Models 2

Models 2

Economics, Services, Urban

Location Theory

• Location Theory – predicting where a business will or should be located.

• Location of an industry is dependent on economic, political, cultural features as well as whim.

• Location Theory Considers:– Variable costs-energy,

transportation costs & labor costs

– Friction of distance-increasing distance =increased time & cost

Location ModelsWeber’s Model-The Least Cost TheoryAlfred Weber, (1868-1958) a German economists, published Theory of

the Location of Industries in 1909. His theory was the industrial equivalent of the Von Thunen Model.

Manufacturing plants will locate where costs are the least.

Three Categories of Costs:

Transportation-the most important cost-usually the best site is where cost to transport raw material and finished product is the lowest

Labor-high labor costs reduce profit-location where there is a supply of cheap, non-union labor may offset transportation costs

Agglomeration-when a group of industries cluster for mutual benefit-shared services, facilities, etc.-costs can be lower

Deglomeration-when excessive agglomeration offsets advantage-eastern crowded cities

Weber's Location Triangle

•

• Alfred Weber's work (1909) is considered to have established the foundations of modern location theories. One of his core assumption is that firms will chose a location in view to minimize their costs. This involves a set of simplifications, namely that location takes place in an isolated region (no external influences) composed of one market, that space is isotropic (no variations in transport costs except a simple function of distance) and that markets are located in a specific number of centers. Those conditions are quite similar to those behind Von Thunen's agricultural land use model elaborated almost one hundred years earlier. The model also assumes perfect competition, implying a high number of firms and customers, small firm sizes (to prevent disruptions created by monopolies and oligopolies) and a perfect knowledge of market conditions, both for the buyers and suppliers. Several natural resources such are water are ubiquitous (available everywhere) while many production inputs such as labor, fuel and minerals are available at specific locations. According to Weber, three main factors influence industrial location; transport costs, labor costs and agglomeration economies. Location thus imply an optimal consideration of these factors.

Weber's Location Triangle

•

• Solving Weber's location model often implies three stages; finding the least transport cost location and adjusting this location to consider labor costs and agglomeration economies. Transportation is the most important element of the model since other factors are considered to only have an adjustment effect. To solve this problem, Weber uses the location triangle within which the optimal is located. The above figure illustrates the issue of minimizing transport costs. Considering a product of w(M) tons to be sold at market M, w(S1) and w(S2) tons of materials coming respectively from S1 and S2 are necessary. The problem resides in finding an optimal factory location P located at the respective distances of d(M), d(S1) and d(S2). Several methodologies can be used to solve this problem such as drawing an analogy to a system of weights and pulleys (Varignon's solution) or using trigonometry. Another way preferred among geographers, particularly with GIS, is to use cost surfaces which are overlaid.

Hotelling’s Model (Linear market)• Hotelling’s Model-Harold

Hotelling (1895-1973) this economist modified Weber’s theory by saying the location of an industry cannot be understood with out reference to other similar industries-called Locational Interdependence

• Losch’s Model-August Losch said that manufacturing plants choose locations where they can maximize profit. Theory: Zone of Profitability

Losch’s Model-Zone of Profitability

Rank-Size Rule• The larger the city-the fewer there are-• Model indicates that the population of a city or town in

inversely proportional (the fraction) to its rank in the hierarchy

• If largest city is 12 million then 2nd largest is 6 m. (1/2) 3rd largest is 4 m. (2/3) 4th largest is 3 m. or (3/4) 10th largest is 1.2 million

Rank-Size Rule doesNot apply to primateCities such as Paris,Mexico City and soforth

Primate Cities• Gideon Sjoberg was also

the first to study the primate city.

• A nation’s leading city in size that serves as an expression of national culture.– Not necessarily large– Dominated by religious and

govt. buildings– Spacious with wealth near

the center– Less privileged near the

edge or outside wall

Central Place Theory• Central Places-hierarchy is based on population, function

& services.• Economic reach-how functions & services attract

customers from areas beyond the urban limits.• Centrality-the central position & ability to attract

customers to a village, town or city.• Range of Sale-the distance people are willing to travel to

buy goods or services

Central Place Theory• Christaller tried to

determine the degree of centrality of various places.

• He created a model to show how central places in the urban hierarchy are spatially distributed.

• He assumed:– No physical barriers– Soil and surface of equal

quality– Even distribution of

population– Uniform transportation

system

Hexagonal Hinterlands

C = city

T = town

V = village

H = hamlet

Hexagonal Hinterlands• Christaller’s urban model

showed that each central place had a complementary hinterland.

• The hexagonal model solves the overlap problem that circles would have.

• Nesting arrangement-region within a region-each larger complementary region is centered on a higher order urban place

Modeling the North American City• Concentric zone model (Ernest Burgess)• Sector model (Homer Hoyt)• Multiple Nuclei Model

(Chauncy Harris and Edward Ullman)

Classic Models of Urban Structure• Ernest Burgess-1925

Concentric Zone Model based on studies of Chicago.

• CBD-financial, retail, theater, museums etc.

