Site Evaluation and Cultural Influence Extensions to a Residential
Location Model

Derek T. Robinson
dtrobins@umich.edu
School of Natural Resources and the Environment and Center for the
Study of Complex Systems, University of Michigan

      Why do residential development patterns exist the way they do
      today? What are the factors driving and constraining residential
      site selection? A number of theories and mechanisms have been
      proposed to answer these general questions in residential
      location theory. The purpose of the presented research is to
      extend work in this field by introducing mechanisms related to
      heterogeneous site evaluation and cultural influence. Patterns
      of clustering in urban development patterns are analysed to
      determine if the introduction of these mechanisms cause
      significant differences in the spatial settlement patterns of
      residents, why they occur, and what these differences
      mean. While site evaluation and cultural influence mechanisms
      are topics of influence in a number of other fields, they have
      yet to be incorporated into residential location
      models. Therefore the proposed mechanisms may provide new types
      of explanation for why residential patterns emerge the way they
      do. Because the proposed mechanisms extend those that already
      exist they may be thought of as complementary rather than in
      competition with them.