North America II
(CHAPTER 3: 155-183)
COMPONENTS OF THE
SPATIAL ECONOMY

ACTIVITIES OR SECTORS
– Primary
(Raw Materials)
– Secondary
(Manufacturing)
– Tertiary
(Services)
– Quaternary
(Information)
– Quinary
(Management)
INDUSTRIAL LOCATION
FACTORS





Location of raw materials
Labor availability
Energy availability
Location of market
Transportation
•Relative importance of factors change:
•INDIVIDUAL SECTORS
•NATURE OF THE ECONOMY
FUEL
RESOURCES
NORTH AMERICAN MANUFACTURING BELT
Agriculture in the US
A Macro Von Thünen Model?
POSTINDUSTRIAL
LOCATION FACTORS





300 days of sunshine per year
Recreational water within 1 hour drive
Affordable housing
Start up capital ($1 billion)
Low risk environment
– Tax breaks
– Cooperative state & local governments
– Lenders
– Businesses
POSTINDUSTRIAL OCCUPATIONS
ATTRACTIONS FOR
HIGH-TECH COMPANIES
Major University (Graduate Engineering
Program)
 Economic enterprises
 Government
 Social-services complexes
 Military

C
A
N
A
D
A
Main Street Cluster
Quebec City
Toronto
Montreal
Detroit
Windsor
4 Lesser Clusters
URBAN SPATIAL CHANGES
Macroscale (Interurban)

Maurice Yeates
–Developed a model to explain
Canada’s urban system
–Views cities as points in a network
that interact with one another and
serve the hinterlands
–Similar to Borchert’s model
–Included 3 developmental eras
URBAN SPATIAL CHANGES
Macroscale (Interurban)
 Frontier-Staples
Era (<1935)
– Economic transition from mercantile
economy to one oriented to staples
(raw materials and agricultural goods
for export)
– Growth of the industrial heartland
– Montreal and Toronto emerged as
dominant cities.
URBAN SPATIAL CHANGES
Macroscale (Interurban)
 Era
of Industrial Capitalism
(1935-1975)
– Increase in manufacturing and tertiary
sectors of the economy
– Increase in urbanization
– Large investment by US corporations
in Canadian branch-plant production
(auto industry)
– Alberta experiences growth due to oil
and natural gas production.
URBAN SPATIAL CHANGES
Macroscale (Interurban)

Era of Global Capitalism (since 1975)
– Rise in foreign investment from
western Pacific Rim and Europe
– Canada’s movement into the
Postindustrial Society
– Country achieves 77% urbanization
DIVIDED QUEBEC
REGIONS OF THE REALM

Maritime Northeast
 French Canada
 Core
 Continental Interior
 South
 Southwest
 Western Frontier
 Northern Frontier
 Pacific Hinge
REGIONS
OF THE
REALM
North America II
(CHAPTER 3: 155-183)