Urban Development and Environment - The Basic Environmental History - page 175

Fig. 6.2 Diagram a represents the ideal model without any topographical variation, diagram b is
an adaptation to a landscape with a navigable river (Von Th ü nen 1826 )

30 eld and Luton

which had specialized in growing malt for the numerous breweries of London,
towns on the Thames like Henley made use of cheap water transport to ship beech
wood and grain to London, originating from the Chilterns. The southern Midlands,
by the 17th century almost exclusively grazing land, reared livestock for the
London meat market. Since cattle could provide its own transport, thousands of
oxen were driven to London where they were fattened up again on the marshes
downstream of London before being sold for butchering in London. But the market
pull of a city like London with 575,000 inhabitants by 1700 radiated even further:
in 1695 the cheese mongers of London asked Parliament for a bill to improve
navigation of the river Derwent in Yorkshire, by which they hoped to reduce
transport costs for cheese and butter bought there during transport to Hull on the
East coast, from where it was taken to London by sea-going ships. Thus large cities
like London exercised enormous inuence over their hinterland and promoted
regional specialization, as soon as the provision of local residents in those spe-
cializing regions with basic foodstuff could be taken care by imports from surplus

50 km there were regions around little market towns like Hat

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