AN INDUSTRIAL AGGLOMERATION APPROACH TO CENTRAL PLACE AND CITY SIZE REGULARITIES*

ABSTRACT An empirical regularity designated as the Number‐Average Size (NAS) Rule was first identified for the case of Japan by Mori, Nishikimi, and Smith , and subsequently extended to the United States by Hsu . This rule asserts a negative log‐linear relation between the number and average population size of cities where a given industry is present. In this paper, we utilize the cluster‐identification methodology developed by Mori and Smith to sharpen this notion of “industrial presence” by focusing only on cities that constitute at least part of a significant spatial agglomeration for the given industry. Our key result is to show that the NAS rule continues to hold (even more strongly) under this sharper definition.     

A SPATIAL COMPETITION APPROACH TO CENTRAL PLACE THEORY: SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES*

ABSTRACT. This paper investigates the potential offered by the model of spatial competition for the study of central place theory. We consider n firms selling m substitutable or complementary goods to a continuum of consumers evenly distributed along a linear segment. Consumers have the same income and the same utility function which is quadratic in the goods supplied by the firms and linear in the numeraire. The main results are as follows. (1) In any location equilibrium in which all goods are consumed everywhere, each good supplied by a single firm is sold at the market center. In Christaller's terminology, this means that when the exhaustive principle holds in equilibrium, highest-order goods are made available at the center. (2) When all goods (excluding the numéraire) are complements to each other and each good is sold by a single firm, there always exists an equilibrium in which all the firms locate coincidentally. (3) If the stores selling a given good are under the control of a single owner then, in any equilibrium for which the exhaustive principle holds, the stores are located in a way such that the total transport cost (borne by consumers) is minimized.     

THE OPTIMAL PROVISION OF A CENTRAL PARK IN A CITY*

In this paper, I examine the conditions and decision rules pertaining to the efficient provision of a central park in a city (provision that must satisfy the Samuelson condition). An interesting finding is that an additional opportunity cost that results from competition with residential use must be included to determine the efficient size of a central park. An efficient central park is larger in a city with public landownership than in a city with absentee landownership. Profit maximization and population maximization can be used as decision rules to determine the efficient provision of a central park in both an open city with absentee landownership and one with public landownership. The net benefit of a central park in a closed city with absentee landownership is reflected not only in the land rent or profit, but also in the utility level, while that of a closed city with public landownership is fully reflected in the utility level. It is not feasible to determine the efficient size of a central park for a closed city with either absentee or public landownership solely based on observable market information.     

URBAN PRODUCTIVITY: CITY SIZE OR INDUSTRY SIZE*

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes the effect of city size and industry size on urban productivity in the food processing industry. Some formulations suggest productivity is associated with industry size rather than city size. However, when allowance is made for the tendency of food processing to locate near relevant raw materials and for regional dummies, there is no support for industry scale economies. Agglomeration effects, associated with city size, do exist. The central estimates are based on the Chan-Mountain version of the translog production function. The results provide information on some facets of the appropriate balance between industrial and agricultural production.     

A PROPERTY OF THE RANK-SIZE DISTRIBUTION AND ITS USE IN AN URBAN HIERARCHY CONTEXT

This paper proves the symmetry of the classical rank-size distribution with respect to any city according to a criterion of relative population difference. This property is used to characterize the distribution of city sizes around the median center of their hierarchical level by the existence of symmetry, of an upper bound to dispersion, and of a regular spacing. An interpretation is suggested.     

GREENSTONE AXES FROM EASTERN CENTRAL SWEDEN: A TECHNOLOGICAL-PETROLOGICAL APPROACH*

Thin-section study of Mesolithic-Neolithic axes from five sites in eastern central Sweden and of dolerites occurring in the vicinity showed that the axes were almost definitely produced from local material. Knapping experiments were carried out on blanks from two of these local dolerite varieties and on control material from Delaware, New Jersey, to produce thin-butted axes. These showed that the unconventional shape of the Swedish preforms is mainly, if not completely, determined by the intrinsic properties of the rock and not by local or regional cultural differences or bad craftsmanship. A number of features were observed in thin-section, such as a relatively coarse grain size, veining and small cracks, which may lead to the inferior knapping qualities of the Swedish dolerites.     

CELTIC SHRINES IN CENTRAL EUROPE: A SCEPTICAL APPROACH

Summary: This paper deals with the archaeological manifestations of religious activities of the Central European Celts. Until recently, the rectangular enclosures in Central Europe ('Viereckschanzen') were considered solely as sanctuaries, though present evidence allows other interpretations of the function of these sites as well. the criteria for recognizing the wooden structures situated inside the enclosed areas as shrines are far from being unambiguous and in some cases a profane, i.e. non-religious purpose may be presumed. the questions put forward here were prompted by the find of an unusual structure in the enclosure of MšeckéŽehrovice in Bohemia.     

NEW COMPETITION IN SHOPPING-CENTER HIERARCHIES: AN EMPIRICAL COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVE SPECIFICATIONS*

ABSTRACT. Within the framework of an existing hierarchy of shopping centers, Voronoi diagrams at each level of the hierarchy are used to define infringement on existing centers by new entrants. We distinguish four intensities of infringement—that is, four categorizations of when existing centers face new competition—and label shopping centers accordingly. Our aim is to determine empirically which type of new competition is best explained by various attributes of the incumbent centers. To accomplish this, logit analysis is used to relate the above labels to market-area population, store turnover, age, and hierarchical level of each shopping center in Edmonton, Alberta.