GEO 329 (2013) Lesson 3 Spatial Dimensions of Development PDF

Spatial Dimensions of Development  INTRODUCTION  The word spatial originates from the word space. To geographers it always carries the idea of  the way things are distributed,  the way movements occur, and  the way processes operate over the whole or a part of the earth.  The geogra...

Spatial Dimensions of Development  INTRODUCTION  The word spatial originates from the word space. To geographers it always carries the idea of  the way things are distributed,  the way movements occur, and  the way processes operate over the whole or a part of the earth.  The geographer’s space, then, is earth space, the surface area occupied or available to be occupied by humans. 2 INTRODUCTION cont’d Why is space important to the Geographer: because geography is a spatial science. – It is concerned with: – spatial behaviour of people, – spatial relationships that are observed between places on the earth’s surface – spatial processes that create or maintain those behaviours and relationships. In understanding the spatial interaction of a place location, direction and distance are very essential. 3  LOCATION A distinction is made between absolute location and relative location. ABSOLUTE LOCATION The identification of a place by some precise and acceptable system of co-ordinates; it is therefore sometimes called mathematical location. – using the degrees, minutes, and second of latitude and longitude. – Survey systems such as township range, and section description of property give mathematical locations on a regional level, – street address precisely defines a building according to the reference system of an individual town. 4 LOCATION con’d Absolute location of a place gives it a unique position on the surface of the earth, – and is independent of any other characteristic or observation about that place. – Absolute location is of great value in the legal description of places and the measuring of distances between places and for finding direction between places. 5  LOCATION cont’d Relative location The position of place in relation to other places or activities. It expresses spatial interconnection and interdependence. For instance, in terms of relative location, – the position of the school library or commercial area will be appreciated not in terms of room number or street address but where the facility is relative to our classroom, hostel or some reference point. – On a larger scene, relative location tells us that people, things, and places exist not in a spatial vacuum but in a world of physical and cultural characteristic that differ from place to place. 6  LOCATION cont’d A distinction is also made between site and situation. Site The site is the actual location of a settlement on the earth and is composed of the physical characteristics of the landscape specific to the area. Site is more than a mathematical location as it tells something about the internal features of a place. Site factors include climate, vegetation, soil quality, landform etc. of an area (that is internal factors of an area). Situation The location of a place relative to its surroundings and other places (external relations of a locale). Factors included in an area's situation include the accessibility of the location, the extent of a place's connections with another, and how close an area may be to raw materials. 7  DIRECTION DIRECTION Direction is the second universal spatial concept and it can also be expressed in terms of absolute direction or relative or relational direction. Absolute direction is based on the cardinal points of north, south, east and west. These appear uniformly and independently in all cultures, derived from the obvious “givens” of nature: the rising and setting of the sun for east and west, the sky location of the noontime sun and of certain fixed stars for north and south. Relative or relational direction- These directional references are culturally based and locationally variable, despite their reference to cardinal compass points. – e.g the use of Near and Far-East locate parts of Asia from the European perspective, they are retained in the Americas by custom and usage even though one would normally travel westward across the Pacific, for example to reach the “Far East” from California or British Columbia 8  DISTANCE Absolute Distance This refers to the spatial separation between two points on the earth’s expressed as miles or kilometres for widely separated locales, feet or metres for more closely spaced points. Distance from Accra to Cape Coast (114 km). Relative Distance This transforms those linear measurements into other units more meaningful for space relationship at question. – For example one will be more concerned about the travel time to the supermarket rather than the actual distance on the ground. – Similarly, an urban destination may be estimated as Gh¢ 2.00 away. There is also the psychological transformation of linear distance. – A late night car ride through a dangerous and unfamiliar neighbourhood may seem far longer than a daytime walk through the same neighbourhood. 