AP Human Geo Chapter 12
12.1 Where are services distributed?
Services, Settlements, & Geography
around ¼ of all US jobs are in consumer services
main types are retail (14.6%), health (13.1%), education (9.4%), and leisure (10.7%)
¼ of all US jobs are in business services
technical 13.9%, transportation and information 5.6, financial 5.7
abt 8% of US jobs are in public services
excluding educators, 1/6 are federal, ¼ state governmental, and 3/5 for local governments
Distribution of Services
services generate 2/3 of GDP in developing, and ½ in developed
logically the distribution of service workers would be the opposite to the primary sector workers
clustered in developed bc more people are able to buy services
settlements occupy under 1% of earths surface
Changes in Job Sectors
services have grown, while primary and secondary jobs have declined
professional services increased rapidly, finance and transportation more slowly
12.2 Where are consumer services distributed?
Central Place Theory
the right location for a new shop is the most important factor in the profitability of a consumer service
theory was proposed by Walter Christaller in southern Germany. the concept was more developed in the 1950s
Market Area of a Service
market areas are nodal regions
the US can be divided into market areas based on the market areas surrounding the largest urban settlements
geographers used census data and commuting patterns to identify ‘megaregions’
a generation earlier Brian Berry divided the states into 171 functions regionals around commuting hubs
Range of a Service
convenience stores have small ranges but a stadium has a large range
range is modified by how long it takes instead of distance bc that’s how some ppl think of it
Threshold of a Service
every enterprise has a minimum # of customers needed to generate enough sales
developers of shopping malls and large supermarkets may count only higher-income people
The geometry of market areas
geographers use hexagons to represent market areas
circles overlap or leave gaps
squares are not equidistant from the center
Hierarchy of Consumer Services
Rank-size distribution of settlements
for the rank size rule, the xth-largest settlement is 1/x of the largest settlement population
The US and a handful of other countries follow is loosely
has to graph as almost a straight line
Mexico is an ex. of the primate city rule, with Mexico city 10x larger than its 5th largest settlement
a regular hierarchy like the US indicates the society is sufficiently wealthy to justify the provision of goods and services throughout the country
absence of rank-size may show the society is not wealthy enough and makes it hard for people who have to travel long distances w/ important services
Nesting of Services & Settlements
4 different levels of market- hamlet, village, town, and city
hamlets are very small regions
larger hexagons represent market areas of larger settlements. they’re overlaid by smaller hexagons bc consumers from smaller settlements still use their shops and services
competition between businesses in central places in the surrounding regions creates a regular pattern of settlements
Minota, the largest city of North Dakota, is surrounded by 13 small towns, 29 villages, 34 hamlets, in a regular pattern
Minot is the only settlement with a Walmart bc..
large stores can’t survive in small settlements bc the threshold exceeds the pop within the range
Market Area Analysis
Profitability of a location:
the best location for a factory is a large region, such as auto alley
for service providers, one corner of an intersection can be profitable while another corner could be unprofitable
major services employ geographers to find the best location
use threshold and range
1. Define the market area- find where the store would derive most of its sales, normally where 2/3 to ¾ of customers live
2. estimate the range- based on zip codes of credit card customers, normally 15 mins for Family Dollar type stores, and 30 for stores like Target
3. Estimate the threshold- varies each service, around 25,000 for Family Dollar, and 100,000 for Target, ppl only counted if they have sufficient income
4. predict the market share- compares competitor stores to the location
Gravity Model
level of interaction between a person and service
according to model, consumer behavior reflects 2 patterns:
1. the greater the number of people living in a particular place, the greater the number of potential customers
2. the farther away, the less likely to use service
Sustainability & Our Environment: Identifying Food Deserts
The USDA mapped distribution of food deserts. They reported 23.5% of Americans lived in one in 2010.
Periodic & Sharing Services
Periodic Markets
services at the lower end of the central place hierarchy may be provided at a periodic market
typically in street or other public space, set up in morning, and moved by the start of the next day
provides goods to developing countries with sparse pops and low incomes can’t support full-time retailing
makes services available in villages
offers fresh fruit to urban areas
many vendors drive their trucks from farm to market, farm to restock, and then another market
ex. in developed countries is a farmers market
frequency depends on culture, 1x or 2x a week in the US, different town every day in Europe, other places with lunar cycles
Sharing Services
expanded rapidly, especially in transportation and lodging
challenging traditional classification of services
Uber and Lyft
government regulators want drivers to be called employees, bc then its the companies responsibility to screen, train, and insure them, but they don’t have to if they are independent, which is how they are now
Debate It! Is Airbnb a business service or a consumer service?
