The Influence of Urbanization on the German Settlement Pattern in the 19th and 20th Century

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the dynamics of settling on the example of the settlement pattern of the German states over a bicentennial period. The substantiation of the relationship between changes in the level of urbanization and a change in the fundamental characteristics of settlement pattern is presented. The development of settlement pattern under the influence of patterns explained by the central place theory is considered in detail. The interdependence of the territorial growth of central place systems and the spread of new transport modes is investigated. It is shown how self-organization of settling leads to changes in the structure of central place systems. So, at the beginning of the 19th century there were over 20 small systems on the lands of German states, corresponding to the central place theory with K = 2 and K = 3. And at the beginning of the 20th century, when the share of the urban population reached 50%, there are 5 central place systems in the German Empire, covering the entire territory of the country and corresponding to K = 3 and K = 4. This was accompanied by an unprecedented growth in the railway network. In the second half of the 20th century 2 independent central place systems with K = 5 in independent GDR and FRG are formed. Finally, by the beginning of the 21st century, the formation of a single central place system throughout the country happens in a short time after the unification of Germany. Such a central place system, corresponding to K = 6, demonstrates very high isostatic equilibrium values when more than 90% of the population is concentrated in cities and urban agglomerations.