Christaller Knew My Father: Recycling Central Place Theory

Abstract

Sixty years ago, the cornerstone of retail location theory was laid down by a German geographer, Walter Christaller. This article summarizes the subsequent central place literature and presents a simple "generational" model of theory development. It contends that the concept's evolution is explicable in terms of Christaller's other, less well-known, theoretical insight, the so-called "tourist" or "resort" cycle.