Chapter 14: Industrial Lives and Landscapes
ⅠLearning Objectives
By reading this chapter you will be able to:
1. Describe various location theories and understand their merits and drawbacks.
2. Understand how the Industrial Revolution affected economic, urban, and
population growth.
3. Understand the changing nature of industrial location with respect to energy fuel
and supply.
4. Explain geographic shifts in industrialization—from initial industrial areas to newly
industrializing countries, and the factors which have encouraged this relocation
and growth.
5. Describe how human geographers study changes in the industrial process and
location.
ⅡChapter Summary
Corporations play a large and important role in any economy. This is particularly true of
transnational corporations, which are able to move large amounts of capital and
resources between countries. Industries have a strong impact at the local level, providing
jobs and local economic opportunity. Given the immense economic and social
implications of industrial locations, geographers are concerned with how firms make
decisions to locate their factories.
Early location theory focused on proximity to agricultural products. Least-cost theory
was further developed as a normative model explaining that location decisions tend to be
based on transport and labour, agglomeration, and deglomeration. However,
market-area analysis improved upon least-cost theory by focusing on how industries
locate based on profit maximization. Behavioural approaches are the least normative,
instead focusing on why industries are located where they are.
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, industrial location was predominantly local. The
Industrial Revolution was supported by capitalist modes of production and the migration
of people towards locations of factories for employment opportunities. Early industries
developed new techniques to produce and form iron and steel, which encouraged the
development of transportation networks such as bridges and railroads. The Industrial
Revolution led to rapid population and urban growth—and, specifically, the growth of
factory towns. This also brought many negative environmental and social implications.
Industrialization led to a reliance on coal for energy and many early industrial centres
were located where coal could be found. Refined oil has replaced coal as the dominant
fuel, resulting in the global trade of oil flowing from locations of oil production to sites of
energy markets for distribution. However, the idea of ‘peak oil’ is becoming increasingly
important, as is climate change, and it is not clear that oil can, or should, remain the
dominant fuel. There are many prospects for renewable energy, such as biofuels and
wind and solar power.
Currently, levels of industrialization vary globally. The most industrialized regions are
Eastern North America, Western Europe, Western Russia, the Ukraine, China, and
Japan. However, this geography of industrialization is shifting due to the rise of
transnational corporations and globalization. More production is currently located in
newly industrializing countries, such as South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore,
Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brazil, Mexico, Greece, Spain, Portugal,
and Vietnam. Many of these areas have become or are becoming exporters of finished
goods. China has been particularly successful and is often described as ‘the workshop of
the world’.
Hence, the relocation of industrial centres plays a key role in globalization. The first
transnationals arose out of the Fordist mode of production—a method of mass
production and a system of dividing labour which afforded workers high salaries and,
therefore, the consumption of consumer goods. However, the accumulation of wealth
and the introduction of information technologies led to industrial restructuring, with a new
focus on flexibility. This has brought about a decline in industry, a rise in service
industries, in some regions, and the prevalence of outsourcing and off-shoring—all
components of economic globalization.
Moving back to a discussion of theory, this change has led geographers to examine
variations in regional economic growth and development. Models of economic growth
are known as developmental stages: Staples theory, core and periphery, growth poles,
and new economic geography. These studies take into account the decline in some
areas, the growth in others, and how economic development is occurring in the less
developed world. When studying variation in growth, human geographers tend to
incorporate knowledge of the histories of exclusion, colonialism, gender issues, physical
geography, and regulation.
Ⅲ、the key points of the text
Traditionally economic activity has been divided into levels:

primary production: farming, fishing, forestry, mining

secondary production: manufacturing that requires labour, energy, and a market

tertiary activities: trading, financial services, etc.

quaternary activity: professional and intellectual services
The Industrial Location Problems
There are two main levels of economic organization in the commercial sector: household (declining in
importance as economic units) and firms. Locational theories explain why firms locate their factories
where they do.
Early Location Theory
According to Smith, Mill, and Ricardo, industrial location was linked to the location of agricultural
surpluses. Smith believed that the principal deciding factor was financial. Marx, however, saw industrial
location as an issue of political inequality.
Least-Cost Theory
This is a normative model proposed by Weber. He made the following assumptions:

Some raw materials are found everywhere while most are localized (energy).

Labour is available in certain locations and it is not mobile.

Markets are fixed locations.

The cost of transporting raw materials, energy, and finished products depends on the weight of
material and distance to be travelled.

