ap hg chapter 12: services

service

any activity that fulfills a human want or need and returns money to those who provide it

settlement

a permanent collection of buildings and inhabitants

consumer services

businesses that provide services primarily to individual consumers, including retail services and education, health, and leisure services

retail services

services that provide goods for sale to consumers  

personal services

services that provide for the well-being and personal improvement of individual consumers

business services

services that primarily meet the needs of other businesses  

producer services

services that primarily help people conduct business  

central place theory

a theory about the distribution of services, based on the fact that settlements serve as centers of market areas for services; larger settlements are fewer and farther apart and will provide services for a larger number of people who are willing to travel  

market area / hinterland

the area surrounding a central place, from which people are attracted to use the place’s goods and services

range

the maximum distance people are willing to travel to use a service

threshold

the number of people needed to support a service  

gravity model

a model that holds that the potential use of a service at a particular location is directly related to the distance people must travel to reach the service

rank-size rule

a pattern of settlements in a country, such that the nth largest settlement is 1/n the population of the largest settlements  

transportation, communication, and utilities services

services that diffuse and distribute services  

public services

services offered by the government to provide security and protection for citizens and businesses

clustered rural settlements

a rural settlement in which the houses and farm buildings of each family are situated close to each other and fields surround the settlement  

dispersed rural settlements

a rural settlement pattern characterized by isolated farms rather than clustered villages

enclosure movement

the process of consolidating small land-holdings into a smaller number of larger farms in England during the eighteenth century

central place

a market center for the exchange of services by people attracted from the surrounding area

primate city rule

a pattern of the economy concerned with the direct extraction of materials from Earth's surface, generally through agriculture, although sometimes by mining, fishing, and forestry  

primate city

the largest settlement in a country, if it is has more than twice as many people as the second-ranking settlement

city-states

a sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate hinterland

basic industries

industries that sell their products or services primarily to consumers outside the settlement  

non-basic industries

industries that sell their products primarily to consumers in the community

economic base

a community’s collection of basic industries

central business district (CBD)

the area of the city where businesses and retail are located