The Spatial Layout of Agriculture
Johann Heinrich von ThünenVon Thünen was a 19th century German economist who created the Von Thünen model. He noticed that as you moved away from a town, the dominant crop or commodity produced changed without any change in land or climate. He created his model based off his observations and knowledge about the perishability of products.
|
The ModelBecause the model is based off of the perishability of a crop, the most perishable crops are placed closest to the central city that the model is centered around, the least perishable are placed the furthest away.
|
DrawbacksThe model was made during the second agricultural revolution and we now have the technology to ship perishables across and larger space, however the model can still be seen in play in some of today's cities. Von Thünen also assumed that the land was flat with no physical barriers and had no change in climate, which is not true for all places.
|