The industry has many buyers and sellers and no single person can affect the product price.

Industrialists are interested in minimizing costs and maximizing profits.

Both the physical and cultural environments are uniform.
Given these assumptions, industrialists locate factories at the location that will incur the least cost when
influenced by transportation and labour costs as well as factors such as agglomeration and deglomeration.
Transport costs
Weber states that the point of least cost is the location where weight movements involved in assembling
finished products and distributing the products to markets are minimum. He introduced the material
index: the weight of the local material divided by the weight of the finished product. If the material index
is greater than 1, the point of least-cost would be close to local materials. If the material index is less than
1, the point would be close the market.
Locational figures
The locational figure is needed only in those cases where weight-losing materials are used—but this is the
most common type of manufacturing.
Labour costs
Weber introduced two concepts to determine a low-cost labour site.

isotims: lines of equal transport costs around material sources and markets

isodapanes: lines of equal and additional transport costs around the point of minimum transport
cost
Weber superimposes isodapanes on an isotim map to identify a critical isodopane with low-labour cost
location that will attract industrial activity. This will only happen if the savings in labour costs are higher
than the costs incurred in moving first raw materials to, and then finished products from, the low-cost
labour site.
Agglomeration and deglomeration
Agglomeration economies result when similar industrial plants are grouped together to share equipment
and services, and in the process generate large market areas. Deglomeration economies result when
factories are located far from congested and high-rent areas.
Least-cost theory: An evaluation
Least-cost theory does not pertain to reality; its assumptions of market and labour are not realistic.
Market-Area Analysis
While the least-cost theory is a form of variable cost analysis (production costs), the market-area theory is
a form of variable revenue analysis (returns). The greatest-profit location would be determined by
studying production costs at various locations and considering the size of the market that each location
controls.
Industries will attempt to monopolize as many consumers as possible—they seek a spatial monopoly and,
in doing so, exhibit locational interdependence. Lösch, like Christaller, determined that the ideal market
area is hexagonal. This normative model ignores all factors except demand.
Behavioural Approaches
Behavioural approaches focus on the subjective views of individuals and the concept of satisfying
behaviour. This is more evident when considering small, often single-owner, firms.
The Industrial Revolution
Before the Industrial Revolution, a few basic industrial activities were present both in main urban centres
and close to raw materials. All industries were small in size and output, simply structured, and used
minimal capital, equipment, and local energy sources with local markets.
Origins
Industrialization began in England as a period of rapid and all-round change. The most important
component was the rise of more mechanized and capital-intensive, large-scale factory production.
Industries agglomerated, leading to a rise in urban population. As a result, a new economic
system—capitalism—emerged. This was accompanied by remarkable developments in the transportation
system.
Early Industrial Geography
Iron and steel
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, Britain had two main centres of iron production (central and southern
England) using local ores and wood as energy. The iron industry expanded rapidly with the use of coal,
resulting in the steam engine.
With the introduction of railways and the discovery of new iron ore sources, a new industrial area
emerged in northeast England. Other mid-nineteenth century iron and steel areas were located in the
English Midlands, south Wales, and central Scotland.
Textiles
Before the Industrial Revolution, the woolen industry was specialized. The manufacturing process had
stayed the same from the fourteenth century to the late eighteenth century. It was at this time that
dramatic changes occurred, especially in villages and small towns of northern England. Both cotton and
wool saw a decline in household production and a rise in factory production, the use of steam engines,
and rapid expansion in northern England.
Industrial landscapes
Before the Industrial Revolution, the landscape was agricultural and mainly rural. Newly created
landscapes were congested and polluted with the use of coal. The surrounding living areas turned into
slums.
Diffusion of industrialization
After about 1825, technological innovations spread rapidly to Belgium, Germany, France, and North
America. In the United States, Pennsylvania and Ohio became industrial leaders because of their
high-quality coal resources. In Russia, the Ukraine achieved the same level. The Ruhr region in Europe,
with its coal and iron ore deposits and waterways, became an industrial area with immigrant labour from
elsewhere in Europe.
Sources of Energy
Coal dominated industry as a primary energy source from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution until
it was replaced by oil in the 1960s. In the 1970s oil provided 50 per cent of the world’s energy—today it
has declined to 40 per cent due to its high prices, erratic supplies, and a newly developed reliance on other
energy sources.
In 1960 the major sources of oil were the United States, Russia, and Venezuela; today the Middle East
and North Africa provide up to 40 per cent of the global total. A few countries dominate natural gas
production: the United States, Russia, and Canada together produce more than 50 per cent of the world
total. Five countries produce more than 70 per cent of the world’s coal supply: the United States, China,
India, South Africa, and Russia. The International Energy Agency expects an increase of 50 per cent in
world energy consumption by 2020. Most of the demand will be in the less developed world.
Oil Production and Consumption
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was formed in 1960 to establish levels of production
and to determine the price of oil. However, due to the high prices, most nations are looking at substitutes
for gasoline such as nuclear and hydro sources.
There is a growing gap between the places where oil is produced and where it is consumed.
Energy supplies in Britain
In 1945 Britain began importing oil from the Middle East. New oil discoveries in the North Sea in the
1960s led to commercial oil production. In 1980 production met domestic demand. It is expected that 100
to 300 new fields will help maintain production levels.
Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources
Perhaps most important is the need to increase the supply of renewable energy sources, for example new
sources like ethanol instead of gasoline non-nuclear sources such as wind and solar. International Energy
Authority (IEA) predicts a rise in global energy demand of 50–60 per cent between 2005 and 2030.
There is a strong argument for national governments to promote alternatives to oil, accomplished not
through constructing any new nuclear power stations but through use of renewable energy sources. Other
countries are less ambitious but heading in the same direction.
Industry in the More Development World
The more developed world (North America, Western Europe, and Japan) controls the global
manufacturing system through the export and import of manufactured goods. Other
industries—transnationals—have less interest in specific industrial locations. As costs and profits are
important to firms, the least-cost theory and market-area analysis are still relevant today.
Major Industrial Regions
There are five main centres of industrial activity:

