Central Place Development in a Time-Space Framework∗

Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 1968

In the long run the quality of geography in this century will be judged less by its sophisticated techniques and its exhaustive detail, than by the strength of its logical reasoning.1 Peter Haggett (1965) 4 a) B. J. L. BERRY and W. L. GARRISON, The Functional Bases of the Central Place Hierarchy, Economic Geography Vol. 34 (1958), p. 145-154. b) B. J. L. BERRY, The Impact of Expanding Metrooolitan Communities uvon the Central Place Hierarchy.

Journal of Urban Economics, 2019

We provide a bare-bones framework that uncovers the circumstances which lead either to the emergence of equally-spaced and equally-sized central places or to a hierarchy of central places. We show how these patterns re ‡ect the preferences of agents and the e¢ ciency of transportation and communication technologies. With one population of homogeneous individuals, the economy is characterized by a uniform distribution or by a periodic distribution of central places having the same size. The interaction between two distinct populations may give rise to a hierarchy of central places with one or several primate cities.

Critical Human Geography 'Critical Human Geography' is an international series which provides a critical examination and extension of the concepts and consequences of work in human geography and the allied social sciences and humanities. The volumes are written by scholars currently engaged in substantive research, so that, wherever possible, the discussions are empirically grounded as well as theoretically informed. Existing studies and the traditions from which they derive are carefully described and located in their historically specificcontext, but the series at the same time introduces and explores new ideas and insights from the human sciences as a whole. The series is thus not intended as a collection of synthetic reviews, but rather as a cluster of considered arguments whch are accessible enough to engage geographers at all levels in the development of geography. The series therefore reflects the continuing methodological and philosophical diversity of the subject, and its books are united only by their common commitment to the prosecution of a genuinely human geography.

Frontiers in Digital Humanities, 2020

In the past numerous concepts of urbanity have been discussed and a variety of criteria for towns have been developed. They include size, population, legal aspects, way of life, structural and functional approaches. However, since the mentioned criteria cover only a part of the phenomenon and partly use fixed and arbitrary thresholds, they are not sufficient for analysis. We turn to an understanding of urbanity as a process that creates and shapes the scenery of the buildings and people and that is mainly driven by complexity. In this sense, we understand urbanity as a process of adaptation to changing conditions or contexts in a complex settlement system, which is triggered by size, attracted by exemplary solutions and characterized by the emergence of new structures. In this paper we address the issue of relative centrality as proposed by Christaller in the urbanity process as well as centrality within a network sciences approach. Our aim is to interweave different concepts of urbanity, centrality, interaction and connectivity, combining different concepts and research traditions as well as expanding them, resulting in a collection of different terminological frameworks. In the context of adaptation, urbanity is relative in the sense that different places may have gained better or worse adaptation under different conditions. The urbanity process is always shaped by the threat of too much complexity and too little connectivity. Above all, it is a certain surplus of connectivity that characterizes urbanity. This surplus is mapped by the variant of centrality proposed by Christaller. While Christaller's models can be transferred into network sciences frameworks, Christaller does not offer an adequate centrality measure. Therefore, his concept of centrality cannot be transferred correctly without being translated carefully into the network research context. In this article, we argue why this is necessary and explain how it can be done. In this paper the above concept will be applied to the Early Iron Age Princely Seats with a special focus on the Heuneburg. In order to represent similarities and interaction between different nodes a very limited part of the material culture can be used. For this purpose we use fibulae which allow for fairly accurate dating and hence ensure a narrow time slice for the network analysis. Using Fibulae the research will be limited to a certain social segment, which we refer to as "middle class." This paper is intended to deal with the rather complex issue of urbanity using more simple approaches such as network analysis. In this context, we pursue a tight integration of theory and methodology and we consider certain conceptual Nakoinz et al. Iron Age Urbanity issues. This paper has two main results. Firstly, we develop a consistent approach in order to apply social network centrality measures on geographical networks. Secondly, we will analyse which role the above mentioned middle class played in the course of urbanity processes.

