CONCLUSION

Economic development has profoundly reshaped each of the five themes of contemporary human geography. Regions are defined and reconfigured on the basis of their relative location on the axis of development. The opportunities afforded by economic development facilitate human mobility, but also constrain it. In many ways, economic development is by definition a global phenomenon. Nature, its transformation, and the relationship of nature to culture have since the beginning constituted a central dimension of economic development. And finally, economic development activities have literally manufactured landscapes in their service, transforming the world around us.

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Mona’s Notebook

Imagining the New England Landscape

When most Americans imagine the New England landscape, the picture that comes to mind often resembles the December page of an illustrated calendar—church steeples, white clapboard houses, village greens. Yet, we know that America’s Industrial Revolution started in New England, first in areas close to Boston, like Lowell and Lawrence, but even as far north as Hanover, New Hampshire, where I teach at Dartmouth College. The water power needed to run mills could be supplied by the considerable number of rivers large and small, tempting industrialists to set up shop. When industries moved to urban areas (and, later, to different parts of the country), many of these mills went out of business, but still it’s difficult to drive more than a couple of miles from where I live without seeing some relic of the region’s industrial past: waterwheels to harness the power of the river; long, red-brick mill buildings; and rows of identical small houses for the mill workers.

Through my geographical reading and travels in the region, I’ve learned to “see” and appreciate this industrial landscape, and I’ve realized that it characterizes the New England landscape as much as white church steeples do. I’ve also learned that it is common for images of places to not always correspond to their geographical realities. For example, think of the place you live in and of its different landscapes. How do people who haven’t visited your town or region describe it? Do you think their image corresponds to your own? Often outsiders’ images of places and regions are based on commercial representations like those on TV, films, postcards, and guidebooks (and calendars!). Part of what is so exciting about seeing with a geographer’s eye is that we can often see beyond these images to what is sometimes hidden to other people.

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DOING GEOGRAPHY

The Where and Why of What You Wear

The textile and garment industries are a large component of some countries’ secondary sector economic activities. China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, for instance, are several of the world’s most significant garment producers. Textile and garment industries have historically been very mobile, able to move production facilities to locations that suit manufacturers, often because of the low cost of labor. In today’s global economy, that tendency is even more pronounced, with manufacturers of clothing and other garment-related materials outsourcing many aspects of production and often subcontracting with other companies to complete different tasks in various parts of the world. It’s possible, then, that the clothes and shoes you are wearing right now were designed in one place, woven into fabric in another place, and assembled in yet another.

This exercise is about tracing the “origins” of the clothes and shoes you are wearing right now and asking “Why?” The cost of labor, as we’ve learned, is important, but it certainly isn’t the only factor in determining where garments and shoes are made. In manufacturing in general, other factors include the locations of markets as well as state and international policies, such as NAFTA. Sometimes it is the lack of policies—or lack of enforcement—that manufacturers find attractive. This can lead to unsafe conditions for laborers, as happened in Bangladesh in 2013 when a factory building collapsed, killing 1200 garment workers.

For clothing and shoes, another important factor is fashion. Styles change often, and there might be a need for manufacturers to be able to change their production quickly. This would lead companies to locate manufacturing facilities close to their main markets, which might mean in the United States or Canada.

Steps to Tracing the Origins of What You Wear

Now that you have a better understanding of the global nature of the clothing industry, consider these questions:

Why do you think certain items are manufactured in particular places?

What are the similarities in these countries? What are the differences?

Consider each of the locational factors we’ve mentioned—labor, markets, state policies, consumer trends—and try to generalize the why of what you wear.

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If you are like most students, your smartphone never leaves your side. Perhaps you keep it nearby even when you are asleep! Given your current inseparability, it is perhaps disconcerting to think about where exactly your smartphone was before you got it, and where it will go when it has reached the end of its useful life with you.

The photo montage at the beginning of this chapter depicts some of these places. To begin with, no smartphone would be truly cool without so-called rare earth elements. Yttrium, lanthanum, terbium, cerium, and five other elements are used to manufacture a smartphone’s screen, speakers, and vibration unit. The properties of rare earth elements are what make your phone “light, bright, and loud,” according to Cecilia Jamasmie. Ninety-five percent of rare earth minerals are mined in China’s Inner Mongolia region, both because these elements are concentrated there but also because of the environmental damage caused by the techniques used to extract them, which are not allowed in other places.

