Year: 1975
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This thesis is a central place study of the small towns in south eastern Montana.As with other such studies, the f ir s t step was to test for a hierarchy of towns and to determine its spatial geo metry.Then the threshold dimensions of the levels of the h ierar chy were measured.Hierarchies and orderly spatial arrangements of towns are the dictates of central place theory.Recent central place studies have concentrated on testing for hierarchies or classes of towns providing groups or bundles of central goods.This thesis detect ed a hierarchy in southeastern Montana by exposing groups of busi ness types and associated groups of towns.Retail and Wholesale stores (4 d ig it SICs) were located from Dun and Bradstreet's Ref erence Book.The hierarchy appears to be a preliminary K=4 trans portation network-preliminary because there is a prelattice geometry.Three levels in the hierarchy were detected: Miles City and Glendive are highest (c ity ) order communities; Hardin, Roundup, Forsyth, and others belong to the next lower (town) le v e l; and villages like Winnett, Hysham, Ashland, and smaller occupy the lowest le v e l.Demand cones of $3, $18, and $115 m illion in 1970 trade area earnings are lower lim its to threshold volumes fo r towns, c itie s , and the regional capitol.These c ritic a l volumes have radii of 17, ^1, and 103 miles, suggesting that trade centers begin o ffe r ing "town" level goods when they are the focal points of at least $3 m illio n , and this normally requires a 17 mile drawing radius, and so on.A lte rn a tiv ely , they imply that consumers are unwilling to travel further than 17 miles to a large v illa g e , 41 miles to a large town, and 103 miles to a large c ity .With this behavoristic interpretation, i t was possible to in te r pret, in a general way, predicted coal development in terms of towns.Development could sponsor town functions according to their thresholds; new towns may evolve if located "far removed" from existing towns.Coal complexes may each be the source of $30-$45 mi 11 ion in earnings by 2000.(Roughly the size of Glendive.)If located near the sources of strippable coal, they w ill be far removed from a ll but small v illa g e s, and so may lead to new towns if located further than 17 miles from any existing v illa g e .v i CHAPTER I The paper culminates with a general explanation of the meaning of proposed coal development for the hierarchy.Large-scale coal develop ment, i f it occurs, may consist of coal mines, e le c tric a l generation, and coal gasification plants a ll congregated together into giant com plexes.Complexes w ill locate near the sources of strippable coal, and thus they w ill locate varying distances from existing towns.Conceivably, they could eventually sponsor business types according to their thresh olds; conceivably, too, they could sponsor new towns i f located beyond the minimum spheres of influence of nearby towns.Minimum spheres of influence correspond to the distances consumers are w illin g to travel to various trade centers for low le v e l, urgent goods.They cannot be estimated without asking people where they live and where they shop for various order goods; and they were not estimated in this thesis.However, it is contended that the maximum reach of villages should prove to be the c r itic a l distance for estimating when com plexes would be "fa r removed"--1ikely to sponsor new towns.This is so because most of the towns near strippable coal are no larger than villages and exert only this level's attractiveness.This work, then, sets the stage for translating coal development in terms o f towns.Threshold and maximum reach for levels of the hierarchy amount to a yeardstick for interpreting any development in terms of trade centers.Thresholds for levels are thresholds for towns of varying commerical variety.Comparing them with the size of proposed coal develop ment, as Is b rie fly done, answers questions like how big could coal towns become in terms of th e ir commercial complexity?Or, in the event that no new towns are necessary, how much reinforcement may existing towns anticipate?Given th e ir potential trade center sizes, maximum Big Horn 7015 10057
Source: The Mathematics Enthusiast
Author: John Reed Woerner
Institution: University of Montana
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2465613385