CHAPTER 5: Sustainable Development

Industrial Revolution

Started in the textile industry from handwoven materials to automated weaving. Introduced concepts of Industrialization and Urbanization. Urbanization extended industrialization as factories were built to take advantage of urban workforces and markets. Industrialization changed the relationship that existed between cities and their surrounding rural areas. In preindustrial times, cities consumed foodstuffs produced in rural areas but produced little that rural areas needed in return. As a result, some historians describe preindustrial cities as “economically parasitic.”

Industrial Location Theory

Created by Alfred Weber, this theory argues that businesses naturally choose locations that minimize their costs, specifically focusing on transportation, labor, and agglomeration.

Weight-Losing

(like copper mining or timber) extracts raw materials that are heavier than the final product, so factories build close to the resource to save on shipping.

A weight-gaining industry

creates a final product heavier than its parts (like adding water to soda syrup), so these "foot-loose" industries build close to consumer markets.

Agglomeration

occurs when similar businesses cluster in one area to share specialized equipment and facilities, boosting efficiency.

Deglomeration

is the opposite; industries scatter when local costs, like rent, become too expensive and hurt profits.

Core-Periphery Spatial Relationships

Globally and locally, areas are divided into a dominant, industrialized core (like a city) and a rural hinterland or periphery that supplies raw materials. This uneven relationship often causes a brain drain, where educated professionals leave the periphery to seek better opportunities in the core.

The Textile Catalyst & Daily Life

The revolution specifically started with cotton replacing silk, and while early factory life left no time for recreation, the 1850s saw the rise of music halls and sports like rugby. The new middle class strictly separated home from work, discouraged women from working outside the home, and felt hostility toward both aristocrats and the urban poor.

Global Spread

Highlights the post-WWII rise of the "Asian Tigers" (Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea) and the modern shift of Western nations into the Post-Industrial "Information Age".

Weber's Model Flaws

Weber assumed there was only one market and unlimited demand. Additionally, while his model included labor, modern critics note that labor has now become the single most overriding location factor (especially for high-tech), as companies develop innovative ways to ship lighter goods and avoid high transport costs.

Geographic Examples

The Swiss made high-value timepieces and the Dutch processed diamonds because they could not competitively ship bulky goods. Applying the core-periphery concept locally, Walla Walla, Washington, serves as a specific example of an urban hub providing services to its surrounding agricultural region.

Economic Sectors

Jobs are categorized by how they generate wealth. The primary sector involves extracting raw natural resources (farming, mining). The secondary sector manufactures those materials into usable goods. The tertiary sector provides services (retail, healthcare, teaching) and drives the economies of most developed nations.

National Finances

Governments must manage their money carefully. A budget deficit happens when a government spends more than it earns in a single year. The national debt is the total accumulated money the government owes. Printing too much money to pay these debts can lead to hyperinflation, collapsing the currency's value.

Development Levels

Nations are often categorized as More Developed Countries (MDCs), which feature high literacy rates and tertiary economies, or Less Developed Countries (LDCs), which struggle with lower productivity and a reliance on primary sector jobs.

Geographic Naming

Places are often named after how they generate wealth, such as the Gold Coast, Banana Republic, or the US Manufacturing Belt. Wealth historically was also taken by force, a practice that continues today with piracy off the coast of Somalia.

Economic Models

Warren Thompson's 1929 Demographic Transition Model (DTM) and Walt Rostow's 1960s model, which outlines five stages of economic modernization

Global Case Studies

Saudi Arabia is highlighted as a nation with high income surrounded by weaker economies, while Spain is noted for struggling with chronic unemployment after the 2008 recession.

Limitations of GDP

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the total monetary value of an economy's production. However, it is a flawed measure of societal health because it ignores unpaid labor (like subsistence farming or raising children) and can actually increase during environmental disasters due to cleanup costs.

The HDI Alternative

The Human Development Index (HDI), anchored by economists Mahbub Ul Haq and Amartya Sen, measures true human well-being based on capabilities, what people can "be" and "do". It evaluates development using life expectancy, education (literacy rates), and income standards.

Environmental Determinism

This is the heavily critiqued hypothesis that a region's physical environment completely predetermines its social and economic success. Geographers reject this idea because it ignores the massive impact of human choices, social structures, and historical actions on a region's development.

End-Uses

Development can also be measured by "end-uses." The ultimate purpose of an economy, like having nutritious food or comfortable buildings, rather than just having money.

Agricultural Origins

Development is tied to the Fertile Crescent, which has abundant domesticable plants and animals compared to regions like Papua New Guinea.

Human Development & Standard of Living

A nation's development, measured by the UN's Human Development Index (HDI), demonstrates that More Developed Countries (MDCs) achieve higher standards of living, such as increased literacy and life expectancy, largely due to technological access and heavy investments in tertiary sector jobs, education, and healthcare.

Standard of Living

More developed countries generally transition to tertiary sector jobs, which provide services and invest heavily in education and healthcare. This results in higher life expectancies and lower infant mortality rates compared to less developed countries.

Ending Global Poverty

Although LDC mortality and literacy rates have improved, the wealth gap continues to widen due to unsustainable consumption where one-fifth of the world consumes five-sixths of its resources, leaving over 1 billion people in extreme poverty (living on less than $1.25 a day). A stark disparity highlighted by the fact that MDCs spend more on cosmetics and ice cream than the cost to provide global schools and toilets, prompting nations to seek GNP growth and sometimes adopt the self-sufficiency model to prioritize local, equal investment over globalization, despite its risks of market inefficiency and bureaucratic overreach.