The actual assembly of your smartphone occurs in a factory setting. Foxconn is the largest manufacturer, making smartphones for Apple and BlackBerry, as well as other electronic devices. Foxconn’s largest factory, shown in the chapter opening, is located in Longua, a city in China’s Shenzen province. No one knows exactly how many employees labor here, but it is estimated that nearly half a million people work at this factory. In fact, this place is commonly referred to as “Foxconn City” (or “iPod City”). Workers sleep in company dormitories, shop in stores, and engage in leisure activities, all located within the boundaries of the factory premises. Foxconn has been criticized for harsh labor practices resulting in employee suicides, unrest, and exposure to dangerous conditions. The stress of meeting production demands when, for instance, a new iPhone version is released can be overwhelming for employees. Literally millions of new phones can be sold in a single weekend.

What happens to old smartphones? According to a survey conducted by Google in 2013, 51 percent simply end their lives in a drawer or closet. Some are refurbished and resold, while others are simply too old or broken for that. These turn into electronic waste. Because of the hazardous components in smartphones, contamination of water and soil can result if they are simply thrown into the trash. Some phones or components are sent to places like Manila, in the Philippines, where children disassemble them to scavenge copper wire, and then burn the rest. Burning e-waste is an increasing health hazard in places such as the one shown here.

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Match each of the terms on the left with its definition on the right. Click on the term first and then click on the matching definition. As you match them correctly they will move to the bottom of the activity.

Question

You can learn more about economic geography on the Internet at the following web sites:

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Anderson, Kyle, and Gil Kaufman. 2010. “Looking Back at Live Aid, 25 Years Later: We Remember the Charity Concert That Broke the Mold on July 13, 1985.” MTV Online, 13 July. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1643506/looking-back-at-live-aid-25-years-later.jhtml.

Austin, Gareth. 2010. “African Economic Development and Colonial Legacies.” International Development Policy 1: 11-32.

Booz & Company. 2012. Empowering the Third Billion: Women and the World of Work in 2012. http://www.booz.com/media/file/BoozCo_Empowering-the-Third-Billion_Full-Report.pdf.

Bridgman, Benjamin, Andrew Dugan, Mikhael Lal, Matthew Osborne, and Shaunda Villones. 2012. “Accounting for Household Production in the National Accounts, 1965-2010.” Survey of Current Business 92(5): 23-36.

Dolcourt, Jessica. 2012. “Your Smartphone’s Secret Afterlife.” CNET, 2 December. http://www.cnet.com/8301-17918_1-57556225-85/your-smartphones-secret-afterlife-smartphones-unlocked/.

Gose, Ben, Sarah Frostenson, and Marisa López-Rivera. 2013. “10 Companies That Gave the Most Cash in 2102.” The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 14 July. http://philanthropy.com/article/10-Companies-That-Gave-the/140261/.

Greene, Jay. 2012. “Riots, Suicides, and Other Issues in Foxconn’s iPhone Factories.” CNET, 25 September. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57515968-37/riots-suicides-and-other-issues-in-foxconns-iphone-factories/.

Grigoriadis, Vanessa. 2011. “Our Lady of Malawi.” New York Magazine, 1 May. http://nymag.com/news/features/madonna-malawi-2011-5/.

Jamasmie, Cecilia. 2013. “Infographic: The Periodic Table of Smartphones.” Mining.com, 5 February, http://www.mining.com/infographic-the-periodic-table-of-smartphones-56390/.

Lagarde, Christine. 2013. “Women and the World Economy.” Project Syndicate, 24 September. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/how-to-increase-women-s-participation-in-the-workforce-by-christine-lagarde.

Lim, Hank. 2008. “Infrastructure Development in Singapore.” In N. Kumar (ed.), International Infrastructure Development in East Asia: Towards Balanced Regional Integration and Development, pp. 228-262. ERIA Research Project Report 2007-2. Chiba, Japan.

Mwenda, Andrew M. 2013. “Madonna and Africa’s ‘Celebrity Saviors.’” CNN, 17 April. http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/16/opinion/madonna-charity-africa-mwenda/.

Peter, Tom A. 2010. “Finding a Better Way to Bridge the Digital Divide.” Christian Science Monitor, 2 June. http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Tech/2010/0602/Finding-a-better-way-to-bridge-the-digital-divide.

Puffert, Douglas J. 2009. Tracks across Continents, Paths through History: The Economic Dynamics of Standardization in Railway Gauge. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Puri, Hardeep S. 2010. “Rise of the Global South and Its Impact on South-South Cooperation.” Development Outreach, 18 October. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Institute. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/WBI/Resources/213798-1286217829056/puri.pdf.

