LOCATION THEORY Flashcards
SEEKS TO regulate or control the activity of individual and groups in such a way as to minimize the bad effects which may arise.
SEEKS TO promote better performance of the physical environment in accordance with a set of broad aims and more specific objectives set out in a plan.
PLANNING
explains the pattern of land use
indicates a solution to the problem of what is the most rational use of land suggesting ways in which the current pattern can be improved.
Location theory
POSTULATED THAT AROUND A CENTRAL TOWN…
RURAL LAND OF CONSTANT FERTILITY ASSUMED DIFFERENT FORMS (the type of land use varies with distance away from the market)
LAND USE DIMINISHING INTENSIVELY IN REVERSE RELATIONSHIP TO INCREASE DISTANCE FROM THE TOWN (The intensity of production declines with distance away from the market)
LOCATION THEORY BY JOHANNE-HEINRICH VON THUNEN (1826)
land in greatest demand would be as near as possible to the (the highest rent would be gained for this advantage and the highest value output per hectare would accrue.)
market on account of low transport costs.
would have little demand for land because of transport costs. (rent would be low and the value of extensive production would be correspondingly low.)
outer belt
Overall use pattern might be modified by the existence of a navigable
river
(cost of river transport are low especially for bulky commodities compared to fairly high transport cost overland.)
(river would have the effect of extending the different land uses almost parallel along its course.)
assumed unlikely conditions such as production taking place around an isolated market place and soil being of constant fertility. However, it established a distance-cost relationship which recently became the basis of urban location theory.
Von Thunen model
largely decides the profitability or utility of goods and services, it subsequently determines the location of activity and the spatial structure of the urban area supplying these goods and services rents diminish outward from the center of a city to offset both lower revenue and higher operating costs
and not least transport costs.
price mechanism
would compensate for falling revenue and higher operating costs
rent gradient
Locational determinants of commercial and industrial use…
A. COST
B. REVENUE
C. PROFITABILITY
D. LOCATION
*price and rent of land fall with increased distance from the CBD. wages are higher in the center
- local demand for labor being greater than local supply.
- commuting costs need to be offset by higher remuneration. (transport cost more of a reflection of accessibility than distance)
*locations close to junctions, nodes and terminals are particularly favored maximizing proximity to suppliers and markets.
*decentralized shopping centers are being developed following road improvement and increased car ownership.
*modern manufacturing industry relies increasingly on heavy road vehicles for long distance transportation and incurs lower transport costs on the fringes of cities than at more central locations.
COST
- is determined by the size of the shopping catchment area or hinterland, not just in terms of population but in terms of purchasing power.
- distribution of the day-time population and points of maximum transit (where people cluster together) are also important.
- in the case of offices, the spatial distribution, number and size of client establishments determine revenue.
- greatest within the CBD and so are the aggregate costs.
- as distance from the center increases, IT falls and aggregate costs (after falling initially) rises. This is due to the upward pull of transport costs, which are no longer offset sufficiently by economies in the use of land and labor.
- only within a fairly short distance from the CBD are commercial users able to realize high profitability.
REVENUE
A mixture of interacting influences usually explain each locational decision.
*
as price mechanism largely decides the profitability or utility of goods and services, it subsequently determines the location of activity and the spatial structure of the urban area supplying these goods and services
*
high levels of accessibility within the CBD are reflected in low transport cost attracting greatest demand for commercial sites
*
conversely, low over-all accessibility and high transport cost outside urban areas will attract a much lower level of demand.
*
other possible influences: changes in population, technology and transportation, pressures from redeveloped central areas and local and central government policy.
to maximize profits, firms need to locate where they can benefit from both the greatest revenue and from the lowest costs.
*
specialized functions and activities serving the urban market will locate centrally.
*
firms requiring large sites and those attempting to reduce costs of over-concentration will be attracted to the suburbs.
*
firms locating close together to benefit from complementary will incur lower costs because of external economies and enjoy higher revenue due to joint demand.
*
since there is a high degree of inertia, most firms find it difficult to adjust their locations to the optimum.
*
a satisfactory rather than ideal location moreover is established by zoning and land use controls
PROFITABILITY
A factor which, as propagated by the adage “location, location, location” is the foremost DETERMINANT in the catalyzing of the decision to purchase
*
True in the practice of conventional suburban development
*
Downside being that a preexistence of excellence in location is invariably associated with high cost of land acquisition
*
Created by proximity to a desirable factor such as transportation, a waterfront, a slope, a long vista, a pleasant climate, a popular resort, or a desirable community
*
Only method to economically achieve the value added by location is to create it on inexpensive land through Planned Neighborhood Development.
LOCATION