important because classification affects issues of insurance and liability
Consumer
competes with hotels, which are clearly classified as consumer
offers nightly rentals, doesn’t have leases
can cause reduction in available long-term rentals
Business service
operate on computers
access is through electronic devices
owners and cleaners are not Airbnb staff
12.3 Where are business services distributed?
Hierarchy of Business Services
geographers identify a couple of urban settlements as global cities
Business Services in Global Cities
business services that cluster in global cities are:
Financial institutions- attract the headquarters of major banks, insurance, and financial institutions
Headquarters of large corporations- shares are sold and bought on stock exchanges located in global cities. executives of manufacturing firms make key decisions in offices far away
Lawyers, accountants, and professional services- provide advice to major corps and institutes. advertising, marketing, and other services like style and fashion to help anticipate changes
Consumer & Public Services in Global cities
extensive market areas, and more services then predicted
disproportionate large number of ppl are wealthy so luxury products are likely to be sold
leisure services cluster, bc they require high threshold and range
may be centers of national or international political power
most are national capitals, so they have housing and government
offices for reps from foreign countries, trade associations, labor unions,
New York is a global city, but not capital
home to the UN, attracts 1000s of business people
Brussels, Belgium as well for being the center of EU activities
Ranking Global Cities
divided in 3 levels: alpha, beta, and gamma, then subdivided
Economic factors- number of headquarters for multinational corps, financial institutes, and law firms
Political factors- hosting headquarters for international organizations and capitals of countries
Cultural factors- presence of renowned cultural institutes, influential media outlets, sports facilities, and educational institutes
Infrastructure factors- international airport, health-care, advanced technology
Communications- the telegraph and the computer made it possible to communicate immediately with coworkers, clients, and customers
Transportation- the railroad, car, and airplane made it possible to deliver ppl, inputs, and products.
N America Map: Atop the hierarchy of business services are NY, Chicago, LA, and Toronto
Global cities Map: London and NY, the most dominant are marked Alpha++, other alpha, beta, and gamma cities play less-central roles. Alpha+ includes Paris, Dubai, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore
Business Services in Developing Countries:
focus on 2 types: offshore financial and back-office functions.
presence of supportive laws, weak regulations, low-wage workers
Offshore Financial Services
small countries exploit niches in the circulation of global capital by offering offshore financial services
Taxes- on income, profits, and capital gains are typically low or non-existent. companies involved also have tax-free status, regardless of nationality. the US loses and estimated $70 bill each year to companies operating in the country to conceal their assets in offshore tax
Privacy- bank secrecy laws can help ppl evade disclosure in their home countries
ppl/companies that may be accused of malpractice can protect their assets from lawsuits
wealthy individuals can protect assets in a divorce
creditors cannot reach assets in bankruptcy hearings
Map: Shows centers’ locations that appear on three organizations’ lists
Dependencies of the UK
Dependencies of other countries
Independent island countries
independent non-island countries
Business-Process Outsourcing
back office functions or BPOs
typically insurance claims processing, payroll management, transcription work, and other routine clerical activity, responding to billing inquiries
companies used to house their back-office staff with the management staff, now rising rents downtown and improved communication moved routine workers to lower-rent buildings elsewhere
developing countries have attracted back offices bc:
low wages- earn only a few thousand a year, but may be considered relatively high-status work in developing, so may attract better educated employees there
ability to speak english- only a handful of developing countries have a large labor force fluent in english
In Asia, many workers know English, legacy of colonial rule
often must work late at night, when it is daytime in the US, and may stay later bc they rely on public transportation
Economic Specialization of Settlements
all sectors of the economy, the various types of agriculture, manufacturers or services have distinctive geographic distributions
Economic Base
divided into 2 types:
Basic business- export primarily to customers outside settlement
Nonbasic- serve primarily within
the unique cluster of basic business in a settlement is its economic base
important bc exporting by the basic business brings more money into the local economy, helping more nonbasic services. Works like this:
New basic attracts new workers to settlement
workers bring families
new nonbasic are opened to meet the needs of new worker families
A new car assembly opens new consumer services like supermarkets, but supermarkets don’t open car assemblies
settlements in the US are classified by their distinctive basic
when basic grow, other basic and nonbasic can benefit from proximity
ex. Boston’s basic sector in biotechnology includes a cluster of business sectors that help each other. Detroit’s auto industry is shredding jobs, and other business might go with it
Distribution of Talent
some cities have higher % of talented individuals (scientists, professionals, ect.)
