Central Place Theory and its merit and demerit

This ppt is all about cpt and its aim , objective , merit and demerit

1. Central Place Theory

2. Name: Walter Christaller. He was a German geographer. In 1933, he published a book name is Central Places in Southern Germany to demonstrate a sense of order in the spacing and function of settlements . It was based on Bavaria South Germany . Christaller attempted to design a model that would show how and where central places in the urban hierarchy would be functionally and spatially distributed . CHRISTALLER’S MODEL OF CENTRAL PLACE THEORY Walter Christaller (1893–1969)

3. A GERMAN geographer , Walter Christaller helped bring quantitative and statistical disciplines to the study of geography. Christaller was born in Berneck , GERMANY ; his father was a clergyman and his mother an author. Before 1914, he attended university in Heidelberg and in Munich . He enlisted during World War I, and became an officer. Returning after the war to study, he went to the University of Erlangen, where he obtained his master's degree in 1930. His doctoral thesis was presented at the University of Erlangen in 1932 under the supervision of Professor Robert Gradmann , a specialist in settlement geography.

4. Introduction Central-place theory, in geography, an element of location theory concerning the size and distribution of central places (settlements) within a system . In 1932 , Christaller completed his dissertation titled "The Structure of Settlements in Southern Germany.“ 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 . Central place theory is a spatial theory in urban geography that attempts to explain the reasons behind the distribution patterns , size , and number of cities and towns around the world. The theory seeks to understand the evolution of hierarchical patterns, the number of settlements on the basis of population , and distance from other settlements . It also attempts to provide a framework by which those areas can be studied both for historic reasons and for the locational patterns of areas today.

5. Assumptions of Central place theory Christaller made some assumptions to make his theory easy to understand and explain the structure of settlements, growth, and development of towns, human behavior, and fundamentals of economics. Assumptions are: A flat surface : A mountainous and uneven terrain makes development difficult, therefore a flat place that encourages town growth is ideal. The population is evenly distributed : citizens are not concentrated in one location, and there is no preference for one town over another. Evenly dispersed resources : no location has a resource advantage; all locations will compete under ideal market conditions. Evenly distributed purchasing power : wealth, like people and resources, is spread evenly. As a result, people's purchasing power is comparable. People will buy things from the nearest market in order to avoid a long commute, and prices will remain consistent.

6. Equal transportation cost : the cost incurred in transporting goods is equal for all and is proportional to the distance. Perfect competition : Price is determined by demand and supply in perfect competition. People will buy at the lowest price available on the market. What can be concluded from Assumptions ? When these assumptions are integrated, the result is a location that provides a variety of services . People enjoy the ideal market in these locations and buy from the nearby shops to save money and time . The population threshold influences where various services are situated . The bare minimum of people is required to keep that service/activity running.

7. Central Place Theory is based on Some fundamental concepts Central Place: It is the settlement that serves other settlements of the lower hierarchy . Complementary area: It is the Hinterland or region served by the central place . Centrality: It is the surplus or the ratio between goods and services offered. Greater centrality means greater the number of services and their surplus. it is the force of attraction or the potentiality to serve . Threshold: The minimum population required for a service to be feasible in a given location. If this threshold is not met, a specific activity will not begin or will be terminated . Range: This is the maximum distance a consumer will travel to buy products or receive services; consumers will not travel beyond this distance since the cost of the good/service will outweigh the value.

8. Functional rules of Central place A number of center places shall be optimum because a greater number of central places will distort the model. For this, Central Place must serve the settlement of the lower hierarchy . A number of hierarchical levels shall be optimum for which a maximum number of functions must be accumulated in the central place . The size of the complementary area shall be hexagonal because : They are the closest approximation to a circle They pack the surface Circle as a complimentary area will either over-serve or under-serve or leave certain parts unserved . Every complementary area of the settlement of the lower hierarchy nests within the complementary area of the Higher hierarchy. It forms a Nesting pattern .