Eastern North America, consisting of several local industrial areas including southern Ontario and
southern Quebec, New England, the Mohawk Valley, the southern lake Erie shore, and western
Great Lakes

Western Europe, second in manufacturing output, consisting of many local industrial areas, of
which the most important are central and northern Britain, the Ruhr and mid-Rhine valleys in
Germany, and northern Italy

Western Russia (four major industrial areas) and Ukraine

Japan

Pearl River delta region of southern China
Newly Industrializing Countries (NIC)
South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines are leaders among
NICs and are high-growth rate areas, shifting from agriculture to industry.
Several NICs and other less developed countries have set up export-processing zones to attract
transnationals. Export-processing zones provide inexpensive land, buildings, water and transport,
financial concessions in import/export duties, and an inexpensive labour force.
Industry in the Less Developed World
The NICs belong to the less developed world, yet many countries in the less developed world have not
experienced an industrial revolution.
Problems
A major obstacle in industrialization has been the legacy of former colonial rule. Most countries do not
have the infrastructure or the capital to develop industry. Domestic markets lack spending capacity and
the lack of education prevents the development of a skilled workforce.
Prospects
Despite these problems, considerable industrialization has taken place in many countries. The typical
sequence in the less developed world is primary to basic tertiary to secondary.
China
In the 1950s, industry included both large technology-intensive, state-funded factories, and small
labour-intensive local units. In 1980, four special economic zones were established and economic reforms
were introduced; these zones and reforms played a major role in the dramatic industrial expansion.
Today China manufactures 60 per cent of the world’s bicycles and 50 per cent of the world’s shoes. It is
also the largest garment exporter (20 per cent of the world total). China has the sixth largest GDP in the
world.
India
In 1947 India was an agricultural state, but today, due to government intervention, there have been
remarkable industrial developments that have helped by creating substantial market, available resources,
adequate labour, and sound planning.
Globalization and Industrial Geographies
Industrial restructuring today amounts to a global shift in industrial investment and activity.
The classic component of globalization is a decline in the friction of distance that is a consequence of new
communication technologies.
Fordism to Post-Fordism
Fordism refers to the methods of mass-production in 1920s America that reduced labour time and
associated costs. Implementation of Keynes economic policies resulted in higher living standards
throughout 1950s and 1960s. Sustained economic growth in the 1950s and 1960s led to the emergence of
the first transnationals. The economic boom slowed down in the 1970s and there was industrial
restructuring. Currently, this is the post-Fordist phase.
Industrial Restructuring
Restructuring took three forms:

The relationship between capital and labour is changing as machines replace people,
manufacturing industry declines, and transnationals seek low-labour cost sites.

