Basic Steps:

The initial step in the settlement functional analysis is to prepare a map which shows the spatial distribution of all regional urban places and their population size. Thus the following steps are necessary:

Step 1:

List all urban places in descending order according to their population size. Start with the largest urban place and end with the smallest.

Step 2:

List all important functions and activities considered in the head of the matrix. These are to be arranged into sub-categories such as educational, health, economic activities and administrative functions. In order to measure quantities, identify indicators or proxy indicators.

Step 3:

Draw a series of vertical and horizontal lines which form the grid of the matrix and indicate for each grid the quantities of the respective functions or activities.

Step 4:

Count the number of quantities for each function column by column and indicate the findings under the total functions.

Step 5:

Calculate the percentage column by column to measure the scores given to each quantity unit.

Step 6:

Table 1: Example of functional matrix