Unit 5 - Techniques to measure rural urban Linkage

Urban Center Measure

5.1 Urban Center Measure-identification or urban (growth centers and their spatial distribution)

• Identification of settlement location is the most important factors, the planner should know about the location of urban centers and its capability to flow goods and services to urban centers.
• Identification of settlement location includes:

Location and settlement size study

• Settlement in foothill, hill slope, riverside, plain valley, platitude etc.
  • Compact or agglomerated settlement of center
  • Additional Information: Physical Characteristics : climate,
• All above mentioned aspects must be taken into consideration to measure the location of settlement.
• By the pattern of settlement and distribution of population, location, planning of infrastructure and services are determined.

5.2 - Diversity and distribution measures and centrality measures(scalogram, Infrastructure Index, Functional Measures and Economic Base Measure

• Central place is that locality where centralized function are performed like : production\manufacturing, distribution of goods and services with in the cities, village and surrounding hinterland areas.
• All commercial, social, financial, economic and administrative activities are central function of central place.
• In centrality measures in terms of number, types and range of all functional units of market towns are studied.
• Measures can be used to identify gap (problems) of facilities in the settlement which is important to gain rural-regional development and planners identify gaps in distribution of services, facilities and infrastructure etc.
• It helps to establish the need for services and productive activities in particular settlement.
• The following techniques are used to know about potentiality, probability and pattern of market centers for its centrality measure:

1. Scalogram

• This method helps to find out the types of goods and services and available facilities in urban center.
• Settlements within an area vary greatly in physical size, population, and the number of services that they provide. A settlement hierarchy is when settlements are put into an order based upon their size or the services that they provide for people.
• The hierarchy of settlements is the product of the centrality of settlements in a region. The centrality of a place is equal to its surplus of importance, that is, equal to the relative importance of this place in regard to region belonging to it
• It is the outcome of the quality and quantity of central functions performed by a settlement. These central functions are available in few settlements but are availed by a number of settlements.

2. Infrastructure Index

• Process to find out infrastructure index
• Identify types of facilities, services, infrastructure required for market town development.
• Prepare a list of settlement with their facilities
• Construct a table showing the type of required facilitates by column and settlement by row
• Put 1 for existing facilities and 0 for required facilities.
• Add all ‘1’ s.

3. Functional Measure

• This measurement is used to measure the functional units operating in urban centers.
• Urban functions: commercial business, industrial/manufacturing, administrative, institutional, transport and communication related functions.
• It includes types, number and range of facilities.
• It contains verities of functional units providing goods and services to people living in the surrounding areas.
• Service centers are common to all between range of services provided by each centers are varied.
• Varieties of services are the strength of any center.
• Large number of functions of market town is related with greater amount of mobility or transaction of facilities.
• Functional units are divided by functional range which shows importance of market towns.

4. Weightage Indices and Economic Base Measure

• “which function should get higher weightage than others?”
• Commonly available functions get less weightage than the functions which are less in number only in few places.
• Eg: 4 schools, 1 health post in one urban center.
• The value of health center become higher.
• Economic base measure is measured on the basis of economic activities: income.

5.3 - Hinterland Measure: expected hinterland and actual hinterland measure

Expected Hinterland Measure

• Expected hinterland measure can be used to identify expected hinterland on the basis of geographical factors.
• The district level, local and regional administrative territory can be taken into consideration.
• The determined service provided area can be called as expected hinterland of market center.
• Thiessen Polygons and Breaking Point Theory are two methods to examine expected hinterland measure.

A. Thiessen Polygons

• This method is applicable in those mountainous regions where scattered population and trail road as only means of transportation.
• This is also called Delaunay Triangles which helps to generate information of expected catchment areas.

Assumption:

• Isotropic space
• Spatial behavior of human being
• Each centers in village areas dominates all areas that lies nearest to it.

Process to Conduct Thiessen Polygon

• Take a map of service centers of study areas.
• Sketch a temporary line from every service center point to another by pencil.
• Pont out a mark between two point and divide the join point in two part.
• Sketch a vertical line from midpoint of every point which results the Thiessen Polygon structure as in above picture.

B. Breaking Point Theory

• This is another method to measure expected hinterland.
• This method divides the population to travel for service in two market centers.
• Formula =

Where d_{ij= Distance between i} and j town.

