Development Models (Grade 11 NSC Matric Geography): Revision Notes
Development Models
What are development models?
Development models serve as simplified representations of reality that help geographers understand common patterns in how countries and regions develop over time. These models act as tools to predict future changes and explain why development occurs differently in various places around the world.
A model is defined as "a simplified version of reality – it is an example that shows a common pattern." Models help us understand complex real-world processes by breaking them down into manageable components.
Geographers have created different types of development models throughout history. The earliest models focused primarily on economic changes over time, while later models examined where development actually takes place geographically. The most recent approaches emphasize sustainability and environmental considerations in the development process.
Free-market models (economy based)
Rostow's model of development
Walt Rostow created one of the most influential development models in the 1950s, basing his work mainly on the economic experiences of European countries. His model suggests that all economies progress through five distinct stages during their development journey, with each stage building upon the previous one.
Rostow's Five Stages of Economic Development
Stage 1: Traditional society
In this initial stage, countries rely heavily on subsistence agriculture where people grow just enough food to survive. The economy operates with very basic technology and limited external trade. Most economic activity involves bartering goods rather than using money, and there is little surplus production beyond what families need for survival.
Stage 2: Preconditions for take-off
During this stage, countries begin preparing for major economic changes. Technology starts improving, infrastructure like roads and railways develops, and agriculture becomes more specialized. This leads to the emergence of commercial farming where crops are grown specifically for sale rather than just family consumption. External trade begins to increase, though it remains limited and focused mainly on agricultural products.
Stage 3: Take-off
The take-off stage represents a crucial turning point where industrialization accelerates rapidly. Manufacturing begins to dominate the economy as factories are built and production increases significantly. Infrastructure continues expanding to support growing industrial activity and trade networks. A major shift occurs as workers move from agricultural jobs to manufacturing employment, and urbanization accelerates as people migrate to cities for factory work.
Stage 4: Drive to maturity
In this stage, the economy becomes increasingly diversified with many different types of industries operating successfully. A skilled and specialized workforce emerges to meet the demands of complex manufacturing processes. The country becomes less dependent on importing manufactured goods from other nations and instead begins producing its own industrial products. Technology continues advancing, and investment in new industries creates self-sustaining economic growth across all regions of the country.
Stage 5: The age of high mass consumption
The final stage focuses on producing consumer goods for the domestic market rather than just basic necessities. The service sector, including banking, retail, and entertainment, becomes the dominant part of the economy. People have enough income to purchase luxury items and non-essential goods, creating a consumer-driven society where economic activity revolves around meeting people's wants rather than just their basic needs.
Limitations and criticisms of Rostow's model
While Rostow's model provides a useful framework for understanding development, it faces several significant criticisms that limit its applicability to real-world situations.
Major Limitations of Rostow's Model:
- Western bias: The model assumes that all countries would naturally choose to follow the Western, capitalist approach to development, ignoring the fact that different societies may prefer alternative development paths
- Lacks explanation: It describes what happens during each stage but fails to explain how or why these changes actually occur
- One-way assumption: Rostow's model presents development as a one-way journey with no possibility of countries moving backwards or stalling at particular stages
- Resource assumptions: The model overlooks the reality that not all countries possess sufficient natural resources to export or manufacture products for international markets
- Ignores unique contexts: It fails to account for each country's unique social, cultural, and historical experiences that significantly influence their development trajectory
Core-and-periphery development models
Core-and-periphery models take a different approach by focusing on where economic development occurs spatially rather than when it happens chronologically. These models identify zones of economic development called cores, which are highly developed areas with significant advantages, and peripheries, which are less developed areas situated between or around the cores.
Key Definitions:
- Core: "an area which has an economic advantage due to high levels of capital, infrastructure and employment opportunities"
- Periphery: "an area which lacks capital, infrastructure and employment opportunities"
- Economy: "the system of production and distribution in a society"
The core regions possess several key advantages that make them attractive for economic activity. They have high levels of capital available for investment, well-developed infrastructure including transportation networks and communication systems, and numerous employment opportunities that attract skilled workers. In contrast, peripheral areas lack these advantages and often struggle with limited capital, poor infrastructure, and fewer job prospects.
