Central Place theory

Central Place Theory and measuring Centrality

Concept of hierarchy:
• The concept of hierarchy was introduced by Walter Christaller (1933), a German Economic
Geographer in his well known Central Place Theory.
• The gradation and grouping of settlement centres into classes is termed as hierarchy.
• A character of central places to serve their respective surrounding, territory in terms of cultural,
commercial and administrative requirements.
• All hierarchical service systems involve a set of sites operating in a coordinated manner. Systems differ
in the relationship between the upper and the lower service levels.
• However, in the present context, the hierarchy of service centres or central places means classification
on nucleated settlements in terms of the degree of their servicing power to their respective environs
on the basis of the assessment of social services (Khan, 1990).
• The model outlines the logic of the systems of human settlements as central places focusing
particularly upon their number, size, activities and spacing.
• The hierarchy of rural or urban settlements denotes the ranking of rural or urban centres into
successive groups on the basis of size or some other selected basis.
• These groups of rural or urban centres are functionally organized in a nesting pattern and are arranged
in such a manner that lower order centre occurs within the influence areas of higher order centres at a
greater distance than the lower order centre
• The hierarchical concept postulates a ‘star-like’ distribution of rural or urban settlements on the basis
of their population size.
• Urban centres generally perform three basic types of functions, i.e., primary, secondary and tertiary
activities.
• This central place performs a single central function or a group of central functions.
• Central place theory - The essence of the theory is that a certain amount of productive land
supports a centre which exists because essential services must be performed for the
surrounding land.
CPT was an attempt to explain the spatial arrangement, size and number of settlements in a particular
geographical area. Christaller noticed that towns of a certain size are equidistant.

CPT consists of 2 main concepts:

• The threshold population which is the minimum population size require to profitably maintain a
certain order of a good/ service.
• The range of goods or services which is the average maximum distance people will travel.

Range and threshold illustrations

 Christaller’s Assumptions
Christaller produce the theory based on the assumptions where this model can’t be adapted in a realistic
situation, they are :

• The earth surfaces is an isotropic (all flat) surface and evenly distributed resources in other words
there is no different geographic conditions.
• There is no administrative and politics constrains that hindrance development of settlement
• There is no economic externalities disturbing the market
• All of the area has an evenly distributed population, and there is no centre settlement
• Similar purchasing power of all consumers and consumers will patronize nearest market
• Transportation costs equal in all directions and proportional to distance
• There is no excess profits (Perfect competition)
• There is no accommodation for innovation or entrepreneurship
 Central Place Model:
• The process of central place happens when there is a market area with one
commodity that has its own range and threshold like shown in diagram A.
• After some time there will be more market area (urban sprawl) that has its
own range and threshold like in the diagram B – C. We know that the shape is
a circle, this happened because the transportation cost was equal in all places.
Phases of hexagonal central place
• But if it build like that, then it will has some un-served area, or if we put it
more dense it will overlapped with each other. To solve this problem,
Christaller suggested the hexagonal shape of the markets as shown in
diagram D.
• Within a given area there will be fewer high order cities and towns in relation
to the lower order villages and hamlets. For any given order, theoretically the
settlements will be equidistance from each other.
 Central Place Model:
• Many market areas that have the same commodity
choose to agglomerate become one central place so
that area will be the centre of concentration.
• The higher order of central place will have farther
distance to the lower order.
• Because of that, 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. The administrative principle (K=7 system)
 The Marketing Principle
The orders of Central Places-
Christaller’s K=3 Hierarchal order
a) First order service centre providing first order services, specialized
services.
b) Second order service centre providing second order services.
c) Third order service centre providing third order services, the simple basic
services.

