Spatial Analysis
This stage of the analysis deals with organization of human and economic activities in space with regard to Kwabre District.

This approach to Development Planning is concerned with the social and economic functions that settlements perform and how in combination they form a pattern or system that can influence economic and social development in the District as a whole.

The approach uses a combination of methods to determine the spatial pattern or system of the Districts development.  Those considered important for analysis of the Kwabre District’s Spatial Organization are:

Hieracy of Settlements
The hierarchy of settlement in the Kwabre District were distinguished by calculating the centrality index of each of the selected settlements as a percentage of the total weighted centrality index of as illustrated in figure using the scalogram analysis depicted in the figure as the major input.

Scalogram Analysis
The scalogram is a graphic device that illustrates in the form of matrix chart the distribution of functions of all selected settlements in a locality or district by their frequency of presence or absence.  The scalogrom gives a good impression about the functions that settlements perform in a particular locality or District.  This in a very assist in the determination of which settlements lack which services or facilities.

It is also useful in categorizing settlements in the district into levels of functional complexity.  The complexity serves as the means to the determination, in future of types and diversity of services of the District at various levels in a hierarchy.  In effect scalogram can be used to make decision about appropriate ‘Package’ of investments for settlements in the district at different levels in the spatial hierarchy.

In constructing the district scalogram, a total of 21 functions were considered on presence or absence basis for all selected settlements.  The settlements included in the analysis were selected using four (4) services/ facilities as the cut off point.

Since the scalogram does not give any indication of quantitative and qualitative features of services and facilities, a weighting technique based on the frequency of occurrence of service / facilities were applied.

The weights were then added to determine the total centrality from highest to lowest hierarchy.   Therefore, the centrality index for a settlement is the sum of the weights of the functions found there.  The higher the index, the greater its functional complexity.

From the scalogram analysis only Mamponteng the District Capital qualified as a 1st order settlement with a centrality index of 567communities with centrality index between 204 and 363 qualified as 2nd order settlements.

Communities with centrality index between 91.4 and 193 were considered as 3rd order settlements and finally settlements with centrality index between 37.3 and 83.7 qualified as 4th order settlements.

Refer to pdf file for tables.