Self- Efficiency Model of Development

protects domestic industries from foreign influence using import tariffs, though critics argue this requires massive bureaucracy and protects inefficient businesses.

The World Trade Organization (WTO)

was established in 1995 to manage 97 percent of global trade, acting as a negotiation forum and international court, despite facing bipartisan political criticism.

blockchain

is a distributed digital ledger that eliminates the need for third-party institutions in financial and contractual transactions, driving digital currencies like Bitcoin.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

consist of eight specific targets: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger; Achieve Universal Primary Education; Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women; Reduce Child Mortality; Improve Maternal Health; Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Other Diseases; Ensure Environmental Sustainability; and Global Partnership for Development. Bono, the lead singer of U2, uses his celebrity and his nonprofit ONE campaign to fight extreme poverty, hunger, and disease in Africa, having studied the issue under Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, a primary leader of the MDGs.

Sustainable Development Goals

The conceptual foundation for sustainable development traces back to early systemic environmental works, including Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962), Garret Hardin's Tragedy of the Commons (1968), and Paul Ehrlich's Population Bomb (1971).

Farming

exists on a continuum of intensification (the amount of production extracted per unit of land), which requires manipulating natural processes and scales from simply picking wild berries to modern industrial farming.

Hunter-gatherers

also manipulated their environments; for example, Australian Aborigines used fire to herd animals, and Northwest Coast Native Americans extracted enough resources to support large populations.

Agriculture

is defined as the cultivation of crops and the breeding of better strains; to cultivate means "to care for," and a crop is any plant humans cultivate.

Subsistence agriculture

produces food mainly for the farmer and family and is common in LDCs. Commercial agriculture produces food mainly for profit and sale. In North America, less than 5% of the population farms, yet farmers produce enough food for the population and a surplus.

Intensive subsistence agriculture

is labor-intensive, uses limited land efficiently, and is common in East, South, and Southeast Asia. Major crops include rice, wheat, and barley. Double cropping allows two harvests per year in suitable climates.

Shifting cultivation

involves moving when soil fertility declines. In slash-and-burn, vegetation is cut and burned to clear land and add nutrients. Land is usually farmed for 2–3 years, followed by 5–20 years of regrowth. Common crops include corn, millet, and sugarcane. It can contribute to deforestation.

Pastoral nomadism

is subsistence agriculture based on domesticated animals. It is common in the arid Middle East and North Africa. Animals provide milk, clothing, and other materials. Seasonal movement between mountain and lowland areas is called transhumance.

Commercial agriculture

produces food for profit and global markets and is closely connected to agribusiness, which includes farmers, processors, distributors, and retailers.

Plantation agriculture

consists of large tropical farms specializing in crops such as coffee, tea, sugarcane, rubber, and cotton. Plantations are common in LDCs and may be owned by MDC corporations.

Von Thünen Model - Johann Heinrich von Thünen

developed a model showing how distance from markets, transportation costs, land value, and profit influence agricultural land use.

First ring

fresh milk and vegetables because they are highly perishable.

Second ring

forest products, especially wood, which is heavy and costly to transport.

Third ring

crop rotation, mainly rye. Farming is more intensive closer to the city.

Fourth ring

livestock ranching. Animals could be walked to market.

Outer area

wilderness surrounding the Isolated State.

Cultivated land increased about 12% over 50 years, while irrigated land doubled. The world has about 13.2 billion hectares:

• 12%: crops

• 28%: forests

• 35%: grasslands and woodlands

Low-income countries

contain about 22% of global land and 38% of the population. Only about 28% of their cultivated land is suitable for high-yield crops.

Water scarcity has three dimensions:

• Physical: supply cannot meet demand.

• Infrastructural: infrastructure cannot deliver enough water.

• Institutional: laws and institutions fail to provide reliable and equitable access

Rain-fed agriculture

depends on rainfall and produces about 60% of global crop output.

Highlands

small-scale subsistence

Dry tropics

maize, sorghum, millet, goats, sheep

Humid tropics

root crops, bananas, sugarcane, soybeans, maize

Subtropics

wheat, fruits, olives, cattle

Temperate

wheat, maize, barley, potatoes, livestock

Thomas Malthus

argued that population grows exponentially, while food production grows linearly, eventually causing shortages.

Malthusian Theory

Modern Malthusians warn that population and consumption may exceed available food, water, and energy.

Norman Borlaug

was a major leader and received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Community-supported agriculture (CSA)

allows consumers to purchase farm shares before the growing season, sharing risks with farmers.

Desertification

is the degradation of drylands caused by climatic variations and human activities. It reduces ecosystem services and affects human well-being. Agricultural clearing and plowing expose soil to wind and water erosion. Soy production causes Brazil to lose about 55 million tons of topsoil each year.

Agriculture uses about 70% of accessible freshwater. Unsustainable irrigation can deplete groundwater, increase soil salinity, and carry sediment into waterways.

Pesticides

can kill pests, beneficial insects, wildlife, and soil organisms.

Fertilizers

can cause eutrophication, where excess nutrients trigger algal growth, reduce dissolved oxygen, and kill aquatic life. Agricultural biodiversity loss is associated with habitat destruction, overexploitation, pollution, and soil erosion.

The sustainable agriculture movement

focuses on environmental protection, economic profitability, and social equity. The food system includes farmers, workers, researchers, processors, retailers, consumers, and policymakers.

The food system includes farmers, workers, researchers, processors, retailers, consumers, and policymakers. Key approaches include:

● Reducing chemical and water use

● Supporting family farms and rural communities

● Protecting prime agricultural land

● Promoting sustainable farming research and education

● Considering environmental and social impacts in consumer choices