Both the state and the public sector are shifting away from public projects in areas such as
education and health to joint public-private projects and deregulation.

New divisions of labour are taking place as new technologies allow corporations to respond
quickly to variations in labour costs.
Information Technologies and Location
Today, industrial location is related to the costs of labour and information exchange. Two possible
patterns of industrial location have emerged based on contemporary information exchange.

Decentralization: long-distance electronic information exchange is possible.

Centralization: person-to-person information exchange is important.
Much evidence suggests that firms concentrating spatially achieve a competitive advantage.
Service Industries
The emerging post-industrial society is increasingly service oriented. The service industry is diverse and
it encompasses the tertiary, quaternary, and the new quinary sectors. Service locations are determined by
transport costs, market locations, economies of scale, and behavioural factors. Services tend to
agglomerate as locations depend on population. While some contend that changes in the technology of
information diffusion has led to clustering of certain services, others say it is leading to increased
decentralization.
Outsourcing
Work being outsourced to other countries in order to take advantage of inexpensive labour is a type of
off-shoring. Service activities generally are increasingly outsourced offshore as companies are able to
hand over work to specialist service suppliers. It is increasingly economical for companies to produce
parts or products offshore that are then used or sold in the domestic market.
Industry and Society
Social theory is important to the study of industrial capitalism. Massey presented a Marxist theoretical
analysis of the changing industrial geography of United Kingdom. Graham et al. provided a Marxist
framework to study structural change in industries. Both give priority to the relationship of spatial and
social issues with references to class and gender.
Changing local labour markets
Traditionally labour was regarded as a locational factor or a commodity. Marxist theory focused on
spatial division of labour—regional development and employment distribution are spatial expressions of
labour, and subject to control and manipulation.
Gendered employment
The majority of women in the more developed world are in the workforce. In Canada, female
participation rates doubled between 1951 and 1981. However, the type of work done by women has not
changed; most are employed in clerical, service, and low-skill jobs.
Environmental Considerations
Environmental concerns have added a new cost factor that may affect location and production decisions.
In many countries, industries are facing new rules regarding pollution.
Recreation and Tourism
Today the tourism industry is the largest industry in the world and growing at a rate of 23 per cent faster
than the world economy. The annual number of world tourists is about 700 million.
Tourist Attractions
There are six main attractions for present-day tourists: good weather, attractive scenery, amenities for
physical activities, historical and cultural features, accessibility, and accommodation. Major tourist areas
represent a suitable mix of all six.
Mass Tourism
This is a form of mass consumption. New attractions are regularly developed at different locations that
offer the same experiences everywhere.
Alternative Tourism
Tourism encourages local crafts and cultures but it can also destroy local environments. Therefore, there
has been a trend to develop ‘environmentally aware’ tourism or ecotourism. Belize in Central America is
an example of an ecotourist destination.
Creating Places and Peoples for Tourists
Tourist locations are being socially constructed to attract visitors and to enhance the differences between
peoples.
Falsifying place and time
Today the most distinctive attractions are spectacles such as sporting events, world fairs, and theme parks.
Artificial sites are created to attract tourists and they often offer inauthentic experiences. Many real tourist
sites also build on myths and not reality.
Tourism in the Less Developed World
Many of the favoured tourist attractions are located in the less developed world, especially in the coastal
areas. Tourism provides local employment, stimulation for local economy, foreign exchange, and
improvements in services. It is a major growth industry in the tertiary sector of many less developed
countries.
The Geography of Uneven Development
Spatial inequalities prevail at different scales affecting the quality of life. There are five possible
explanations for the disparities of regional economic growth.
Explaining Variations in Regional Economic Growth
Physical geography
The economic development of an area is closely related to two physical factors: climate and proximity to
a coastline. It has been observed that temperate areas within 100 km of coastline account for 50 per cent
of the world economic output although they just comprise 8 per cent of the global inhabited land.
Developmental stages
The sequence of the development of a society is as follows:

Economy/society are fragmented, trade is limited, primary activities prevail.

Transport improves and regions become more specialized, manufacturing develops and trading
becomes important.