9  LOCATION THEORIES LOCATION THEORIES Development economists and policy makers are sometimes blamed for not incorporating space in policy formulation. – reflected in the work of the proponents of economic theory, Adams Smith (1776), Ricardo (1817) and Marshall In 1958 Walter Isard brought into focus, the fact that past economic theories had neglected space (in his book Location and Space Economy). Since then spatial dimensions of development have been discussed in various circles such as – regional science, – spatial behaviour, – human geography, – spatial economic analysis , and – transportation and trade. 10 CENTRAL PLACE THEORY The German geographer Walter Christaller introduced central place theory in his book entitled Central Places in Southern Germany (1933). Central place theory is a spatial theory in urban geography that attempts to explain the reasons behind the distribution patterns, size, and number of cities and towns around the world. Christaller recognized the economic relationships between cities and their hinterlands (areas farther away). 11 CENTRAL PLACE THEORY He mainly tested the theory in Southern Germany and came to the conclusion that – people gather together in cities to share goods and ideas and that they exist for purely economic reasons. In keeping with his economic focus, he explained that the central place exists primarily to provide goods and services to its surrounding population. The city is in essence, a distribution center. 12 Christaller’s Assumptions Assumptions The assumption about an unbounded isotropic (all flat), homogeneous, limitless surface (abstract space). – The implication of this assumption is that no barriers would exist to impede people's movement across it. An evenly distributed population ( consumers are a uniformly distributed at constant population density) The characteristics of the people would be uniform; that is they will possess similar tastes, demand, and incomes Uniform transport rate F.O.B. price operate 13  Christaller’s Assumption cont’d Consumers buy from the suppliers at least delivered price. There is perfect competition and all sellers are economic men maximizing their profits. There is only one type of transport and this would be equally easy in all directions. Transport cost is proportional to distance traveled in example, the longer the distance traveled, the higher the transport cost. 14 Threshold and Range in Central Place Theory The theory then relied on two concepts: threshold and range. Threshold is the minimum market (population or income) needed to bring about the selling of a particular good or service. Range is the maximum distance consumers are prepared to travel to acquire goods - at some point the cost or inconvenience will outweigh the need for the good. 15  High and Low Order Goods in Central Place Theory Low-order goods things that are replenished frequently such as food and other routine household items. Because these items are purchased regularly, small businesses in small towns can survive because – people will buy frequently at the closer locations instead of going into the city. High-order goods specialized items such as automobiles, furniture, fine jewelry, and household appliances that are bought less often. Because they require a large threshold and people do not purchase them regularly, many businesses selling these items cannot survive in areas where the population is small. – Therefore, they often locate in large cities that can serve a large population in the surrounding hinterland. 16 Central Place Size and Spacing Within the central place system, there are five sizes of communities. – A hamlet is the smallest and is a rural community which is too small to be considered a village. The rank order of central places is: Hamlet Village Town City Regional Capital 17 Central Place Theory Geometry and Ordering If visually imagined, the central place is located at the vertexes (points) of equilateral triangles. They then serve the evenly distributed consumers who are closest to the central place. As the vertexes connect, they form a series of hexagons- the traditional shape in many central place models. There will be a central place at the centre of each of the hexagonal market areas. 18 Central Place model 19  Central Place Order Principles The central place theory has three orders or principles. The first is the marketing principle and it is shown as K=3 (K is a constant). In this system, market areas at a certain level of the central place hierarchy are three times bigger than the next lowest one. The different levels then follow a progression of threes, meaning that as one moves through the order of places, the number of the next level goes up three times. For example, when there are two cities, there would be six towns, 18 villages, and 54 hamlets. 20 Central Place Order Principles  There is also the transportation principle (K=4) where areas in the central place hierarchy are four times bigger than the area in the next lowest order.  the market area of a higher-order place includes a half of the market area of each of the six neighbouring lower-order places, located on the edges of hexagons around the high- order settlements.  This generates a hierarchy of central places which results in the most efficient transport network. 21  Central Place Order Principles  Finally, the administrative principle (K=7)  the variation between the lowest orders and highest orders increase by a factor of seven.  