Weber's Theory

A model of industrial location proposed by A. Weber (1909, trans. 1929), which assumes that industrialists choose a least-cost location for the development of new industry. The theory is based on a number of assumptions, among them that markets are fixed at certain specific points, that transport costs are proportional to the weight of the goods and the distance covered by a raw material or a finished product, that perfect competition exists, and that decisions are made by economic man.

Weber postulated that raw materials and markets would exert a ‘pull’ on the location of an industry through transport costs. Industries with a high material index would be pulled towards the raw material. Industries with a low material index would be pulled towards the market.

Once a least-cost location has been established, Weber goes on to consider the deflecting effect of labour costs. To determine whether the savings provided by moving to a location of cheaper or more efficient labour would more than offset the increase in transport costs, isodapanes are constructed around the point of production at the point of minimum transport costs. The extra price of the wage bill is calculated for the point of production. If the source of cheap labour lies within the isodapane which has the value of the higher wages differential (the critical isodapane), it would be more profitable to choose the site with low labour costs rather than the least transport costs location.

Industrial location may be swayed by agglomeration economies. The savings which would be made if, say, three firms were to locate together, are calculated for each plant. The isodapane with that value is drawn around the three least-cost locations. If these isodapanes overlap, it would be profitable for all three to locate together in the area of overlap.

Source: http://www.answers.com/topic/weber-s-theory-of-industrial-location#ixzz1FDsbblRQ

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Central Place Theory

Apart from the simple lack of fuel and vehicles, the main reason why we will travel less is because our societies will be more local. Instead of thinking on a national or county level, we will think on a level that is small enough to control with our limited transportation but large enough to supply just about all of our needs. A hierarchical system of settlements will exist rather like the Central Place Theory. This is a system devised by Christaller which basically states that settlements grow on a hierarchical system. The larger the settlement, the more services it has but the fewer of them there are. An idealised layout is shown below.

Central Place Theory

In a society of the future, most people would live in the villages (up to approximately 1000 people although the ideal number for human society seems to be around 150), surrounded by farmland (natural or reclaimed) from which they grow all or most of their food. (These are not necessarily the present day country villages; they are just as likely to be suburbs where gardens, parks, and unused roads and building areas are converted to agricultural land.) These villages will have basic services such as a bakery, pottery, machinery shop, carpenters, etc. One building in the village would be converted into a communal hall used as a workshop, library, school, pub, meeting place, etc.

The next up the hierarchy would be the market town, surrounded by a number of villages/suburbs. This would still have to have areas to grow food but, being larger, it could contain services that do not exist in the level below. Doctors, dentists, vets, clothing manufacturers, glassmakers, boat and cart builders, specialist traders, and so forth. As the name suggests, it would also be the place where people would travel every so often to sell their spare food and wares for other things.

Above this would be the town proper. The likely reason for retaining large settlements like this would be that they held factories and industries such as coal mining, steel works and forestry, universities (and even centres for leisure activities). These would have another level of government which would be necessary for defence, emergency services and universal matters such as money.

In the present day central place theory, there are other levels, the city and conurbation, but these will not exist as individual entities. With so little transport and so much growing land needed, massive areas such as London and New York will have to break up into villages/suburbs and towns for the inhabitants to survive.

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