Essay/Term paper: The industrial heartland--megalopolis

Essay, term paper, research paper:  World History

The Industrial Heartland--Megalopolis


There are basically seven factors that must be met before an industry
can start to take place in a particular area. Those seven factors are: raw
materials, transportation, energy, markets, labour, capital, and government.
The Industrial Heartland is almost like one big industry, connected in a vast
megalopolis. I'll be taking a closer look at these factors and the way this
area meets the locational factors.

The Industrial Heartland is an area that includes: Quebec, Ontario,
Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New
York, Maryland, Washington DC, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Delaware, New
Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

Raw Materials(ex. iron ore, coal, limestone etc.) is an unprocessed
material used as the base for primary industry. The Industrial Heartland has
many different mining sites throughout it. (ex-the nickel mine in Ontario,
mines in Pittsburgh, Gary, Baltimore, Hamilton, Sault Ste. Marie....etc.)

Transportation is extremely important in this area. Most mines and
mills are located by waterways to make transportation readily available for it's
transport's. Coal, limestone, and many other kinds of mines use the Great
Lakes to transport, which happens to be in the middle of the Industrial
Heartland. They usually have tons of material to move so water transportation
can carry lots of material, it's cheap, but it's also slow. Another important
route in this region is the St. Lawrence Seaway, which was an significant
factor in the decision of industries to locate in this region. Other main
waterways in this region are: Ohio River, Mississippi River, New York State
Barge Canal System, New York Harbour, Philadelphia Harbour, and Baltimore
Harbour.

There is also Railway to consider for transportation. They can almost
go anywhere in this region, but they are more expensive than Waterway transport,
and not as adaptable as trucks.

Truck hauling is considered the best for most of the transport. Though
the cost of fuel has increased over the years, trucks are still the main
carrier of cargo.

Energy, is one of the most, if not the most important factor for
industries. Every industry needs power, energy. Some sources of energy are:
Hydroelectricity, Thermal electric, natural gas, and coal.

Hydroelectricity is a good choice for energy for home requirements, but
for industry, they need tremendous amounts of energy. To meet the
requirements of an industries power, the industry would have to locate near the
hydroelectric plant, and there is just simply not enough hydroelectric sites.

Thermal electricity is a commonly used power source for industry. It's
convenient for the industry.

Markets refer to trade, selling of goods to consumers. The Industrial
Heartland offers many places for markets, as it has a large population,
therefore, demand. So, an industry close to the demand wouldn't have to
transport that much. Usually if their is high request for an item, the
manufacturer would set prices higher to grasp extra transportation costs.

Labour-The Industrial Heartland would be an ideal place to locate, as
it has a very high population, thus having many people, and workers
looking for jobs. Many people live, locate to the Industrial Heartland to find
jobs. There is a widespread of jobs in the industrial heartland-many different
occupations are found there.

Capital is the cash flow, equipment, and buildings of/needed by a
certain industry. Obviously, to set up an industry you need a capital. It's
like the starting money of the business/industry. Stocks are usually bought by
consumers, so an industry can raise it's capital (stock-share in a company).
Bond issues and bank loans are just some of the other ways industries start up.

Government-Municipal, provincial, and federal government are concerned
with the industry. Government encourages industry, for the growth of the region.
The job of each part of the government is as follows: municipal-choose land for
the industry(make sure it's suitable), provide sewers, roads, electrical lines,
schools, health care, and police protection. Provincial-sets rules/regulations,
so on, for the industry to obide by. Provide energy, employee-training, enforce
labour laws, safety standards, & working conditions. Federal-provides carriage
and facilities-finances the construction of highways, harbours and airports, and
enforces tariff.

The Industrial Heartland meets all it's locational factors, and provides many
jobs for people in the region. I think transportation, markets, and population
of this region has greatly contributed to the amount of industry within it.