Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Climate
Climate is an obvious location factor for various agricultural and leisure pursuits. Thus, citrus fruits
are produced in extreme southern (warm) parts of the U.S. because the plants are very sensitive to
frost. Wheat, in contrast, is a hardy grass that does not require much moisture. Much of it is grown,
therefore, in low-to-modest precipitation environments of the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Regarding
leisure, ski resorts obviously call for a certain kind of climate as do most modern beach resorts. Other
businesses, however, have climate connections that are a bit more subtle, but no less important. Fol-
lowing are two general examples.
Textile manufacturing
Whenrawcottonorwoolisspunintothread,thereisapropensityforthefibertosnap.Thislikelihood
is particularly high in dry climates and comparatively low in humid climates. Thus, climates charac-
terized by moderate-to-high atmospheric humidity are superb for textile manufacturing. Britain and
the Southeastern U.S. are in this category. And both places are characterized by textile manufactur-
ing.
A matter of amenity
Inthecaseofquaternaryeconomic activities (andmanytertiary ones,too),goodpersonnelarecritical
tobusinesssuccess.If,therefore,acompanycanofferemployees opportunitytoliveandworkinare-
gion that is generally perceived to have an attractive physical environment, then it may enjoy a com-
petitive business advantage over competing firms. Thus, many high tech com- panies have chosen
their locations on the basis of a balmy climate (as much as any other location factor), in the hope of
attracting talented employees.
Looking Toward Location Trends of Tomorrow
Every year more and more people gain Internet access and make purchases online. Indeed, several
well-known “dot.coms” conduct business only in cyberspace as opposed to the real space of a com-
mercialdistrictormall.Becausethesecompaniesaresometimeshailedasapreludeofthingstocome,
and because they have liberated their customers from having to travel to a place of business, some
people have suggested that in the future, location factors will not be as important as they are today.
I beg to differ. Many (perhaps most) kinds of business will continue to operate best in the real-world
environment of face-to-face contact. And, of course, businesses in cyberspace actually exist some-
