The Diffusion of Innovations Requiring Community Decisions: A Geographical Analysis

Abstract

<p>Using the concept of innovation diffusion the author examines the process of change in the central place system of Southern Ontario. The concept is formulated in terms of a decision making situation, and applied to a class of innovations which require community decisions. The analysis is organized within the framework of a queuing analogue and certain basic hypotheses are tested in relation to the phases of decision making associated with innovation diffusion. The analysis is a response to inadequacies in formulation of the concept, the lack of knowledge concerning this class of innovations and decision making in urban systems, finally, the need to understand the rate and direction of change in southern Ontario.</p>