SocietaMutamentoPolitica, 2019

While the concept of ‘mobility’ lends itself to a variety of metaphorical meanings, ‘spatial mobility’ is in fact poorly theorized in the history of sociology. Nonetheless, it plays an underrated role in the theories of all the classics of the discipline: Marx and Engels, Weber, Durkheim, Simmel, and the Chicago School. The paper explores the role of ‘spatial mobility’ in these classics and its re-emerging importance in more recent social theory. The influence of geography is highlighted, as John Urry’s ‘mobility turn’ draws on the earlier ‘spatial turn’ of human geographers. After reviewing the controversy about the use of mobility as a conceptual framework for the analysis of migration, the paper calls for stronger attention to the spatial dimension of human life in sociological theory altogether, rather than confining ‘mobility’ to a specific research field and, ultimately, treating it as yet another dependent variable to be accounted for.

Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 1960

HIS study, part of a continuing program of T central place research,' points out differences in the population: function ratios of central places located on either side of the daily commuting range of metropolitan centers. A single case is studied from two viewpoints: ( a ) the varying structure of the central place system lying athwart the commuting range of a metropolis; ( b ) the process of differentiation of this structure as the commuting range of the metropolis shifts outwards and previously independent central places are drawn within the web of intra-metropolitan relations. Findings lead to a re-examination of concepts of metropolitan dominance.

Various issues concerning spatial organisation as a theoretical construct are discussed in this paper. Some basics of the theoretical background and a literature review on the subject matter, not aspiring to completeness, are provided. Three thematically-related research projects, which are currently underway in conjunction with several Czech academic and scientific institutions, are then presented. These projects are concerned with issues of a spatial organisation of geographical systems from the human geographical point of view. Each project is then discussed with respect to both theoretical-methodological bases, as well as presentation of some of the research results.

Vaughan, L. (Ed.) Suburban Urbanities: Suburbs and the Life of the High Street. London: UCL Press, 2015

This book chapter presents the findings of research on the spatial properties of Anexartisias, the traditional high street in the historical core of the city of Limassol, and a stretch of Makariou, the first inner ring road of the city built just after the World War II; once the edge of the city and now a central area. Space syntax analysis reveals that as Limassol grew, its integration core shifted towards the edge of the old city and then further out into the contemporary city. The spatial properties that once belonged to Anexartisias were appropriated by Makariou, which became a new high street with characteristics very different from its older counterpart, being a much wider, vehicular road. Despite the spatial changes, Anexartisias continues to retain the characteristics and functions of a high street, competing with and complementing its younger ‘sibling’. Comparing the spatial features of the two streets six points in time (1880s, 1930s, 1960s, 1980s, 2000s and 2010s) while assessing their contemporary situation through land use, pedestrian and vehicular movement analyses, the question is raised as to whether there is such a thing as ‘spatial memory’. As centrality shifted with city growth and planning developed to suit the post-war car based society, how did Anexartisias retain high street characteristics typical of its former spatial properties? And how did Makariou turn from ring road to high street? The findings show that the historical spatial properties played an important role in the development of the function of the two high streets and that there are important differences between available uses. The analysis not only highlights the importance of considering historical spatial properties when analysing contemporary land and space use, but also points to the relevance of diachronic analysis for understanding and assessing how streets at the edges of cities may have the capability to transform into vibrant central high streets.

Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 1973

Recent studies have shown that the spatial structures of animal displacements and local-scale human motion follow Lévy flights. Whether transnational human activity (THA) also exhibits such a pattern has however not been thoroughly examined as yet. To fill this gap, this article examines the planet-scale spatial structure of THA (a) across eight types of mobility and communication and (b) in its development over time. Combining data from various sources, it is shown that the spatial structure of THA can indeed be approximated by Lévy flights with heavy tails that obey power laws. Scaling exponent and power-law fit differ by type of THA, being highest in refuge-seeking and tourism and lowest in student exchange. Variance in the availability of resources and opportunities for satisfying associated needs appears to explain these differences. Over time, the Lévy-flight pattern remains intact and remarkably stable, contradicting the popular idea that socio-technological trends lead to a “death of distance.” Longitudinal change occurs only in some types of THA and predominantly at short distances, indicating regional shifts rather than globalization.