If the arrangement of the settlements is according to the principle k=3, the

theoretical number of settlements will progressively divide the previous
order by 3 as shown in the following table:
Order Cumulative total
One high order central place is serving three (including itself) of the next 1st order 1
lower order central places. The relationship of the market area between a 2nd order 3
lower order centre and the centres of the higher level can also be indicated 3rd order 9
4th order 27
by the value 3.
 The Transportation Principle
Christaller’s K=4 Hierarchal order

• The traffic principles states that the distribution of

central places is most favourable when as many
important places as possible lie on one traffic route
between two important towns

• When Central places are arranged according to the Equivalent number of central Equivalent number of
Level of
traffic principle, the lower order centres are located hierarchy
places dominated by higher market areas dominated by
order center higher order center
at the midpoint of each side of the hexagon rather
1. Metropolis 1 1
than at the corner 2. City 3 4
3. Town 12 16
4. Village 48 64
5. Hamlet 192 256
 The Administrative Principle

• Christaller’s other suggested organizing principle was Christaller’s K=7 Hierarchal order
based upon the realization that from a political or
administrative viewpoint centre it was unrealistic for
centres to be ‘shared’.
• Therefore, all the six-lower order centres are fully
subordinate to the higher order centre which,
therefore, dominates the equivalent of seven market
areas at the next lowest level.
 Other concepts
August Losch (1939) was another scholar whose Economics of
Location was concerned with the central problem of the location
of economic activity.
• Gave Loschian landscape is the series of circular market
areas, but in order to cover the territory most economically
these areas are covered into hexagons, and have also determined
the number of threshold farms with a minimum of three and
thereafter the succession continuing through four and seven.
• Considered farming and agriculture settlement.
Pownall (1953), taking a parameter of population size of 1000 has studied market towns and their
functions of New Zealand.
• He observes that, urban areas appear to be simply market towns of varying size, but of similar mould,
each serving a tributary farming community and each responding with increased commercial activity.
• Further, he has analysed the towns and classified according to functions, at least seven functional
towns identified in the study region.
1. Residential,
2. Manufacturing,
3. Building and Construction,
4. Primary Industrial Transport and Communications,
5. Distribution and Financial,
6. Hotel and Personal Service,
7. Administration and Professional Service.
Thorpe (1968) has developed a hierarchy of service Garruther (1967) proposed a complex method of
and trade centres in the U.K. determining the hierarchy by using three indices.
• On the basis of sales figures of all English • These indices are-
centres,
1) Proportion of non-food sales to the total
• Thorpe has identified seven types of centres, viz,
2) Difference between the volume of actual and
a. Regional Centres, ‘theoretical’ sales
b. Sub-regional Centres, 3) The presence in each centre of six types of shops, i.e.
c. Area Centres, • Shoes, • Jewellery, Leather And
d. Major Centres, • Men’s Wear, Sports Goods.

e. District Centres, • Female Clothing,

f. Local Centres And • Furniture And Furnishing,
g. Village Small Suburban Centres, • Radio, Electrical Goods And Cycles,
Berry’s (1967) identification of the hierarchy of central places in South-Western Iowa, South Dakota and
Chicago is the most notable work in the U.S.A.
• The scholar has identified seven levels of hierarchy- The hierarchy in the USSR is a simple system
1. Hamlet, of five categories, (knobelsdorf, 1966)-
2. Village, 1. Centres of major economic regions,
3. Large village, 2. Capitals of the federal republics,
4. Small town, 3. Centres intra-republican regions,
5. Regional centre, 4. Centres of lower order administrative
6. Regional metropolis, and areas and centres of minor agricultural,
7. National metropolis 5. Forest or mining regions
Church and Eaton (1987) classified services on the basis of facilities for multiple levels.
• Accordingly, there are three different categories, i.e.,
1. The geographical relationship between demand and service,
2. The nature of the relationship among service levels and
3. The measure of system effectiveness.
• Considering Census the population of 1951, identified 467 census towns and classified them into six
categories, the lowest being less than 5000 and highest more than 1,00, 000.
• Finally, five functions in the study area were recognized and they range from i) agricultural pursuits,
ii) production other than cultivation, iii) commerce, iv) transportation to v) other services and
miscellaneous groups.
• The total hierarchical importance of a service centre must invariable be reflected in the number and
quality of functions it performs for a region.
Exact functional analysis of service centres mainly involves a twofold consideration,
1. Measurement of functional ‘specialization’, and the other is
2. Determination of centrality and hierarchy in a single function or a group of such functions.