P_{i= Population of I town}

P_{j= Population of j town}

C. Actual Hinterland Measure

• Actual hinterland measure can be conducted on the basis of origin of consumer and distance and direction of that hinterland to central place.
• With the regional survey information, hinterland can be predicted.
• This measure can be conducted with the help of star diagram.
• The spatial behave, threshold population, distance and means of transportation plays vital role for actual hinterland measure.

Process of Actual Hinterland Measure

• Take a data of number of consumer from ‘I’ catchment area to j central place for getting services.
• Multiply the distance with total number of consumer to take service to ‘J’ center.
• Calculate the total number of consumer of ‘I’ catchment area to have definite service from ‘j’ center.
• Then divide the total number of 2^nd step by total number of consumer of 3^rd step.

5.4 - Rural Urban Linkage Measure

1. Spatial Interaction (mobility)

• This interaction model helps to measure rural urban linkage on the basis of demand and supply, reciprocal relationship and physical interaction between two spatial location: urban and rural area.
• Spatial interaction helps to calculate an interaction due to demand and supply.
• Because of distance, physical relation, scarcity of resources and for movement of goods and services spatial interaction occurs between rural and urban area.
  • Spatial interaction is done for:
  • Commercial activities
  • Administrative activities
  • Technological activities
  • Financial activities
  • Social, health, educational and institutional activities.
• Center depends upon surrounding catchment area for supply of agricultural goods and varieties of raw materials where as hinterland area depends upon center for supply of secondary goods, facilities, services and capital etc.
• The relationship by interaction can be measured in terms of physical distance, time cost and so on.
• Spatial interaction model depends upon three principles:
  • i. Complementary principle: decreases as economic distance increases.
  • ii. Transferability: Transport, cost, time and distance
  • iii. Intervening opportunity: alternative to the greater number and smaller flow of goods and services.

2. Flow Model/ Analysis

• Flow model measures the strength, capacity, capability and effectiveness of urban centers.
• Flow of goods and services, facilities, transportation, information, communication, technology and people from urban to rural are measured in this model.
• As much as flows increases, it results more strength and effectiveness of urban centers.
• The flows are measured in terms of volume, speed, ration, rate and type of facilities.
• There are two types of flow to measure rural urban linkage; internal and external flow.
• Higher external flow results higher linkage and vice-versa.

3. Facility Location Model

• Facility location is based on the infrastructural development and service facility providing areas.
• Minimum travel distance to its users save time and cost and provide effectiveness and efficiency.
• A location which has least travel distance is most accessible location to develop as market center which helps to strengthen rural urban linkage.
• This model helps to analyze the possibility to develop high degree facility providing market centers in suitable location to link with range of hinterland areas.

Settlement system

Site selection for commercial and industrial activities is highly influenced by agglomerated settlement. It is liable to have high facility and high investment having low per capita investment.

1. Distance: time &cost are measured in Km.
   • Less distance more effectiveness: distance decay
   • Spatial behavior determines effectiveness of service of facility location.
   • Shortest distance means saving of cost, and time and vice versa.
2. Efficiency
   • Well-developed transport system vs. poor transport facility.
   • Agglomerated vs. dispersed settlement pattern
   • Distance decay: effectiveness is considered on the basis of distance between center place and hinterland area.
3. Status of Households
   • Income of the households determines demand and consumption of goods and services.
4. Complementarity
   • Public and private sector
   • Wholesale vs. retail
   • Urban road vs. rural road

4. Relative Measure of service Accessibility

• Large but few settlements have almost all services.
• Service accessibility is influenced by number of factors such as number and types of services between two or more than two centers in comparative manner.
• Distance, mode of transport, type of health facility, socio-economic status of people and households are measured by accessibility index in this relative measure.
• This technique shows the households demand for goods and services from market centers. Beyond this, the supply of goods and services from agencies that may be private or public is taken into consideration.
• Service delivery which is depended on organization structure, number of working staff and their behavior, quality of goods and services also influence this technique of linkage measure.

Old questions for discussion

• What is centrality of town? Describe how you measure it? 10 marks
• Infrastructure index: 5 marks
• Define spatial interaction. Explain the bases for the spatial interaction with suitable examples. 15 marks
• Briefly explain the bases for spatial interaction. 10 marks
• Define centrality. Discuss different measures of centrality. 15 marks
• Discuss different types of hinterland measures with their applicability to delineate hinterland of urban areas of Nepal.