This past weekend, my parents went to a wine festival in Rosemary Beach, Florida. We have been going there for multiple years as a family. It is our home away from home. I was on Facetime with my mom and dad Saturday morning, and they were on their way to get coffee. My mom said to my dad, "how are we supposed to pick which coffee shop to go to? There are like twenty of them all next to each other!" I was immediately drawn back into our class from a few weeks ago.
This is an example of Downs' Spatial Location Theory. Rosemary Beach attracts millions of tourists each year, and when people vacation, they don't usually bring a coffee maker with them. They have to go out to buy coffee. Beach towns usually have lots of coffee shops because they want to be near a big attraction... aka the beach and ocean! Coffee is something people want in the morning and afternoon. If two coffee shops were placed on opposite ends of Highway 30a (the main highway that runs down the beach), they eventually would end up in the middle. If there are multiple coffee shops producing identical output (coffee) within a given territory, eventually they are forced to come to the middle to maximize profit. The middle minimizes walking distance for consumers. They pick these points to maximize profits and foot traffic. One coffee shop moves towards the middle of the highway, and the other is forced to follow in order to try to compete.
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