Here, the highest order trade area completely covers that of the lowest order, meaning that market serves a larger area. 22  Criticisms of the central place theory The pattern of cities predicted by central place theory may not hold because of the failure to meet initial assumptions. 1. Production costs may vary not only because of economies of scale but also by natural resource endowments (i.e. not a homogeneous plain) 2. Transportation costs are not equal in all directions. 3. Rural markets (initially households) are not evenly distributed. 4. Non economic factors (culture, politics, leadership) may be important but not evenly distributed. 5. Competitive practices may lead to freight absorption and phantom freight (other forms of imperfect competition) 23  Losch’s Central Place Theory In 1954, German economist August Losch modified Christaller's central place theory because he believed it was too rigid. He thought that Christaller's model led to patterns where the distribution of goods and the accumulation of profits were based entirely on location. He instead focused on maximizing consumer welfare and creating an ideal consumer landscape where the need to travel for any good was minimized and profits were held level, not maximized to accrue extra. 24 GROWTH POLE CONCEPT Introduced by a French Economist called Francois Perroux in 1955. The core idea of the growth poles theory is that economic development, or growth, is not uniform over an entire region, but instead takes place around a specific pole. This pole is often characterized by a key industry around which linked industries develop, mainly through direct and indirect effects. The expansion of this key industry implies the expansion of output, employment, related investments, as well as new technologies and new industrial sectors. 25  GROWTH POLE CONCEPT cont’d Investing heavily in capital-intensive industries in the largest urban centres, government in developing countries can stimulate economic growth that will spread outward to guarantee regional development. The economies of scale formed in the largest cities would provide high rates of return on – investment, support the commercial, administrative and infrastructure services needed by industries to operate effectively, and bring about the diversification of the growth poles economy. 26 GROWTH POLE CONCEPT cont’d Assumptions It is based on the assumption that the growth pole will expand to have economic relationship with the capital city of the country and abroad. Other manufactured goods will flow from the capital city to the growth pole. The free market operation that exists at the growth pole would create ‘ripple’ or ‘tripple down’ effect that could stimulate economic growth throughout the region. It is also assumed that the investment in industrial development at the growth pole will serve as the ‘engine of development’ for agriculture and commercial activities. 27 Basic Concepts of the Growth Pole theory: the concept of leading industries and propulsive firms; the concept of polarisation; and the concept of spread effects. 28 The concept of leading industries and propulsive firms states that there are large propulsive firms belonging to leading industries that are located at the growth poles which dominate economic units. It may be one giant propulsive firm or a core of firms forming an industrial complex. The location of propulsive firms may be due to the localisation of natural resources (e.g. water and energy) or the localisation of more man-made advantages (communication or existing service based central places with advantages). 29 The concept of polarisation  The rapid growth of the leading industries induces the polarisation of other economic units into the pole of growth (the creation of agglomeration economies).  This polarisation will then lead to geographical polarisation  with the flow of resources to and  the concentration of economic activity to a limited number of centres within the region. 30 The concept of spread effect  that with time the dynamic propulsive qualities of the growth pole radiate outward into the surrounding space.  This is referred to as the ‘trickling down’ or ‘spread effects’. 31 Growth Pole Diagram Source: Rodrigue, 2016 32 Arguments against the Growth Pole Concept 1. It has been argued that in countries where the growth pole concept was introduced, – the cities that were selected as growth poles failed to experience the desired economic growth. – The trickling down effect was not strong enough to generate regional development. 2. It fails to differentiate between natural and artificial growth pole or between spontaneously created centre and attempt to influence the centre from outside. 3. It underestimate the critical amount of initial investment amount to create new growth centres. 33  Von Thunen Model  The von Thunen model is a model for analysing agricultural location patterns  by Prussian land owner, Johann Heinrich von Thunen (1783- 1850),  published in 1826 and translated into English language in 1966.  He was an economist who was interested in the principles that affected market prices and production decisions for agricultural goods.  His goal was to explain variations in farm product prices and the way they influence the use of agricultural land. 34  Von Thunen Model cont’d  He concluded that the uses to which parcels of land were put was a function of the differing “rent” values placed on seemingly identical lands.  