Regional Planning: Unit Three Places and Perspectives Lesson Two, The Wealthiest Place Maggie Legates, DGA June, 2011

Industrial location WISH LIST:  Suitable building, storage space, parking at low cost  Plenty of skilled labor, low wages and benefits  Excellent infrastructure and utilities  Safety and security provided by local police  Low taxes and few restrictions

 How far must raw materials be moved to get to our place of business?  Are there likely to be disruptions in supply for raw materials, component parts, or packaging?  How reliable are the highways, bridges and tunnels, port facilities?  Can we get the product to market or point-of- sale “just in time”?

INDUSTRIAL LOCATION THEORY: Max Weber, a geographer from Germany, noticed that most successful industrial sites were located at a good site that also balanced the costs of transporting raw materials with the costs of getting products to market.

 Air transport is most expensive. It is used when time is important and/or products are light and valuable.

 Trucks can move goods to more places and costs are moderate. Of course, there are size and weight limits for trucks. Refrigerated trailers and other special carriers make trucks flexible.  Rail and water transport are least expensive but can be slow. Trains and barges usually carry heavy, bulky cargo.

Containers can be specialized for the contents and can be moved from ship to train or truck without reloading all the cargo.

 If one business has found a winning combination of site and situation, others may follow!  Soon clusters of producers of the same product can be found in a region.  Support industries often locate near-by, adding to the cluster.

 Ford built a plants in Dearborn, Highland Park, Pontiac and other towns in Michigan.  Other automakers located near-by forming a cluster.  Parts suppliers located in Michigan, and also in Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Illinois.

Detroit and Dearborn area auto plants form a cluster Parts suppliers and “feeder” industries How did this affect the places in Michigan and the states surrounding the auto cluster? Population increased as workers were attracted to the area. Rural places became urban. Real estate values rose. Agriculture was pushed out by homes and businesses as land became more valuable. Cultural diversity rose as people moved to Michigan looking for jobs. More and better roads were needed as car owners could drive to work.

Geographer Von Thunen noticed a pattern of land use in Europe during the industrial revolution.  Do you think this pattern applies in other world regions where heavy industry is present? Heavy Industry Light industry Field crop agriculture Ranching and grazing

“Motor City Support industry Agriculture  Why did the Detroit area have a good geographic situation? What factors do you think were balanced by this choice of location?  Where on this map are land prices likely to be highest? Where are they likely to be lowest?  How did the availability of automobiles affect the earning power of people in the area around Detroit?

This map of Japan shows where most Toyota plants are in Japan. Will Von Thunen’s ideas apply on this island nation?  Where would you expect to find the factories of other auto makers?  Where would you expect to find support factories making component parts?  Where might farms or grazing be located?