Rodgers, Dennis. 2004. “‘Disembedding’ the City: Crime, Insecurity and Spatial Organization in Managua, Nicaragua.” Environment and Urbanization 16: 113-123.

Rostow, W. W. 1962. The Process of Economic Growth. New York: W.W. Norton.

Sen, Amartya. 1999. Development as Freedom. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

The Economist. 2011. “America’s Transport Infrastructure: Life in the Slow Lane.” 28 April. http://www.economist.com/node/18620944.

Torero, Maximo, and Shyamal Chowdhury. 2005. Increasing Access to Infrastructure for Africa’s Rural Poor. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Trachtenberg, Stephen Joel, Gerald B. Kauvar, and E. Grady Bogue. 2013. Presidencies Derailed: Why University Leaders Fail and How to Prevent It. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Trivett, Vincent. 2011. “25 US Mega Corporations: Where They Rank If They Were Countries.” Business Insider, 27 June. http://www.businessinsider.com/25-corporations-bigger-tan-countries-2011-6.

Tuan, Yi-Fu. 1989. “Cultural Pluralism and Technology.” Geographical Review 79: 269-279.

Urbina, Ian. 2013. “U.S. Flouts Its Own Advice in Procuring Overseas Clothing.” The New York Times, 23 December. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/23/world/americas/buying-overseas-clothing-us-flouts-its-own-advice.html.

Vince, Gaia. 2012. “How the World’s Oceans Could Be Running Out of Fish.” BBC News, 21 September. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120920-are-we-running-out-of-fish.

World Bank. 2012. Information and Communications for Development: Maximizing Mobile. Washington, D.C.

Zerbisias, Antonia. 2010. “Feminomics: Calculating the Value of ‘Women’s Work.’“ Toronto Star, 30 October. http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2010/10/30/feminomics_calculating_the_value_of_womens_work.html.

(For additional suggested readings, see the Contemporary Human Geography LaunchPad: http://www.macmillanhighered.com/launchpad/DomoshCHG1e.)

Alcock, Susan E., John Bodel, and Richard J. A. Talbert (eds.). 2012. Highways, Byways, and Road Systems in the Pre-Modern World. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons.

Collins, Daryl, Jonathan Morduch, Stuart Rutherford, and Orlanda Ruthven. 2009. Porfolios of the Poor: How the World’s Poor Live on $2 a Day. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Basing their findings on extensive interviews with poor people in Bangladesh, India, and South Africa, the authors argue that the poor utilize effective systems of microfinance to provide for their families and plan for the future.

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Diamond, Jared. 2005. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Viking Press. Climate change, environmental problems, and failure to adapt to environmental changes are identified as three of the top five reasons why even the most powerful civilizations die out.

Kapoor, Ilan. 2012. Celebrity Humanitarianism: The Ideology of Global Charity. London: Routledge. Celebrities, according to Kapoor, engage in so-called humanitarian causes primarily to enhance their personal brands, without truly confronting the global injustices that they seek to redress.

Kristof, Nicholas D., and Sheryl WuDunn. 2010. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. New York: Vintage Books. The authors approach women’s rights as human rights in their exploration of injustices and innovations in violence against women, human trafficking, maternal health, and finance.

Mortenson, Greg, and David Oliver Relin. 2006. Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations … One School at a Time. New York: Penguin. Set in rural Afghanistan and Pakistan, this book explores the connections between education, development, and the rejection of terrorism.

Sen, Amartya. 1999. Development as Freedom. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Despite its liberating premise, globalization has not led to individual freedom for many of the world’s inhabitants. Sen argues that freedoms both economic and political are the key to ethical societal advancement.

Stiglitz, Joseph. 2012. The Price of Inequality: How Today’s Divided Society Endangers Our Future. New York: W.W. Norton. The fact that the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans controls 40 percent of the nation’s wealth illustrates how, within the United States., there are forces of underdevelopment at work that if left unaddressed will undermine the nation’s achievements.

Turkle, Sherry. 2011. Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other. New York: Basic Books. Presents the other side of the digital divide, by arguing that having too much access to technology can paradoxically impoverish us socially and emotionally.

Wimmer, Nancy. 2012. Green Energy for a Billion Poor. Germany: MCRE Verlag. Operating in rural Bangladesh, the Grameen Shakti Company helps local entrepreneurs and engineers establish sustainable social businesses bringing solar energy to poor customers.

Economic Geography. Published by Clark University. Volume 1 was published in 1925.

Geography, Planning and Development. Published by Elsevier Science. Volume 1 was published in 1985.

Journal of Transport Geography. Published by Elsevier Science. Volume 1 was published in 1993.