These differences, reflected the cost of overcoming the distance separating a given farm from a central market or town.  The greater the distance, the higher was the operating cost to the farmer, since transport charges had to be added to other expenses.  When a commodity’s production costs plus its transport costs just equalled its value at the market, a farmer was at the economic margin of its cultivation.  the greater the transportation costs, the lower the rent that could be paid for land if the crop produced was to remain competitive in the market. 35 Von Thunen Model cont’d Von Thunen based his model on a number of assumptions:  The city is located centrally within an "Isolated State" which is self sufficient and has no external influences.  The Isolated State is surrounded by an unoccupied wilderness.  The land of the State is completely flat and has no rivers or mountains to interrupt the terrain.  The soil quality and climate are consistent throughout the State.  Farmers in the Isolated State transport their own goods to market via oxcart, across land, directly to the central city. The cost of transportation is directly proportional to the distance from the urban centre.  Farmers transport their goods to the central city in return for profits  Farmers act to maximize profits. 36 von Thunen rings The assumption that there is uniform transport costs in all directions away from the centre in the isolated state leads to the creation of a concentric zonal pattern of land use called von Thunen rings. 37 38  von Thunen rings cont’d 2.Intensive Farming/Dairying  This is the closest ring to the city.  Since vegetables, fruit, milk and other dairy products must get to market quickly, they would be produced close to the city.  Dairy, meat and vegetable products, being perishable, bulky and in daily demand, require production sites close to cities  to minimize the costs and time of transportation to market.  In economic terms, these intensive agriculture activities paid the largest ‘economic rent’ for suitable land located closest to towns and cities. 39 von Thunen rings cont’d 3.Forest  Timber and firewood would be produced for fuel and building materials in the second zone.  Before industrialization (and coal power), wood was a very important fuel for heating and cooking.  Wood is very heavy and difficult to transport so it is located as close to the city as possible. 40 von Thunen rings cont’d 4. Extensive Field Crops The fourth zone consists of extensive fields crops such as grains for bread. Since grains last longer than dairy products and are much lighter than fuel, reducing transport costs, they can be located further from the city. 41 von Thunen rings cont’d 5.Ranching and Animal Products  Ranching is located in the final ring surrounding the central city.  Animals can be raised far from the city because they are self-transporting.  Animals can walk to the central city for sale or for butchering. 42 von Thunen rings cont’d 6. Unoccupied Land Beyond the fifth ring lies the unoccupied wilderness, which is too great a distance from the central city for any type of agricultural product. 43 Mathematical Analysis of the von Thunen Model  The model compares the relationships between production cost, the market price and the transport cost of an agricultural commodity and is expressed as follows:  R = Y(p-c) - Yfm  R = Rent per unit of land.  Y = Yield per unit of land.  p = market price per unit of yield.  c = Average production costs per unit of yield.  m = Distance from market (in kilometers or miles).  f = Freight rate per unit of yield and unit of distance. 44 Mathematical Analysis of the von Thunen Model  All agricultural land uses are maximizing their productivity (rent),  which in this case is dependent upon their location from the market (Central City).  The role of farmer is to maximize his profit which is simply the market price minus the transport and production costs.  The most productive activities (gardening or milk production) or activities having high transport costs (firewood) locate nearby the market. 45 Weaknesses and Criticism  It centred on the idea of an isolated state and did not consider the differences in sites (local physical conditions).  The model is outdated and was created assuming climate was fixed, no roads existed, and technology would not improve.  The theory may break down somewhat in industrial and post-industrial economies as urban expansion/sprawl occur.  It has also been argued that the use of modern refrigerators would enable perishable products to be transported longer distances.  Also there is the transportation of animals by rail which is faster than having them being grazed into the city. 46 Relevance of the Model 1. The model can conveniently be modified by relaxing some of the conditions introduced by von Thunen:  differential transportation costs.  Example: boats are the cheapest mode of transportation.  variations in topography  soil fertility  changes in demand or price of the commodity 47 Relevance of the Model cont’d 2. His ideas do tend to apply in LDCs where some of the advantages of modernization apply less so. 3. The von Thunen model is a good example of the balance between land cost and transportation costs.  The closer you get to the city, the higher the price of land increases. 4. Von Thunen principle of location as distance from urban centres resonates in today’s metropolitan real estate markets.  