important bc they promote economic innovation
Just 3 cities: San Francisco, San Jose, and NY attracted 1/3 of tech jobs between 2013 and 2015
enticement for working can be cultural rather than economic
Doing Geography: Forbes and Sperling’s Best places to live identified the coolest cities in the US through 9 criteria including eco-friendly transport options, racial/ethnic diversity, recreational opportunities, and nightlife
1. San Francisco, others: Denver, New Orleans, Boston, Seattle, Portland, San Jose, Los Angeles, and San Diego
12.4 Why do services cluster in settlement?
Around ½ of the world live in rural settlements and ½ live in urban
Services in Rural Settlements
Clustered Rural Settlements
includes homes, barns, tool sheds, farm structures, consumer services include religious structures, schools, and shops
each person is allocated strops of land in surrounding fields
normally circular or linear pattern
Circular Clustered Rural Settlements
central open space surrounded by structures
pastoral nomads build kraal, built by women, livestock in center
Linear Clustered Rural Settlements
clustered along a road, river, or dike for communication
fields behind buildings in long, narrow strips
ex. long lots along St. Lawrence River in Quebec
Clustered New England Rural Settlements
colonists traveled there in a group, wanting to live close to have common cultural and religious values
landscape still has remnants of old rural settlements
Dispersed Rural Settlements
most of rural US
initial settlement of Middle Atlantic colonies bc people arrived separately
land was cheap and plentiful so they bought as much as they could
Europe adopted bc clustered settlements aren’t good for growing pop
enclosure movement moved displaced farmers to urban areas
Services in Early Urban Settlements
settlements may have originated in Mesopotamia in and diffused to Egypt, china, and S Asia, or all independent
Services in the Earliest Settlements
settlements probably came to provide consumer and public services, but not business
Early Consumer services- places to bury dead, priests at services would create structures
Early Business Services- groups could store surplus food and trade. to facilitate trading, officials set fair prices, kept records, and created currency
Early public services- housed political leaders and defense forces
Ancient Urban Settlements
first in the E Mediterranean abt 2500 BCE
trading centers of islands dotting the Aegean sea provided government, protection, and other public services for surrounding hinterlands
places so men could travel farther and faster to search for food, women made household items and educated the children
became manufacturing centers for material goods
men collected materials, women made objects
Roman Empire made settlements centers of public service, Rome as the empire’s center for administration, ect.
with the fall of R empire, urban settlements and trade declined
Medieval Urban Settlements
After the collapse of R Empire, most of the large urban places were in China
urban life began to revive in Europe in the 11th century bc of lords
lords gave residents charters to establish independent cities in exchange for military service
new urban dwellers expanded trade, free from rural serfdom
by 14th century, Europe was a network of small market towns serving the needs of particular lords
tallest and most elaborate structures were usually churches
usually surrounded by walls even though cannonball could destroy them
dense and compact, lacked space for construction, ordinary shops and house nestled into the walls and large buildings
Urbanization
urbanization has 2 dimensions:
an increase in the percentage of ppl living in urban settlements
an increase in the number of ppl..
they occur for different reasons and have different global distributions
Louis Wirth observed different ways of life and defined a city as having large size, high population density, and socially heterogeneous people
Urban-rural difference: large size
in urban, most relationships are contractual- you are paid wages according to a contract, and you pay others for goods and services
different social relationships then those formed in rural
Urban-rural differences: high density
high density produces social consequences
only can be supported by specialization
encourages social groups to compete for the same territory
Urban-rural difference: social heterogeneity
large=greater variety of ppl, more acceptive of diverse social behavior
Wirth’s 3 part distinction may still apply to developing countries, but in developed all but 1% have “urban” types of jobs.
Percentage in urban settlements
approx 55% of world live in urban
percentages increased rapidly from 3% in 1800, 6 in 1850, 14 in 1900, 30 in 1950, and 45 in 2000
population of urban exceeded rural for first time around 2008
% of ppl living in urban reflects country’s level of development
developed have 79%, developing have 50%
In Latin America, 78%, almost same as developed, but sub-s Africa is 40%, and South Asia 35%
these 2 developing region have the lowest HDIs
gap in urbanization is closing rapidly
higher % of urban in developed bc of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th and the growth of services in the 20th
Megacities
identified 37 megacities and 11/37 also as metacities
London was largest during 19th century, as part of Industrial Rev, and first to exceed 5 million
New York was briefly during mid-20th century, first to exceed 10 million around 1940
Tokyo is now largest
at current growth rates, Jakarta, Indonesia may become largest by 2030
developing countries actually have more of the very large urban
In 1900, after Industrial Rev, all 10 of the largest were in Europe and N America
now only 3 of 11 metacities are in developed- Tokyo, Seoul, and New York
now only 9/37 megacities (the above 3), Osaka, Moscow, LA, Paris, London, and Nagoya
Rapidly-Growing Cities
96/100 of the fastest growing urban in 2018 were in developing
5 of the 13 growing 4+ % were in Africa, 3 in India, 4 elsewhere in Asia, 1 in Latin America
The 4 in developed countries included 3 US cities (LA, Austin, Atlanta), and Suwon, South Korea
the 3 fastest growing cities are relatively unfamiliar: Beihai, China; Ghaziabad, India; and Sana’a, Yemen
in developing, moving from the countryside is half of the increase in urban pop, even tho jobs may not be available
the other half is from high natural increase rates
(In Africa ¾ from natural increase rates)