Economic Geography

California State University
Northridge

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 Landscapes- Open Pit Mine (fig)
Primary Landscapes-
Chemical 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.  The Northridge Medical Center
B.  A local farmer’s market
C.  Rite-Aid Pharmacy
D.  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.  Silicon Valley, California
B.  Atlanta, Georgia
C.  Lexington, Kentucky
D.  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.  Low wages
B.  Job insecurity
C.  Poor Benefits
D.  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!!!