To the real estate agent, the most important variables in urban land value are ‘location’ ‘location’ and ‘location’ 48 Relevance of the Model cont’d It must be explained that today people consider location in terms of accessibility to a variety of elements of the larger urban system as well as traffic time and nervous energy required to reach a particular destination. 49 THE CORE-PERIPHERY THEORY  The core-periphery model is based on the observation that within many spatial systems sharp territorial contrasts exist in wealth, economic development, and growth- in “development”- between economic heartlands and outlying zones. These economic heartland zones may be referred to as ‘cores’ 50 THE CORE-PERIPHERY THEORY CONT’D  The core-periphery model was developed in 1963 by John Friedmann  It is based on the notion that as one region or state expands in economic prosperity;  it must engulf regions nearby to ensure ongoing economic and political success.  There are examples of wealthy urban cores and depressed rural peripheries, or prospering “high-tech” concentrations and declining “rust belt” many developing countries.  On the international scene, core periphery contrasts are discerned between, particularly, Western Europe, Japan, and the United States as the prosperous cores and the Third World as underdeveloped periphery. 51 THE CORE-PERIPHERY THEORY CONT’D  In all these spatial relationships, it is assumed that partially or temporarily the growth and prosperity of the core regions, is at the expense of the exploited peripheral zones.  It is explained that if for any reason, there is accelerated economic development at any section of the country, that section will attract investment and resources for further development.  This will lead to circular and cumulative causation that will polarise development and create a permanent division between prosperous (and dominating) cores and depressed (and exploited) peripheral districts. 52 THE CORE-PERIPHERY THEORY CONT’D  At the international scene, in different Marxists and non-Marxists forms, the core-periphery model is interpreted as the developing world being held captive by the leading industrial nations.  It is drained of wealth and deprived of growth  This is further explained to mean neocolonialism with the developed world exercising economic and political control over the developing world. 53 THE CORE-PERIPHERY THEORY CONT’D  A more moderate and hopeful variant of the model observes that, regional disparities and inequalities exist in all countries but they tend to be more pronounced in developing countries than in the developed world.  In Brazil, for example, the poorest fifth have just 2% of all income,  the richest fifth have 68%, and  only 10% of the population controls 51% of all income.  But in Canada, the poorest fifth have 6% of all income  while the richest fifth have only 40%. 54 Core expansion trends and methods  Some experts explain that the core area will expand first to area of similar characteristics before expanding to areas that are of different characteristics.  Traditionally, the inner core will first expand to areas of geographic similarities; for instance, a neighbouring town may find itself becoming a suburb of the city.  On the international level, when the geographic peripheries become exhausted as a result of the depletion of the resources or economies of scale balancing out,  the core will begin to seek areas that are culturally similar and share the same language as the core.  The core will move outside to areas that do not share the same cultural similarities when the resources of peripheries with similar characteristics are exhausted. 55 Trickle – down effect  The model suggests that convergence will eventually be achieved with  the diffusion and spread of the benefits outward from the core to the peripheral regions.  This is what is referred to as the trickle-down effects or spread effects  At the international level, the spread effect is expected to reduce the influence and dominance of formerly exploitative cores and the equalise incomes between world regions. 56 Four-stage sequence of space economy  From the analysis above, Felmann et al, 1999 see a four-stage sequence of space economy with core- periphery contrasts being only one of the stages. Those stages are: 1. a preindustrial society with localised, self sufficient economies; 2. the core-periphery stage 3. dispersion of economic activity and passing of control of portions of the economy into parts of the periphery, and 4. creation of spatial integration in which the spatially separate and fully developed components of the economy relate in an interdependent fashion. 57 Semi-Periphery  Many experts contest the core-periphery system as being far too simple and argue that there is a semi- periphery which is an important middle ground between the core and the periphery.  This is an area that is more self sufficient and developed than the periphery but not as developed as the core.  The semi-periphery is of great importance because it bridges the gap between the core rich countries and the poor periphery countries.  It provides balance and order keeping the world from political and economic crisis in same way that the middle class does on the national level in stable core countries. 58 THANK YOU 59