Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Maquiladoras
In recent years, numerous American manufacturers have engaged in
outsourcing
— pro-
ducing components or products abroad for domestic sale — to take advantage of lower-
cost foreign labor. This tactic is exemplified by
maquiladoras,
American-owned manufac-
turing plants located on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border. Cross into Ciudad
Juarez, Tijuana, Nuevo Laredo, and other Mexican border towns and you are likely to find
plants bearing familiar U.S. brand names producing clothing, toys, leather goods, elec-
tronic items, auto parts, and other goods destined for sale in the U.S. Their presence is
due in large measure to Mexican laws that allow U.S. companies to import components
duty-free for assembly in factories located within 20 kilometers (12 miles) of the border.
Once completed, materials are sent back across the border for final assembly or dis-
tribution to retail outlets. Thus, the arrangement allows U.S. manufacturers to profit by
lowering their production costs and Mexico to profit from job creation and (in some cases)
technical training. One might characterize this as an unequivocal win-win situation, ex-
cept that opening a
maquiladora
is often complemented by closure of a manufacturing
facility in the U.S., resulting in people out of work.
Shopping malls
Thesuccessofamallrestsonitsaccessibility toalargenumberofpotentialshoppers.Forthatreason,
nearly every shopping mall you'll ever visit is located beside a major multi-lane highway (and per-
haps by a busy intersection as well) that accommodates a considerable volume and flow of traffic. Of
course, all of those potential shoppers will need to leave their cars somewhere, so the shopping com-
plex is always adjoined by a several-acre parking lot — which in itself is a key component of access-
ibility. Altogether, a substantial amount of land is required. That argues for a location on the urban
fringe, where land in quantity is most likely to be available. In addition, in most American cities the
people who have the most disposable income are more likely to live closer to the urban fringe than to
downtown. Thus, an additional “fringe benefit” is proximity (which in this case equals accessibility)
to the very people that mall operators most want to attract. In the case of major suburban malls, the
quintessential location is next to an intersection by a beltway.
