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Industrialization
Sparks Change
How does industrialization affect cities?
A HUMAN PERSPECTIVE Some of the largest employers in Southeast
Asia are makers of athletic shoes. They provide much-needed jobs for
Southeast Asians, but many observers have accused the companies of
abusing workers. For example, in 1995, Lap Nguyen began working at
a shoe factory in Vietnam. In February 1996, she was promoted to team
leader. A month later, she claimed that a manager who was upset about
production hit her. Nguyen told a U.S. reporter about the incident.
In 1998, Nguyen talked to the press again, this time about low wages.
Her managers were upset about the interview, and she eventually lost
her job. The company said that she was a bad worker, but labor groups
believe Nguyen lost her job for talking to reporters. As her story shows,
growing industries create jobs but sometimes under harsh conditions.
Moving to Find Jobs
For many people struggling to escape poverty, any job—even one with
long hours, low pay, and abusive managers—is better than none. For
example, Deth Chrib of Cambodia works in a garment factory 16 hours
a day, 7 days a week. She is glad she can support her family without
resorting to illegal activities. Although her day is long, Deth Chrib says
the job is “pretty easy, compared to working on a farm.” Across
Southeast Asia, people are moving from farms to cities to find work.
Because of this, industrialization, or the growth of industry, and the
growth of cities are closely linked. It is impossible to study industrialization without studying urban growth. People move to cities because
of push-pull factors. Push factors are forces that push people out of
their homelands, while pull factors pull them to a new place.
PUSH FACTORS Many forces drive
rural people off their land. Push
factors in Southeast Asia include
the following:
• Lost Resources Rural areas are
suffering soil erosion, deforestation, and water overuse. For
example, Thailand has a water
shortage in farming areas
because of overpumping. Scarce
resources make it hard to earn a
living.
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Main Ideas
• The growth of industry in
Southeast Asia has produced
positive results such as new
jobs and higher wages.
• The growth of industry also
produced negative results
such as overcrowded cities
and pollution.
Places & Terms
industrialization
push-pull factors
The Voyageur Experience
in World Geography
Singapore: Industrialization
and Migration
PLACE These Cambodian
women work in a factory
that makes blue jeans for
export to the United States
and Europe.
Why do you suppose this
industry hires so many
women?
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• Scarcity of Land In the Philippines, for example, 3 percent of the
country’s landowners hold 25 percent of the land. Sixty percent of
rural families don’t have enough land to earn a living by farming.
• Population Growth As populations grow, land shortages become
worse. Farmers who do own land often divide it among many heirs.
As a result, the plots become too small to support a family.
PULL FACTORS Equally powerful forces attract people to cities. In
Southeast Asia, pull factors include the following:
• Industry The opportunity to find a factory job is the biggest pull
factor. Many people move to the city temporarily to earn money to
send to relatives in rural areas. In 1993, workers in the Philippines
sent $2.2 billion home, while Thai workers sent $983 million home.
• Other Benefits People move to cities seeking other benefits besides
jobs, such as education and government services. However, the
desire for education is usually related to a desire for jobs.
MOVEMENT Many
rapidly growing
Southeast Asian cities
are overcrowded.
That is one of several
factors creating slums,
such as this one in
Jakarta, Indonesia.
Why would high rates
of migration to cities
cause overcrowding?
IMPACT ON CITIES As is true of cities all over the world, the cities of
As you learned
in Chapter 14,
particulates are
very small particles of liquids
or solids.
Other Results of Industrialization
The growth of industry in Southeast Asia has done more than
create rapidly growing cities. It has also affected the economy and the
environment.
Industrialization Sparks Change 731
SE ASIA & OCEANIA
Background
Southeast Asia are having difficulty dealing with such large numbers of
immigrants. The availability of housing has not kept pace with the
growing city population. As a result, many new arrivals live in slums.
A larger population generates more pollution. Traffic has increased
because greater numbers of workers drive to jobs and greater numbers
of trucks transport goods. This causes more air pollution; high levels of
particulates are the most serious concern. In Bangkok, Thailand, an estimated 5,000 people a year die from breathing polluted air.
Another problem is the disposal of human waste. Most Southeast
Asian cities do not have facilities to treat all their sewage. Untreated
sewage, in turn, contaminates water supplies.
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ECONOMIC EFFECTS Several Southeast Asian countries have had
rapid industrial growth since the 1960s. (See Chapter 31.) One result of
this has been an increase in trade and exports.
As industry has grown, the region has seen higher incomes for some
citizens. In many Southeast Asian countries, the middle class is expanding. But the income gap between rich and poor remains high. This has the
potential to cause social unrest because crime rates often rise in societies
in which a few people have wealth while high numbers of people live in
poverty. You learned about income gaps in Unit 3.
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS Population growth is not the only cause
of increased air and water pollution. Industry can also damage the environment. Factories can pollute the air by burning fossil fuels, and the
water and soil by carelessly disposing of toxic materials.
The nature of industry in Southeast Asia makes it hard to control
such pollution. A single city may contain thousands of factories and
shops. Many of these industries are very small, but together they create
a great deal of waste. For example, 30,000 factories in Jakarta,
Indonesia, discharge pollutants into the waterways.
Industry has also harmed the environment by using up valuable
resources such as water and trees. For instance, textile companies in
Bandung, Indonesia, have built illegal wells that deplete water supplies.
As a result, some neighborhoods in that city have no water.
In the future, Southeast Asia must reduce the negative effects of
industrialization while promoting the positive effects. Cities need to
find ways to provide housing and services for all residents. Southeast
Asian nations must continue to grow economically, so their citizens will
have increased opportunities. The region as a whole must preserve its
environment, or industries may abandon the region once its resources
are gone. In the Case Study that follows, you will read about environmental changes such as global warming and the hole in the ozone layer.
Places & Terms
Identify these terms
and explain their
relationship to recent
events in Southeast
Asia.
• industrialization
• push-pull factors
Taking Notes
MOVEMENT Review the notes
you took for this section.
Causes Effects
Issue 2:
Industrialization
• Why does industrialization often
lead to urbanization?
Main Ideas
a. What are good and bad
aspects of factory work?
b. What are the environmental effects of
industrialization?
c. What are the economic
effects of industrialization?
A. Answer It is
harder to monitor
many small
factories because
it requires so
many more visits
by officials and
because very
small factories
might be able to
operate without
government
knowledge of
their existence.
Making
Comparisons
Would it be
harder to monitor
the pollution
created by a few
large factories
or many small
factories? Why?
Geographic Thinking
Drawing Conclusions If
industries in Southeast Asia
continue to use up the
region’s resources, how
might that affect urban
growth? Think about:
• the push factors that drive
people out of rural areas
• What factors push people out of
rural areas?
RESEARCH LINKS
CL ASSZONE .COM
ASKING GEOGRAPHIC QUESTIONS Study the cartogram of industrial output on page 733.
Write three geographic questions about it, such as “What geographic factors enable Thailand
to have more industrial output than its neighbors?” Choose one of your questions, do research
to find the answer, and write a report about what you learn.
732 CHAPTER 32