Services includes: Intro to Services Central Place Theory Urban Hierarchies

Services includes: Intro to Services Central Place Theory Urban Hierarchies

Introduction

Services any activity that fulfills human wants/needs Services are located in settlements therefore our study of services is closely linked with our study of urban patterns location of services is important for profitability affluent regions tend to offer more services local diversity is evident in the services provided

Services Three types of services Consumer services (44% of all US jobs) Business services (24%) Public services (17%) In the United States, all job growth is occurring in the tertiary sector

Percentage of GDP from Services, 2005 Figure 12-1

Employment Change in the United States by Sector

Location of Contemporary Services Services in urban settlements Differences between urban and rural settlements Large size High density Social heterogeneity (cultural diversity) Urbanization Increasing number of people in cities Most huge cities = LDCs (8 out of top ten largest urban areas)» Megacity = metro area > 10 million Increasing % of people in cities MDCs more highly urbanized, higher % live in cities The world is 50% urbanized US = 50% urban in 1920, now 81%

Percentage of Population Living in Urban Settlements

Economic Base of MDC Cities Basic industries Export mainly to consumers outside settlement Unique collection = economic base Brings money into community Stimulates growth of nonbasic but not vice versa Calculated by % employed in different industries If higher than average for country = basic MDC settlements are often classified by basic industry Nonbasic industries Serve customers within settlement

Economic Bases of U.S. Cities (somewhat outdated)

Business Services Clustering in LDCs What is attracting services to move to LDCs? Offshore financial services Two functions: Taxes Privacy Cayman Islands Back offices Offshoring of business/consumer services LDCs are attractive because of: Low wages Ability to speak English India, Malaysia, Philippines

Central Place Theory

Central Place Theory Predicts how and where central places in a urban hierarchy (hamlets, villages, towns, and cities) are functionally and spatially distributed Assumes that Surface is flat with no physical barriers Population and purchasing power are evenly distributed Region has uniform transportation network From any given place, a good or service could be sold in all directions out to a certain distance

Central place theory First proposed by Walter Christaller (1930s) Characteristics A central place has a market area (or hinterland) nodal/functional region = hinterland Nesting Hinterlands in MDCs = series of hexagons of various sizes Hamlet (crossroads), village (small cluster), town (larger cluster) and city (multi-clustered) Size of each market area determined by: Range Maximum distance consumer is willing to travel to use a service» Often expressed in time rather than spatial terms Threshold Minimum # of consumers needed to support a service

Market areas or hinterland representative shapes

Central Place Theory

Market Areas, Range, and Threshold for Kroger Supermarkets

Why Are Consumer Services Distributed in a Regular Pattern? Optimal location within a market Gravity model Optimal location directly related to # of people and inversely related to distance people must travel Best location in a linear settlement = median Optimal Location for a Pizza-Delivery Service

Figure 12-20

Location Models Weber s Model Manufacturing plants will locate where costs of transportation, labor are the least and agglomeration is beneficial Theory: Least Cost Theory Hotelling s Model Location of an industry cannot be understood without reference to other industries of the same kind Theory: Locational Interdependence

Hotelling's model: (locational interdependence/spatial competition)

Location Models Weber s Model Manufacturing plants will locate where costs of transportation, labor are the least and agglomeration is beneficial Theory: Least Cost Theory Hotelling s Model Location of an industry cannot be understood without reference to other industries of the same kind Theory: Locational Interdependence Losch s Model Businesses choose locations where they can maximize profit Closely related to Christaller s Central Place Theory. Theory: Zone of Profitability

Lösch's model: (zone of profitability/market zones)

Urban Hierarchies

Services in world cities World Cities the entire world represents the hinterland for these cities Business: clustering of services is a product of the Ind. Rev. shows dominance of core economies headquarters of major corps., shipping hubs, finance, etc. Consumer: retail services with extensive market areas leisure services of national importance due to large thresholds, large ranges, and the presence of wealthy patrons.» Hollywood makes L.A. a major world city Public: world cities are often the center of national or international political power/policy making Classification has changed from dominant, major and secondary to alpha, beta and gamma

World Cities

Other classifications of urban settlements Command and Control Centers Regional or sub-regional Denver dominates the Mountain West Specialized Producer-Service Centers Detroit = autos, San Jose = semiconductors Dependent Centers (rely on decisions made in World Cities) Resort, Retirement and Residential = clustered in the South/West Manufacturing = Old Rust Belt Military = clustered in the South/West Mining = mineral rich areas (California, West Virginia) Talent magnets Richard Florida = distribution of talent follows cultural diversity cool cities get brain gain, uncool place suffer from brain drain

Hierarchy (nesting) of services within Central Place Theory hamlet very short range, very small threshold daily necessities gas, bread, milk, cigarettes convenience store, gas station, etc. village short range, small threshold weekly needs hardware store, post office, dry cleaner, elementary school, diner town medium range and threshold occasional use medical services (doctor, dentist, clinic), movie theater, restaurant, high schools (buses), etc. city long range and threshold special occasions sporting events, concerts, specialists, surgery, high end retail

Geography of Talent

Rank-Size Rule vs. Primate City Rank-size rule: population of the settlement is roughly inversely proportional to its rank compared to largest city. For example: largest city = 12 million 2 nd largest = 6 million (biggest test!!!!) 3 rd largest = 4 million 4 th largest = 3 million regular hierarchy implies higher a more evenly dist. wealth can support services outside of dominant city = MDCs Primate city: leading city is disproportionately (>> 2x) larger than other cities irregular = low wealth, so services cluster in 1 place = LDCs exception = Europe (has many primate cities despite wealth) PLEASE: when applying these rules be reasonable, look at overall pattern before making a judgement!

The End. Up next: Urban Patterns