Von Thunen’s Model of Land Use Planning – UGC NET – Detailed Notes

Introduction

Von Thunen conceived the idea of a land-use model in both urban and rural landscapes around a city on an isotropic landscape. His idea is basically how economic rent decreases from the center of a city to its periphery.

His system of land use around a city with no trade alliance with any other country is ring-shaped. Near the city, he envisages rings of the forest, crop rotation, horticulture, and dairying. His theory stresses more on agricultural land use around a city rather than the land use within the city.

Ricardo gave the concept of Economic Rent, and Von Thunen gave the concept of Locational Rent.

The agricultural location theory is a normative economic model that was first presented by Johann Heinrich von Thünen, a Prussian landowner, in 1826 in a book called Der Isolierate Stat (Isolated State).

This theory is based on the concept of Economic Rent which is prevalent in farm market distance relationships. The agricultural location theory is one of the earliest attempts to explain the pattern of land use in economic terms which was proposed by Von Thunen.

Von Thunen’s location theory on agriculture is based on the study of an agriculture field in Germany. In this model, Von Thunen explains the crop productivity and land use pattern changes when we go away from the market. 

The main aims of the Von Thunen Model of Agriculture were to explain why and how agricultural land use pattern varies when we go away from the market. It also explains the hierarchy of agricultural crops based on profit-making capacity.

First, the following basic terminology needs to understand to a better understanding of the model. 

• Crop productivity: It is measured by the ratio of agriculture output to the input of per unit agriculture areas. 
• Crop intensity or intensive farming: At least two or more crops are grown a year of particular agricultural land. In these methods, the large lever of inputs such as money, fertilizer, and labor are used to get a high yield per unit of agricultural land. 
• Extensive farming: Less than two crops in a year are cropped in a larger agriculture area with a lower yield. Low level of inputs applied as compare to intensive farming. 
• Mixed cropping: Growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land. For example,  wheat + gram 
• Hinterland: It is an isolated region that is away from the coastline or river. 
• Isolated state: The land is completely flat having equal soil fertility & climate and has no river or mountain.

Economic rent – Economic rent is defined as the net income accruing to an area of land above the net income of land at the economic margin of production. The economic rent of a crop increases if the location of agricultural land is near the market due to less transportation cost. Von Thunen’s concept of economic rent is also known as locational rent since the economic rent is estimated by the location of agricultural land.

Basic Assumptions in the Von Thunen Model

1. The isolated state comprises of one market area and an agricultural hinterland. 
2. The market receives goods only from the hinterland and the hinterland sells goods only to the market.
3. The hinterland ships its surpluses to no other market except the city.
4. There is a homogeneous physical environment, including a uniform Plain around the City.
5. Farmers are settled in the hinterland who wish to maximize the profit. 
6. There is only one mode of transport that is horse wagon is used. 
7. Transportation cost is directly proportional to distance. The higher the distance higher the transport cost.

He had two basic postulates –

1. The intensity of the production of particular crop declines with the distance from the Market. Here the intensity of production means the amount of inputs per unit area of the land.
2. The type of land use will vary with distance from the Market.

Using these two principles and basic assumptions, the model tried to give the optimal land use pattern which will give farmers maximum profit or rent. Since a farmer is an economic person and hence they will farm those crops which will give more total profit or rent.

He observed that particular activities were focused in certain zones around the center, ideally this would then lead to a system of concentric rings with every ring specializing in different agricultural activities based on transportation costs, weight, and Perishability.

Von Thunen developed an agricultural location model with 2 prominent parts- Agricultural land use and economic rent.