Von Thunen Model (College Board AP® Human Geography)

What is the von Thünen Model?

• Johann Heinrich von Thünen was a 19th-century German economist

  • He is important in the context of human geography because of his theory that agricultural land use is determined by the cost of the land and the distance of the land from the market

• The von Thünen model describes the pattern of agricultural land use surrounding a town, village, or city

  • Von Thünen argued that land use is determined by how labor intensive the type of farming is

  • Von Thünen’s model explains rural land use by considering transportation costs and distance from the market, which draws on bid-rent theory

  • Crops or animals that require a lot of human labor and attention are positioned closest to the town; ones that require the least attention will be farthest away

  • Von Thünen’s model places various farming activities into rings around a central market or town

    • Intensive farming crops will be closest to the town and extensive farming practices will be furthest away

    • Intensive crops produce more yield per acre and require smaller farms. Because land near the city center will be more expensive, due to the bid-rent theory, intensive agriculture will take place on the more expensive land

    • Extensive crops produce less yield per acre and require more land to make a profit. Therefore, extensive activities will take place furthest from the city center where land is cheaper

  • At the centre of von Thünen’s model, is the town or urban centre

  • In the first ring, closest to the town, are market gardening and dairy farming, which are the most perishable and require the most human labor

  • In the second ring are forests that provide wood for fuel

  • The third ring includes crops like wheat and grass that require larger plots of land and less human labor

  • The fourth ring includes ranching and livestock, which require extensive plots of land and little human labor

Image: von Thunen's model

Exceptions to the von Thünen Model

• There are several critiques of the von Thünen model 

  • Critics argue that the model failed to consider the effect of government policies, social customs, and physical differences in land type that would affect the spatial organization of agriculture

  • Critics also pointed out that for von Thünen’s model to work:

    • the land must be flat and uniform

    • farmers must have equal access to transportation for all crop types

    • the climate must be equal 

  • These conditions are rarely met

• Von Thünen’s model is less relevant today because:

  • more efficient transportation means that distance to the city center or market is not as important a variable

  • refrigeration technology has reduced perishability and crops can be transported longer distances without spoiling

  • firewood is no longer a significant factor

• A major exception to von Thünen’s model is that areas of specialty farming do not always conform to his concentric rings theory

  • An example of this is citrus production in Florida. According to von Thünen’s model, citrus production should take place in the first ring nearest the city or market. However, Florida is far from the market center of the nation