Who developed Central Place Theory and what shape describes market areas?

• A. Eratosthenes; circular market areas
• B. Karl Marx; square market areas
• C. Alfred Weber; triangular market areas
• D. Walter Christaller; hexagonal market areas

Answer: (D)

Central Place Theory explains how settlements organize the provision of goods and services and the hinterlands they serve. Walter Christaller developed this theory in the 1930s, showing how central places supply surrounding areas with varying ranges and thresholds. To represent these market areas in a uniform space, the idealized shapes are hexagons, because hexagons tessellate the plane without gaps or overlaps and keep travel distances to the central place relatively even. Real-world boundaries deviate due to geography, but the hexagonal pattern is the standard way geographers visualize market areas.