Service sector develops and regions become highly specialized.
Staple theory
A staple is a primary industrial product that can be extracted at low cost and for which there is market
demand. Staple success implies economic growth both in areas of extraction and export areas. Staple
production directly influences regional growth.
Core and periphery
Friedmann identified a core region as a dominant urban area with the potential for growth and a periphery
region as an area of old settlements or downward transition. Peripheral regions may be either upward
transition areas linked to cores or resource frontier regions with new settlements.
Growth poles
Growth does not occur everywhere at the same time. It manifests itself in points of growth. Urban centres
serve as growth poles.
Developing the Less Developed World
The IMF and the World Bank are encouraging many less developed countries to open their economies to
international trade, to reduce government spending, and to privatize state-owned firms. An alternative
approach suggested by many national development agencies and NGOs working in poor countries is to
initiate development at the community level.
Correcting Regional Economic Inequalities
The Canadian example
A number of regions in Canada qualify as relatively underdeveloped. The government played a major role
in correcting spatial imbalances through special regional development policies for peripheral areas. These
included low-interest loans to farmers and others and tax subsidies for industrialists. Some results have
been achieved but many basic problems persist.
The European example
The European Union, like Canada, is made up of core and peripheral regions and therefore experiences
similar regional inequalities. The number of peripheral regions with low incomes and high unemployment
rates increases with every expansion of the European Union. Funds have been provided to depressed
areas, but a regional policy is need.
Decaying industrial areas
Industrial change can be considered in four stages: infancy, growth, maturity (full-scale development),
and old-age (decline). An example of a typical depressed region is one located on a coalfield; it lacks
diversification and is overly dependant on heavy industry.
Planning in socialist countries
Most of the socialist countries are located in the less developed world. These states depend on the
rationalization of industry and comprehensive planning. Regional policies include efforts to industrialize
large cities.
Ⅳ、Study Questions
1. Discuss the four factors that determine the least-cost location.
2. Write an account of the global energy production pattern.
3. Explain the uneven regional development in the world. Be sure to include a discussion of the five
possible explanations in your response.
4. What are today’s major tourist attractions? What are the growing trends in this field?
Short Answer Questions
1. What factors are involved in industrial restructuring?
Answer: There are several factors involved in industrial restructuring. The increased
separation and flexibility of production processes has been facilitated by
electronically controlled assembly lines. Organizational flexibility is increased through
the growth of transaction technologies, such as computer-based and just-in-time
inventory control. Further, market size and the exchange of information are increased
by the growth of circulation technologies, such as satellites and fibre optic networks.
2. What are some alternatives to fossil fuel use?
Answer: Substitutes for gasoline include the conversion of agricultural products to
alcohol. In Brazil, alcohol for cars is a by-product of sugar cane. Other regions are
increasing their fleet of electric cars, reasoning that electricity can be readily
generated from solar, wind, biomass, biogas, and nuclear power technologies.
3. What is the behavioural approach to explaining industrial location theory?
Answer: The behavioural approach to explaining industrial location theory is to take
the approach of explicitly analyzing why things are where they are. This is a more
analytical than normative approach, as normative approaches focus on what ought to
be as opposed to why.
4. Describe the regions where 80 per cent of global industrial production is located?
Answer: Eighty per cent of global industrial location is located in five world regions.
These are Eastern North America, Western Europe, Western Russia, the Ukraine,
Japan, and China. Although China is the most recent country in the list to develop
industrialization, it is industrializing rapidly. The earliest regions of industrialization in
the list are those of Western Europe and Eastern North America.
5. Why is it difficult for developing countries to industrialize?
Answer: Some of the obstacles that make it difficult for developing countries to
industrialize include the legacy of former colonial rule, where colonized countries
were mainly producers of raw materials but secondary activities were not supported;
a lack of infrastructure, as well as a lack of the capital needed to support industrial
activities within these countries; and the lack of a skilled labour force.
Research Questions
1. Discuss the factors which influenced an increase in industrialization in newly
industrializing countries. Make sure to consider the merits of the various strategies
used by these countries.
2. Discuss the relationship between post-Fordism and industrial restructuring. What
have been the outcomes of industrial restructuring?
3. Research and describe how transnational corporations have altered industrial
location decisions. What impacts have these decisions had?
4. What are the factors that have encouraged an increase in women working in
industrial settings? What are the impacts caused by this increase? Are they all
positive?
5. Discuss the theories and findings related to uneven development. Is it inevitable?
Links of Interest
The McCord Museum on Industrialization
http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/eduweb/texts/textbooks/industrialization/
International Energy Agency
http://www.iea.org/
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
http://www.oecd.org/
Global Production
http://www.global-production.com/
Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters
http://www.cme-mec.ca/