Industrial Activities: Classification, Location, and Landscape

Classification of Industrial Activities

Industrial activities can be classified into different types based on their origin and characteristics:

Base Industries

These industries make the first changes to raw materials (minerals and energy sources) to provide energy.

Capital Goods Industries

These industries make the second changes in order to prepare products.

Consumer Goods Industries

These industries manufacture products that are to be sold directly to the consumer.

Factors for Industry Location

Traditional Factors

• Proximity to raw materials and energy sources
• Proximity to market centers and consumption
• Proximity to ports and transport routes
• Abundance of low-skilled labor

Current Factors

• Accessibility to raw materials and energy sources
• Abundance of cheap labor
• Presence of a global market
• Accessibility to innovation

Great Industrial Areas

Original Industrial Areas

These are the areas where the Industrial Revolution emerged, such as:

• Center of Germany
• North of France

Modern Industrial Areas

These areas developed later, especially in:

• The Ural Mountains
• The Volga Mining Area
• The center of Siberia

New Industrial Areas

These areas have emerged in the last 20 years, including:

• The United States
• The East of China
• Venezuela

Industrial Areas and the Landscape

Traditional industry aims to produce the biggest yield at the lowest price.

Mining Areas

Areas that produce iron and coal were the centers where the Industrial Revolution emerged. The associated mining activity, in many cases long abandoned, has left its mark.

Ports and Rivers

Fluvial terraces are preferred industrial locations.

Urban Areas

The location of industries in areas near big cities has created industrial landscapes.

New Industrial Landscapes

Centers of Advanced Technology

These are located in the most developed countries, like the USA, Japan, and Germany.

Automated and High-Technology Industries

Nearly all modern industries have high technology and automated production, which involves the development of robotics.

Chinese Industry

The mouths of the great Chinese rivers, such as the Yangtze, are some of the most important industrialized areas in the world. China has become the largest industrial country in the world, but also the most environmentally polluted.

The Industrialization Crisis

There are two factors that are impacting industry today:

Deindustrialization

This means abandoning industrial activity and the industrial areas it occupied.

Relocation

This consists of abandoning traditional industrial areas to look for new locations.