BREAKING POINT ANALYSIS

By: Dr. Sayanti Poddar

Asutosh College
 FUNCTIONAL REGIONS
• A functional region is a territorial unit resulting from the
organisation of social and economic relations in that its boundaries
do not reflect geographical particularities or historical events. It is
thus a functional sub-division of territories

• Functional regions are often organized around a central point which

is also called node.

• The concept of functional region provides a way to examine the

linkages and flows that create interdependence among people.

• Functional regions are defined by their organizational structure.

They are also called nodal regions because they usually revolve
around a focal center, such as the downtown core of an urban
region or the local service area surrounding a library or post office
or shopping mall (Dunford, 2009).
 DELINEATION OF FUNCTIONAL REGIONS

Delineation of Functional Regions is done by

using any of the 2 most widely used methods:
These are:

• Flow Analysis
• Gravitational Analysis
Flow Analysis Method – Functional Region Delineation
• Flow analysis builds up functional regions on the basis of the direction
and intensity of flows between the dominant centre and surrounding
satellites.
• Each flow will show decreasing intensity as it becomes more distant from
the main centre and increasing intensity as it approaches another centre.
The flows may be of
• The boundary of the sphere of influence of the dominant centre will be
where the flow intensity at a minimum. several types
Economic – cargo or
• When the flow significantly drops that means interaction/origin’s
influence drops. In terms of distance, in a particular direction, there is passenger, road or
the influence of the node and there onwards it drops. rail
• This gives cut off points. Purpose – shopping
• Tentative delineation is done. or commuting
Social – flow of
students or hospital
• Features of Flow Analysis Method
patients
• Builds up flows on the basis of the direction and intensity flows between
the dominant centre and surrounding satellites. Political – flow of
govt. Expenditure
• Flows may be of several types: economic (road, rail, shopping or
commuting); social (such as flow of students or patients); political (flow Information-
of govt. expenditure); information (newspapers, telephone calls), etc. telegrams,
• Graph theory: measures the relationship (economic, social, etc.) between newspapers and
selected group of centres on the basis of flows between the centres. The telephone calls.
no. of telephone calls is the usual flow criteria.
• The flows are plotted in matrix form, from which primary and secondary
flows into and out of each centre can be identified.
Illustrative example using Flow Analysis Method

The no. of telephone calls is taken

as the flow criteria. The flows are
plotted in matrix form, from
which the primary and secondary
flows into and out of each centre
can be identified. The resulting
hierarchy of nodes can plotted as
a simple network, providing an
insight into the form and extent of
functional relationships within an
area. Here D is the major centre,
with B.E and G subsidiary centres.
 Gravitational Analysis Method
• It is concerned with the theoretical forces of attraction between centres rather than actual flows. The gravity
model assumes that the interaction between two centres is directly proportional to the ‘mass’ of the centres and
inversely proportional to ‘distance’ between the centres.
• ‘Mass’ can be population, employment, income, expenditure and retail turnover.
• Distance can be in physical terms (km), time, price, and intervening opportunities.
• In mathematical notation f = k (m1 * m2)/d
• Where f is the force of attraction between two settlements, m1 and m2 are masses of the two settlements and d
is the distance between them. K is a constant.

• Features of Gravitational Analysis Method

• It is concerned with the theoretical forces of attraction between centres rather than the actual flows.
• This model assumes that the interaction between two centres is directly proportional to the ‘mass’ of centres and
inversely proportional to the ‘distance’ between them.
• ‘Mass’ is represented by variables like population, employment, income, expenditure and retail turnover.
• ‘Distance’ is represented in physical terms (miles), time, price and intervening opportunities.
• Mathematically
• By calculating the potential for the centres, lines illustrating relative attractiveness, spheres of influence of various
centres can be plotted on a map.
• From such lines, functional regions can be identified.

• Concept of Demographic or Gravitational Potential

• The demographic potential at centre ‘i’ caused by a mass centre j (jvi), is defined as
• ivj = k (mj)/dij
• By calculating potential for the centres in a study area, contour lines of equal potential can be plotted on a map,
illustrating the relative attractiveness, spheres of influence, of the various centres. From such lines, functional
regions can be identified.
 Reilly's Law of Retail Gravitation
• In 1931, William J. Reilly was inspired by the law of gravity to create an application of the gravity
model to measure retail trade between two cities.

• His work and theory, The Law of Retail Gravitation, allows us to draw trade area boundaries around
cities using the distance between the cities and the population of each city.

• Reilly realized that the larger a city, the larger a trade area it would have and thus it would draw from a
larger hinterland around the city.

• Two cities of equal size have a trade area boundary midway between the two cities.

• When cities are of unequal size, the boundary lies closer to the smaller city, giving the larger city a larger
trade area.

• Reilly called the boundary between two trade areas the breaking point (BP). On that line, exactly half
the population shops at either of the two cities.

• The formula is used between two cities to find the BP between the two. The distance between the two
cities is divided by one plus the result of dividing the population of city B by the population of city A.

• The resulting BP is the distance from city A to the 50% boundary of the trade area.

• One can determine the complete trade area of a city by determining the BP between multiple cities or
centres.

• Of course, Reilly's law presumes that the cities are on a flat plain without any rivers, freeways, political
boundaries, consumer preferences, or mountains to modify an individual's progress toward a city.
BREAKING POINT ANALYSIS
 Table for the Calculation of Zone of Influence
by
Breaking Point Analysis of Puruliya Town,2001
Name of Total
Distance in km Distance in cm Breaking Point
Railway Population
from Puruliya from Puruliya Distance in cm
Station (2001)
Puruliya 113766 -
Balarampur 21824 17.75 4.2 2.92
Raghunathpur 21812 21.58 5.6 3.89
Arra 19911 20.63 5.2 3.67
Jhalda 17870 21.86 5.5 3.94
Chapari 7242 12.08 3.0 2.40
Hijuli 6856 19.44 4.9 3.93
Perbelia 6036 18.77 4.7 3.82
Nabagram 5642 12.93 3.2 2.62
 Zone of Influence
by
Breaking Point Analysis of Barddhaman Town,2011
 Table for the Calculation of Zone of Influence
by
Breaking Point Analysis of Barddhaman Town, 2011
Name of Town Population Distance from Breaking Point
Barddhaman in cm Distance in cm
Barddhaman 285602 - -
Memari 36207 2.3 1.70
Kalna 52182 5.0 3.50
Dainhat 22597 5.0 3.90
Katowa 71589 4.7 3.13
Guskara 31867 2.9 2.18
Jamuria 129484 10.2 6.10
Ranigunj 111116 8.9 5.48
Khandaghosh 170331 2.0 1.13