller's model led to patterns where the distribution of goods and the accumulation of profits were based entirely on location.
What is threshold in Christaller's study?
In addition, the threshold is an important concept in Christaller's study. This is the minimum number of people needed for a central place business or activity to remain active and prosperous. This led to Christaller's idea of low- and high-order goods. Low-order goods are things that are replenished frequently such as food ...
How many sizes of communities are there in the central place system?
Within the central place system, there are five sizes of communities:
What is central place theory?
Central Place Theory (CPT) – Locational Theory. Central Place Theory is a spatial theory in urban geography and urban economics. CPT explains the spatial arrangements, patterns and distribution of urban areas and human settlements. Central place theory was given by Walter Christaller in 1933 on the basis of settlement patterns in southern Germany.
Who developed the central place theory?
A modified version of original central place theory was given in 1954 by a German economist August Losch in 1954. Losch believed that the CPT was too rigid, and suggested few changes related to consumer behaviour, social system, economic geography, economies of scale while keeping in mind the locations and profits. Losch’s CPT was consumer oriented while retaining the basic principles of original theory. This modified version can be identified in various cities and towns even today.
What are the three principles of Christaller's theory?
Christaller’s theory gives 3 principles which are the marketing principle, transport principle and administrative principle for orderly arrangements and the formation of hierarchy. As per the proposed geometry and ordering, settlements are regularly spaced – equidistant spacing between same order centres, with larger centres farther apart as compared to smaller centres. The market area is hexagonal shaped as it is free from overlapping, most efficient in both number and function. The spatial distribution of urban centres gives rise to urban hierarchy. Three Principles of Christaller’s for determining distribution of central places in a region.
What does K mean in Christaller's layout?
The different layouts predicted by Christaller have K- values which show how much the Sphere of Influence of the central places takes in — the central place itself counts as 1 and each portion of a satellite counts as its portion:
Why is a central place smaller than expected?
Traffic principle: If any central place (city) is smaller in size than expected than it be because of lower accessibility (not falling on major transport routes) and vice-versa. Separation principle: Spacing and sizing of Central places can sometimes be distorted due to socio-political consideration.
What does "larger the central place" mean?
Larger the central place, the greater will be the range as compared to smaller central places. (lower production cost leads to larger amount of sales).
Why is central place important?
Central place theory is of great importance even after decades and forms the basis of various present-day theories used in urban planning. It also explains various advantages of living in urban areas and large cities.
What is central place theory?
It is a purely deductive theory of a highly simplified and abstract nature developed on the basis of very idealized assumptions.
Why is central place theory questioned?
The basic hierarchical rules can be questioned, partly because the theory relates only to the service sector.
What is the market area?
It is specialized in selling various goods and services and the market area is the summation of consumers traveling to the central place, which is a part of a hierarchy with other central places.
Who developed the central places theory?
Central Places Theory (Market Principle) Central places theory is derived from the work of the German geographer Walter Christaller who investigated the urban system of Southern Germany during the 1930s. He was mainly looking for relationships between the size, the number and the geographic distribution of cities.
Is central place theory all inclusive?
As such, central place theory cannot provide an all-inclusive general theory and there is a need to introduce other theories to explain agglomerations in many areas. The theory also assumes a uniform distribution of the population.
