Central Place Theory was formulated by which German geographer?

• A. Christaller, W.
• B. Hoyt, Homer
• C. Ratzel, F.
• D. Ullman, J.

Answer: (A)

Central Place Theory describes how settlements organize services for surrounding areas, with a German geographer named Walter Christaller as the originator. He proposed in 1933 that settlements function as central places that supply goods and services to people at various distances, creating a regular hierarchy and market areas often depicted as hexagons. The theory hinges on two ideas: threshold (the minimum people needed to support a service) and range (how far people will travel for that service), which together explain why different-sized towns appear at specific locations and distances from each other. Among the names listed, Christaller is the one who developed this concept; Hoyt is known for a sector model of land use, Ratzel for organic state theory, and Ullman for spatial interaction concepts, none of which center on the centralized market-place pattern Christaller described.