I intend to see if these theories can been seen to affect sphere of influence of real settlements in Essex and the Lake District. The theories I am going to test are on range, accessibility, size of settlement, and tourism function.

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A study into the factors, which influence the size of the sphere of influence of a selection of settlements.

Aim

In class and through my own research I have found out that there are several things that control the sphere of influence of a settlement. In my project I intend to see if these theories can been seen to affect sphere of influence of real settlements in Essex and the Lake District. The theories I am going to test are on range, accessibility, size of settlement, and tourism function.

Background information

Sphere of influence

David Waugh text book tells us that sphere of influence is “the area around each settlement which comes under its economic, social and political influence.” This is also known as urban field or hinterland. This means that each settlement from villages to cities control (influence) the people that live around them. They control their movements. For example people travel towards settlements to spend money, work, to hang out with friends or to vote. How far people are willing to travel to a settlement to do these things is said to be its sphere of influence.

What affects the size of sphere of influence?

  • Range of goods on offer.

People travel further to visit shops that sell higher order goods. These are expensive goods that people compare prices and are will to travel further to net a bargain! People don’t travel far to settlements that sell only low order goods like milk or bread as these can be found everywhere and people don’t compare prices.

  • Accessibility.

People travel further to settlements that have good access. For example many people visit London because you can get they’re easily using the trains, motorways or airports like Heathrow or City airport.

  • Size of settlement.

Settlements with a large population or a large urban size support higher order shops. People travel further to visit these shops.

  • Special functions of a settlement.

People travel further to settlements that have a special role. Cambridge and Oxford are known around the world for their universities and people travel from all over the world to use them. People also travel great distances to visit settlements that are known to be good holiday locations, like the Lake District.

Hypotheses.

To fulfil my aim I need to see if the theories mentioned above can be seen in real life. So I have based my hypotheses that I wish to test on these theories.

  1. As a settlement increases in size, the range and number of services will increase. This will increase the sphere of influence.
  2. As a settlement increases in size it becomes more accessible and has a greater sphere of influence.
  3. Settlements that have a tourism function will have a greater sphere of influence than settlements that don’t rely on tourism.

Location of study

The settlements chosen for this project are Carlisle, Colchester, Keswick, and Tiptree. Theses settlements are of different sizes in population and area. Carlisle being the biggest and Tiptree being the smallest. I chose these settlements because they were different in size. I chose Keswick because it has a Tourism function that should enlarge its sphere of influence.

Below are maps of the settlements studied (Source www.multimap.co.uk)


Methods

My first hypothesis was; as a settlement increases in size, the range and number of services will increase. This will increase the sphere of influence. To test this I had to do the following things:

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  1. For each of the settlements I chose to study I had to work out how large they were. To do this I used the Internet to find out their population(www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/).
  2. Next I worked out how large the settlement was in it area. This was done by looking at how much space these settlements take on an Ordnance survey map.
  3. Then I carried out a retail analysis survey using a recording sheet that I had designed. This involves going to each settlement and looking at they types of shops they have to see if there are more ...

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