Chapter 9 Take Me Out to the Ball Game: Market Areas and the Urban Hierarchy

Activity 1: Threshold of a Function Activity 2: Market Area Geography

Learning Outcomes

After completing the chapter, you will be able to:  Differentiate between low- and high-order goods and services.

 Construct and interpret a scatter diagram using a logarithmic scale.

 Estimate the minimum market size necessary to support a central place function.

 Relate high- and low-order goods and services to a city’s position in the urban hierarchy.

 Use a geographic information system (GIS) to modify market areas.

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Figure 9.2

Number of Business Types by Population in Colorado Cities, 1899 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 100 Pueblo Denver Pop: 133,859 B usiness Types: 334 Colorado Springs Leadville Boulder Durango Aspen Greeley Gunnison Lake City Monte Vista Goldf ield Anaconda Globeville Victor Cripple 1000 10000 100000 Population Figure 9.3

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1 2 3 4 In light pencil (to be erased), draw the line connecting two adjacent points.

5 Draw the perpendicular bisector of the dashed line segment.

6 Erase the dashed line. This is the market area boundary between the first 2 points.

7 Repeat Step 1 for another pair of points.

8 Repeat Step 2 for the new pair of points.

9 Erase the dashed line and the market boundaries beyond where they intersect.

Repeat Step 1 for another pair of points Repeat Step 2 for the new pair of points. The line will connect at the previous intersection.

Erase dashed line, and continue until finished.

Figure 9.13

Figure 9.14

Definitions of Key Terms

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Central Place:

A city or town that provides goods and services to the surrounding population.

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Central Place Function:

provides.

A good or service that a central place •

Central Place Theory:

A geographic model of the sizes and location patterns of settlements that serve as central locations for selling goods and services to hexagonal-shaped market areas.

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Market Area:

The area in which residents favor a given central place over its competitors when shopping for a good or service.

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Order:

The relative ranking of a central place function based on how specialized it is.

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Range:

The maximum distance people are willing to travel to obtain a central place function.

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Threshold:

place function.

The minimum market size needed to support a central •

Urban Hierarchy:

A system of cities consisting of various levels, with few cities at the top level and increasingly more settlements on each lower level. The position of a city within the hierarchy is determined by the types of central place functions it provides.