The Isolated State

work by Thünen

Also known as: “Der isolierte Staat”

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Last updated

July 16, 2026

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Johann Heinrich von Thünen's work, The Isolated State (1826), is a foundational concept in location theory. Thünen imagined a city surrounded by a uniform plain, using this model to explain how agricultural production is organized in concentric zones based on transportation costs.1

He proposed that goods with higher transportation costs or perishability, such as heavy products and dairy, would be produced closer to the city. Lighter, more durable goods, like grains, could be produced further away. As distance from the city increases, land rent decreases, eventually reaching zero. This model also suggested that land closer to the city would be cultivated more intensively due to its higher value and the need for a greater return on investment.21

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location theory
…Der isolierte Staat (1826) (The Isolated State). The Thünen model suggests that accessibility to the market (town) can create a complete system of agricultural land use. His model envisaged a single market surrounded by farmland, both situated on a plain of complete physical homogeneity. Transportation costs over the plain…
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…Der isolierte Staat (1826) (The Isolated State). The Thünen model suggests that accessibility to the market (town) can create a complete system of agricultural land use. His model envisaged a single market surrounded by farmland, both situated on a plain of complete physical homogeneity. Transportation costs over the plain…
Read More

Johann Heinrich von Thünen
…Der isolierte Staat (1826; “The Isolated State”). In it he imagined an isolated city, set in the middle of a level and uniformly fertile plain without navigable waterways and bounded by a wilderness. He used this model to demonstrate methods of maximizing agricultural production in concentric zones. Heavy products…
Read More
…Der isolierte Staat (1826; “The Isolated State”). In it he imagined an isolated city, set in the middle of a level and uniformly fertile plain without navigable waterways and bounded by a wilderness. He used this model to demonstrate methods of maximizing agricultural production in concentric zones. Heavy products…
Read More