University:
California State University, Northridge
Course:
GEOG 340 | Economic Geography
Academic year:

2013
Views:

192

Pages:

49
Author:

Mike Quinn

Economic Geography Two Great Revolutions • The first agricultural revolution…the domestication of plants • The Industrial Revolution – urbanization, transportation, philosophy, science, demography revolutions • The Information Revolution? Three Types of Industry • Primary - extractive • Secondary - manufacturing • Tertiary – retailing and services – Some authors also include as subsections of tertiary • Quaternary – information sector, research • Quinary – Government – (teaching, police, government activity) Primary Industry • extractive industries of all sorts – Farming, drilling, mining – “from the ground” • sometimes spurs on manufacturing • frequently environmentally destructive • sometimes controlled by outsiders – What is one of Los Angeles’ primary industries? Los Angeles Primary LandscapesOpen Pit Mine (fig) Primary LandscapesChemical Fields (fig) Primary Landscapes- Potash Mine Slag Pile (fig) Primary Industry-Oil Drilling (fig) Oil Spill (fig) Rainforest Destruction (fig) Primary Landscape? (fig) Secondary Industry • Essentially the processing of products produced by primary industries. • Frequently considered synonymous with manufacturing • Value added • Shows core and periphery patterns and may lead to uneven development • Regions specialize in types of manufacturing. • Name a secondary industry in Los Angeles LA Manufacturing Primary and Secondary Centers- West (fig) Good jobs, but often with pollution (fig) Secondary and Tertiary Landscapes (fig) Acid Rain’s Effects (fig) US Environmental Pollution (fig) Tertiary Industry • Service sector • Now much more important in the United States than before 1970 • Includes retail, research, transportation, communication, utilities, tourism, etc. • Multiplier leakage & increasing concentration of power and wealth • Bifurcation of service sector Retail Site Location • Some students get jobs locating the “next McDonalds” or helping decide which stores go with which others in the mall. • Essentially involves mapping and analyzing demographic, traffic and shopping patterns. • Excellent earning potential. Tourism • Tourism is world’s largest business • It’s a “basic industry” • Well spread, but often suffers from multiplier leakage • Seacoasts, mountains, rural areas benefit – Las Vegas, Yosemite, Big Sur • Historical and cultural locations also big • Los Angeles Industrial Landscapes? (fig) Tourism-West (fig) Tourism-East (fig) Q: Multiplier leakage is a problem with which of the following local businesses? • • • • A. B. C. D. The Northridge Medical Center A local farmer’s market Rite-Aid Pharmacy Taco Llama #5 Quaternary Industry • Subsection of the service sector • “services required by producers” • trade, wholesaling, retailing, advertising, banking, legal, insurance, real estate • information production & management • major growth sector today Quaternary Industry • High skill labor • Locate near major universities • Amenity seeking • “silicon landscapes” • Richard Florida’s thesis – High quality of life, not low taxes, is key to the promotion of new economy jobs. US Manufacturing Zones and Technopoles (fig) Industrial Site Location • Alfred Weber: the father of industrial location theory, a career path that can be very lucrative. • Site location considerations include: – Land – Capital – Labor Costs – Labor Skill • worker productivity also considered – Markets – Materials Q: According to Richard Florida, locations high taxes actually help attract good paying jobs. Which location is an example? • • • • A. B. C. D. Silicon Valley, California Atlanta, Georgia Lexington, Kentucky Boise, Idaho The Industrial Revolution • Where did the industrial revolution begin? • Why there? Where in the US? • England with cottage & guild industries during the 1700s • Early products were crafted by machines powered by inanimate sources. • What is an example of an inanimate source? • Textiling, metallurgy, mining industries were early to capitalize on machine power. Markets and Materials • Some industries need to locate close to their market, especially if their product is bulk gaining. • Some industries have a raw materials orientation, particularly when they are producing bulk reducing commodities. • Some industries need to be close to others, and produce agglomeration economics • Can you think why? Examples? Bud and Miller Plants Westward Steel • Bulk reducing • Note the westward migration of steel production in the US. • What factors account for this movement? Automobile Production • Bulk gaining activity • Michigan/Detroit losing share • What factors account for the location patterns? • Where locally did there once exist a car factory? Chevy Plants – 1950s vs. 2008 • Local loser? • Loss pattern? Delivery - Transportation • Ship, rail, truck, or air? • Depends on perishability, bulk and distance • Longer-distance transport is cheaper per mile due to loading labor (short haul penalty) – Trucks short-distance; trains longer – Boats very long; cost per mile very low – Air most expensive; speedy, high-value Saint Louis – Break of Bulk Break-of-Bulk Points • Costs rise each time products are transferred – labor costs • Break-of-Bulk – a location where transfer among transportation modes is possible • Temporary warehousing • Multiple mode may be cheaper • Seaports and airports • Intermodal / containerization Just-in-Time Delivery • Delivered when needed without warehousing • No inventory • What implications for workers in such plants? • Can you think of another instance of “just in time delivery” that affects you, perhaps when you are shopping? Industries on the Move • Movement has accelerated since 1970 • What is a footloose industry? • What types of industry are less likely to move? – What is effect on wages and benefits? • NAFTA Hourly Wages Q: Footloose industries tend to have which qualities? • • • • A. B. C. D. Low wages Job insecurity Poor Benefits All of these NAFTA • What has been the effect of NAFTA on the textiling industry? • Which states have fared worst? The Political Element • Politics also effects industrial location. • Many defense industries are sited with political and strategic priorities in mind • Industrial location is often affected by regulatory climate • Tax and tariff policies also affect industrial site location Environmental Factors in Industrial Location • There is some measure of environmental concern creeping into industrial site location. • Some companies avoid locations with environmental regulation. • Some companies seek those locations. Industrialization and Cultural Change • Industrialization is the most potent ingredient in cultural change over the last 200 years. • Modernism, as a philosophy and way of life is intimately tied to industrialization • PROGRESS!!!