Why Make it Here?

1. Regional Planning: Unit Three Places and Perspectives Lesson Two, The Wealthiest Place Why Make it Here? Maggie Legates, DGA June, 2011

2. 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 Business and Industrial Planners look for a good site

3. 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”? But Situation can be just as important!

4. 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.

5. Air transport is most expensive. about Transportation Costs: Logistics matter It is used when time is important and/or products are light and valuable.

6. Ground Transport • 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.

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

8. 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. What is the result? Do I See A pattern?

9. How did this play out in the early days of the American Automotive industry? • 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.

10. 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.

11. Land use is partly determined by Distance from Industrial clusters • 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

12. Check Your Understanding • 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? “Motor City Support industry Agriculture

13. Transfer your learning to another place! 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?