Global scale core-periphery patterns
Many geographers believe that colonization created the foundation for today's global economic landscape. During the colonial period, European powers established colonies primarily to access cheap raw materials and create markets for their finished products. This system required building transport networks to move raw materials out of colonies rather than developing the colonies themselves.
The colonial relationship created a dependency where colonies provided resources and bought manufactured goods, while the colonizing countries became wealthy and technologically advanced. When colonies eventually gained independence, they lost the technological support and financial assistance that had been provided by their former rulers, leaving them at a significant disadvantage.
Today, this historical pattern continues to influence global development. Former colonies, now called Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs), still lag behind More Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs) because their economies remain based primarily on agriculture and mining. To develop manufacturing industries, LEDCs often must borrow money from MEDCs, creating loan repayments that reduce the funds available for development projects.
South African core-periphery patterns
At the national level, South Africa demonstrates clear core-periphery patterns with four main industrial cores that attract investment, technology, and skilled workers. These cores include the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging area, Durban-Pinetown, Port Elizabeth-Uitenhage, and the Western Cape region. As these cores prosper and expand, the surrounding rural areas become increasingly peripheral as services decline and employment opportunities decrease.
This pattern can be observed at even smaller scales, where cities function as cores for the informal settlements that develop around them. The urban centers provide economic opportunities and services, while the surrounding areas remain dependent and less developed.
Sustainable development models
Sustainable development models represent a newer approach that aims to incorporate both economic and social development while protecting the environment. These models emphasize local community involvement, skill development, and the wise use of natural resources. They focus on creating development that fits within the existing social and organizational structures of the community rather than imposing external solutions.
Centre for Appropriate Rural Technology (CART) case study
CART Case Study: Sustainable Community Development
The Centre for Appropriate Rural Technology provides an excellent example of sustainable development in practice. Located in the rural village of Sicambeni near Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape, CART operates as a life skills center designed to serve the surrounding village of more than 400 families.
Primary Goals: CART's primary goal involves creating complete self-sustainability for the local community by teaching all the necessary skills for independent living. The center provides training in a wide range of practical areas, from food production and waste management to soap making and energy production.
Garden-Based Approach: The heart of CART's work revolves around their gardens, which serve multiple purposes for both skill development and community nutrition. Due to the local climate conditions that include four months of drought each year, the community has adapted by growing one crop annually using a diverse range of plants without artificial pesticides or fertilizers.
Resource Management: The sustainable approach extends to resource management, where most garden products are harvested for immediate consumption while some are allowed to go to seed. This enables CART to maintain a seed bank that allows continuous planting without requiring external seed sources. Unused plant matter gets composted or returned directly to the garden beds, releasing nutrients back into the soil naturally.
Community Impact: Local materials are used to construct garden beds with simple designs that many villagers have successfully copied to build their own vegetable gardens. The gardens provide not only a more varied and nutritious diet for community members but also serve as a source of income through processing and selling surplus produce.
Key Points to Remember:
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Models are simplified tools: Development models help us understand complex real-world patterns, but they cannot capture every aspect of how development actually occurs in different places and times
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Rostow's model shows linear progression: Countries move through five stages from traditional agriculture to high mass consumption, but this Western-focused model has significant limitations in explaining diverse development experiences
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Core-periphery models explain spatial patterns: Development concentrates in advantaged core areas while peripheral regions remain dependent and less developed, creating lasting inequalities at global and local scales
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Historical colonialism shapes current patterns: The colonial legacy continues to influence global development patterns, with former colonies remaining economically dependent on their former rulers
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Sustainable development offers alternatives: Models like CART demonstrate how communities can achieve development through local skills, environmental protection, and resource sustainability rather than following Western industrial patterns