9. Principles of Central Place Theory are Marketing Principle: If the distribution is dependent on the range of the goods and services, then it would result in evenly spaced central places with hexagonal markets . Traffic Principle: If any central place is smaller in size than expected then it will be because of lower accessibility and vice-versa . Administrative Principle: Spacing and sizing of Central places are also determined on the basis of socio-political consideration. The different layouts predicted by Christaller have K- values which show the Sphere of Influence of the central place Marketing Principle (K=3) Transport Principle/ Traffic Principle (K=4) Administrative Principle (K=7)

10. Marketing Principle (K=3) Based on the marketing, the central place will serve one-third of the population , demanding goods and services, and one-third of the geographical area of the settlement of the lower hierarchy . It means for marketing services third of the population of the block-level town will move to district headquarters because the latter has a higher order of goods and services . The lower-order central places are located at the vertices of the hexagonal complementary areas of the next higher-order central place . Lower-order settlements should be located as close as possible to higher-order settlements to minimize the distance traveled .

11. 1 is a higher-order settlement and 2 is a lower-order settlement whereas 2 is a higher-order settlement for 3 which is a lower-order settlement. Here , 2 lower-order settlements will be located around a higher order settlement (Total 3 hierarchical levels) such as 2 around 1, 3 around 2 . In the example , there is a hierarchy of one higher-order place, surrounded by six second order places that are in turn surrounded by six more third-order places. The locations of these places conform to the K=3 principle in that one-third of a lower-order place is served by the next higher-order place and so on. Thus , 1+6 (1/3) =1+2 = 3.

12. Traffic principal/Transport principle(K=4) On the basis of the traffic principle, a central place will capture one-half of the population demanding such service . The transportation line must connect the maximum number of settlements to provide the most efficient services . Here, 3 lower-order settlements will be placed around a higher order settlement (Total 4 hierarchical levels) such as 2 around 1, 3 around 2, and so on . Thus, the complementary region of the high-order places will be four (1+6(1/2) = 1+3 = 4) times greater than that of the next level of lower-order places. This alignment of places along a road leads to minimization of road length . However, for each higher order center, there are now four centers of immediate lower order, as opposed to three centers under the marketing principle.

13. Administrative Principle(K=7) The central place will serve all the settlements of the lower hierarchy . It develops in areas of highly centralized administration. It is a specialist service . To show the irregular administrative boundaries, he captured one-seventh of the neighboring hexagon and left out one-seventh of its own complementary area . Here, 6 lower-order settlements will be placed around a settlement of higher-order (Total 7 hierarchical levels) such as 2 around 1, 3 around 2, and so on . In this case, the high-order centers and their complementary regions of six surrounding central places are added together. This results in a K=7 system. In the K=7 system the size of the high-order complementary region is much larger than produced by the K=4 and K=3 systems.

14. Applicability of Central Place theory on India For the administrative principle, India has almost the same number of hierarchies (has 6 hierarchical levels rather than 7) as envisaged by the theory . The 6 levels in India are National Capital State Capital District Headquarter Tehsil Town Block Level Gram Panchayat This is closest to central place theory’s assumption But India has 28 states and 8 Union Territories i.e. 36 entities and every Indian state has, on average, 15-20 districts , and more than 6 lakh villages . So in the case of India, Applicability is quite difficult, it looks like theory has a similar hierarchy but other postulates are different .

15. In India, this theory can be applicable at district and block level rather than at national and state level in marketing principle . In India, the marketing principle can be applicable at the district level hierarchy because tehsil town’s 1/3rd of population move to the district town for higher-order goods & services . Thus, it is applicable at Block Level, where the number of sellers are similar as in central place theory. Criticism & Limitations of Central Place Theory The Central Place Theory is well-liked, yet it has its own drawbacks. These assumptions include those that are unrealistic and faulty . It's nearly impossible to have a very large flat land, ideal marketplaces, and no preference for shopping areas . The modern economy is a capitalist economy, but the government plays an equally vital role in shaping the market and the placement of activities.

16. Furthermore, resources are never dispersed equitably, and certain people benefit disproportionately . The hexagonal pattern has been criticized because he has neglected linear patterns along rails, roads and rivers . Most scholars think that the central place ranking and hierarchy cannot be applied to all regions; the formula of k = 3 cannot be applied in all regions.