Areas of Economic Activity 3

Industry

Location of Traditional Industry

In the 19th century industry was usually sited within the city centres. However after the Industrial Revolution as the number of industries increased and shops started to compete for the land industry move out into inner-city areas.

The photograph above shows Glasgow just to the west of the CBD in the late 19th Century. It clearly shows an industrial city, with many tenement houses near to the factories for the workers.

 Inner-city areas could provide the large quantity of unskilled labour needed. The land was cheaper. The industries could locate along main lines of communication like canals, road and rail. Industries could maintain strong links with the city centre.

Changes to Industry
Many of the original advantages of living and working in inner city soon became disadvantages. Many of the large factories built next to canals and railways closed down. Some have been left empty and derelict while others have been pulled down leaving large areas of wasteland (brownfield sites).

 Today many industries tend to move to edge-ofcity Greenfield sites with: 1. good access for transporting and distributing their product (e.g. nearby motorways, waterways) 2. lots of space for expansion, car parking 3. a large market -- nearby city 4. cheap land 5. less congestion, as in inner city 6. nearby housing for workforce 7. more attractive, quieter and healthier

Footloose Industry
Many of these industries are said to be footloose because they are not tied to raw materials, and have a relatively free choice of location. Modern replacement industries, many of which are hightech and electronics related, employ fewer people and are often located well away from the traditional manufacturing areas. High-tech industries, needing a highly qualified workforce, may appear footloose, but in practice they tend to locate close to universities, research establishments, and motorways. Examples of footloose industries: 1) Software engineering 2) Nanotechnology 3) Pharmaceutical industry 4) Microelectronics 5) Research institutions

Business and Science Parks

Many businesses tend to gather together in business and science parks, in order to work together, share ideas and R&D. (Usually over 70% of the land in business parks is left under grass and trees or converted into ornamental gardens and lakes). By locating near to each other, high-tech firms have the advantage of being able to exchange ideas and information with neighbouring companies, sharing maintenance and support services, sharing basic amenities such as connecting roads, and building up a pool of highly skilled, increasingly female labour.

Inner-city Revival
They also build in inner-cities (Brownfield sites), and places where lots of people are unemployed - if the government provides subsidies, tax incentives, etc. Attempts to regenerate industry in inner-city areas have been done through initiatives such as - Enterprise Zones and - Urban Development Corporations - Urban redevelopment in old industrial areas - Planned industrial estates near ports and major transport terminuses.