• Transition to residential with deterioration-some light industry

• Blue collar labor housing• Middle class residential• Suburban ring

Functional Zonation

The division of the city into certain regions (zones) for certain purposes (functions).

Cairo, Egypt

Central city (above)

Housing projects (right)

Classic Models of Urban Structure• Homer Hoyt-1939 Sector

Model based on studies of 142 US cities.

• Pie-shaped wedges created by Hoyt compensated for the drawbacks of the Ring Model

• Low Rent areas & High Rent areas could extend to the outer edge

• Transportation and industrial zones accounted for the sectors

• Chauncy Harris & Edward Ullman Multiple Nuclei Sector Model 1945 showed that CBD is not the sole force in creating land-use patterns.

• They said that Concentric Rings & Pie-shaped models had drawbacks as CBDs were losing dominance

• Subsidiary and competing CBDs developed (Edge Cities)• Suburbanization accelerated the change with shopping

malls and mass transit

Post WWII-rapid expansion ofcities and suburbs led to EdgeCities with their own CBD

The Canadian City• Less dispersed with higher

pop. densities than US cities

• More multi-family dwellings and less disparity in wealth

• Suburbs not as large or as affluent as in the US

• Central city has more middle and higher income pop. & stronger tax base

• Better services & public transportation systems

Calgary, Albertaskyline

Toronto-Canada’s largest city

The European City• Western European cities are more compact than Canadian

cities• Same size in pop. As US cities, but smaller in land area• European govt. are proactive in maintaining healthy CBDs• No sprawl-suburbs are too far out to compete with CBD• Greenbelts preserve the central city from close suburban

development• Very high fuel costs discourage suburban development• Central cities are clogged with cars, but mass transit, bikes,

and walking are relied on for transportation• Zoning rules are strictly enforced and highway and beltway

construction lags.

The European City• London-6.4 m., Paris 10.2

m., Rome, Berlin, Madrid and Athens are megacities by world standards

• These are historic cities not impacted by the Industrial Revolution

• British Midlands & German Ruhr valley cities are very different-smaller & heavily industrialized-destroyed in WWII

• Paris, Athens and Lisbon are Primate cities

The European City-Greenbelts• London’s Central city

is the same size it was in 1960

• Greenbelts were est. to counteract ill effects of Ind. Rev.

• Open countryside over 20 miles wide has scattered towns, but no extensive suburban areas

• Many urban parks maintain a green areas within the city

During the second half of the 20th century…

Nature of manufacturing changed and locations changed, too. Many factories have been abandoned, creating “rust belts” out of once-thriving industrial districts.

Duisburg, Germany

The Eastern European City• Eastern European &

Russian cities were turned into microdistricts by communist planning

• Old primate and historical cities were ignored

• Huge dominant square & wide radiating avenues fronted by huge apartment complexes with factories, schools, shops & so on.

• No need for CBD, mass commuting or suburbs

The Eastern European City• Large 7 to 11 story

complexes were rapidly built of shoddy material with no decoration-ugly and depressing

• Moscow’s growing pop. (11 m.) lives in microdistricts that radiate out from Red Square.

• St. Petersburg was rebuilt in the ugly socialist style after heavy damage in World War II

The Eastern European City

Modeling the Cities of the Global Periphery and Semiperiphery

• Latin American City (Griffin-Ford model)

• African City (de Blij model)

• Southeast Asian City (McGee model)

Making Cities in the Global Periphery and Semiperiphery

- sharp contrast between rich and poor - Often lack zoning laws or enforcement of zoning laws

The Ibero-American City

• Latin American cities are growing rapidly-1950= 41% urban, 1997 74% urban

• CBD dominates the center with 2 main divisions-traditional market and modern high rises

• A commercial spine and axis of business is surrounded by elite residential housing

Griffin-Ford model

The Ibero-American City• The spine is an extension

of the CBD with offices, shops, high class housing, restaurants, theaters, & parks

• Zone of Maturity-Middle class housing 2nd best

• Zone of In Situ Accretion-high pop. Density of modest housing

• Periphery-Periferico-high density shanty towns of extreme poverty and no services

The African City• African cities often have 3

CBDs=Colonial, Traditional and Periodic Market Zone

• Sub-Saharan Africa is the least urbanized area of the world, but the most rapidly urbanizing

• No large cities to match Cairo-Kinshasa, Nairobi, Harare, Dakar, Abidjan were established by Europeans

de Blij model

The African City• No large cities to match Cairo-Kinshasa, Nairobi, Harare,

Dakar, Abidjan were established by Europeans • South African cities-Johannesburg, Cape Town & Durbin are

western cities with elements of European and American models-high rise CBDs and sprawling suburbs

The Southeast Asian City• SE Asia-rapid growth of

population & cities-1950-15% urban, 1990s-29% urban

• Most growth in coastal cities like Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

• Old colonial port zone surrounds the commercial district

• Unlike Western cities-no formal business zone, but separate clusters

McGee model

The Southeast Asian City

Ethnic NeighborhoodsEuropean City– eg. Muslim neighborhoods in Paris

Cities of the Periphery and Semiperiphery– eg. Mumbai, India

Mumbai, India