Notes on Services and Settlements in Human Geography

Service: Any activity that fulfills a human want or need and returns money to those who provide it.
- Service Sector: Referred to as the tertiary sector of the economy.
Types of Services:
1. Consumer Services: Services provided to individual buyers.
- Make up approximately 50% of all jobs in the U.S.
- Main types include retail, education, health care, and leisure.
- Most rapid growth areas: health care, education, entertainment, and recreation (linked to demographic and economic changes such as an aging population).
1. Business Services: Services provided to businesses.
- Account for about 25% of all jobs in the U.S.
- Main types include professional, financial, informational, and transportation services.
- Rapid growth in professional services, slower in finance and transportation due to efficiency improvements.
1. Public Services: Services provided by the government.
- Comprises about 8% of all jobs.
- Jobs are distributed across levels of government: federal, state, and local.

Settlement Definition: A permanent collection of buildings where people reside.
Service Location: Closely related to settlements since they are areas where customers are clustered.
Profitability in Consumer Services: Proximity to market is crucial.
- Central Place Theory (Walter Christaller, 1930s): Explains profitable locations for services.
  - Central Place: A market center for the exchange of goods and services.
  - Market Area (or hinterland): Surrounds a service, attracting customers.
- Service Range: Maximum distance customers will travel for a service.
  - Relationship between range and level of service: Short trips for everyday items, longer for specialized services.
- Service Threshold: Minimum number of customers needed to support a service.
- Market Area Geometry: Hexagons are used for market areas for efficiency in distribution.

Different levels of market area: hamlet, village, town, and city.
Larger settlements can provide both high-order (more specialized) and lower-order (basic) services.
Market Area Analysis helps businesses decide locations and services to offer.

Rank-Size Rule: In a country, the nth largest settlement is 1/n the population of the largest settlement; indicates economic diversity.
- Absence of this rule suggests a primate city hierarchy where one city dominates and requires long travel for services.
Periodic Markets: Individual vendors offering goods/services at specific times; common in developing countries.

Global City Definition: Major centers for service provision in the global economy.
- Concentration of financial institutions, corporate headquarters, and professional services.
- Attract a wealthy populace, leading to luxury and specialized service markets. Includes NYC, London, and Tokyo as dominant Alpha++ cities.

Specialization in offshore financial services and business process outsourcing, attracting firms due to lower costs and the ability to communicate in English.

Basic vs. Nonbasic Businesses:
- Basic: Exports outside the settlement (economic base).
- Nonbasic: Services primarily for local residents.
Talented Individuals: Cities aim to attract them through cultural amenities and quality of life factors rather than economic incentives alone.

Urbanization: Increase in the population living in urban settlements (currently 55% globally).
Migration and industrialization have driven urban growth, with the highest urbanization found in Latin America.
Megacities: Urban areas with populations over 10 million (37 globally); the largest is currently Tokyo, expected to be surpassed by Jakarta by 2030.

Modern Urban Structures: Central Business Districts (CBD) dominate with high-value services, often leading to urban decay in areas outside the CBD and prompting urban renewal and gentrification efforts.