Factors affecting the floor area in the town of Riihimäki, southern Finland (in 1980)

Abstract

This is a discussion of the dependence of the areal distribution of floor area on proximity to the town centre, building time, gradient conditions, relative height, aspect, ground conditions, proximity to arterial roads, proximity to the railway station and location of large‑scale industry in Riihimäki, a town of 24000 inhabitants located in southern Finland. Regression analysis has been used; the effects of the factors were calcu­lated using both aggregate variables and 'normal' independent variables. The data were collected using a block as the unit of area. Floor area is expressed as area efficiency, i.e. total floor area/area of the block. Calcula­tions were made for (1) the town centre, (2) the peripheral zone and (3) the total area of the town. The town centre and the peripheral zone often produced different results. The main factor affecting the distribution of floor area within the town is the proximity to the centre, which accounts for 63‑65 % of the differences. The building time is also a major explanatory factor. Together, these two factors account for 80 % of the differences in the distribution of floor area. Physical factors, proximity to arterial roads, proximity to the railway station and location of industry either explain little or none of the differences in floor area., The ground factor (and topographical features) is the most important physical factor because it originally determined the position of the town centre. The principal reason for the origin of the town itself was its position at an important railway junction. The factors studied account for about 83 % of the differences in the distribu­tion of floor area.