Regional Science and Regional Development. In ‘’Human Geography – Concepts, Approaches and Trends’’
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Date
2018
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Published by Stamford Lake (Pvt.) Ltd. Sri Lanka.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Regional science provide answers to actual issues of economic life of society – the optimum location of activities in the area , the calculus of costs corresponding to transport from one point to the other, the distance periphery to central areas, migration and other demographic phenomena, specialization, agglomeration economy of scale among other economic decisions (Antonescu,2012). The early period focused on the commercial hubs and administrative centers which were mostly core and urbanizedat the expense of the periphery,largely due to such factors as the availability of resources and natural endowment in the advantaged areas.Studies have shown that because natural resources are not evenly distributed, areas with surplus became favoured regions while those with less or none became disadvantaged.According to the UNDP(2011), these factors can be grouped into two main categories. The "hard factors" refer to those that cannot be changed due to natural endowment brought about by geographical location and or climate.The "soft factors" comprised of the institutional framework put in place by government in terms of policies,investments and programmes. In other words, the uneven distribution of natural endowments,differences in climate and physical conditions and lopsided institutional policies have been found responsible for the uneven economic opportunities available to population residing in different regions.consequently, these lopsided developments have triggered population movement that has in turn led to undue strain on the existing infrastructures, congestion, environmental degradation and sometimes slum development. The need to address the uneven spread of development across different regions gave rise to studies in regional development.
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Keywords
Regional, Development, Human, Uneven Development, Natural endowments, Soft factors, Hard factors, Environmental degradation, Regional Planning, Relief - pole Approach
Citation
Abdulraheem M. O., Raheem W. M., Laro K. O. (2018): Regional Science and Regional Development. In ‘’Human Geography – Concepts, Approaches and Trends’’. Olorunfemi J.F., Tilakasiri S. L. (ed.) 327-346. Published by Stamford Lake (Pvt.) Ltd. Sri Lanka.