Knowra Development geography Development geography Development geography studies how economic and social development, inequality, and development policies vary across places and shape spatial relationships.
Human development : A view of development centered on people’s capabilities, choices, and well-being rather than income alone. It broadens development geography beyond economic growth to include health, education, and agency.
Core–periphery model : A model in which economic activity and power concentrate in a core while peripheral regions depend on it. It describes how development can reinforce regional dependence and concentrated growth.
Colonialism : A system in which a state controls another territory and its people, often extracting resources and labor. Colonial rule shaped many present-day patterns of land ownership, infrastructure, and unequal exchange.
Foreign aid : The transfer of money, goods, or expertise from governments or organizations to support another country. Aid programs direct resources geographically and raise questions about effectiveness and dependency.
Rural–urban migration : The movement of people from rural areas to urban areas, temporarily or permanently. Uneven opportunities and changing rural livelihoods help drive migration toward cities.
Spatial inequality : Unequal distributions of resources, opportunities, and outcomes across geographic areas. It captures the uneven patterns of advantage and deprivation that the field investigates.
Cumulative causation : A process in which an initial advantage or disadvantage generates feedback that amplifies it over time. It explains how small regional differences can widen through reinforcing economic processes.
Modernization theory : A theory that explains development as a transition from traditional societies toward industrialized, modern ones. Its staged account became a major target of critiques within development geography.
Microfinance : Financial services, especially small loans, designed for people excluded from conventional banking. Its local lending programs are promoted as tools for livelihoods and poverty reduction.
Urbanization : The increasing share of a population living in urban areas and the growth of urban settlements. Development transforms settlement patterns and concentrates services, jobs, and infrastructure.
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