FACTORS

AFFECTING
DEVELOPMENT
 INTRODUCTION

Development is about growth and improvement with links to economic,

social and environmental aspects
We know that development does not occur at the same rate around the world
and it does not occur equally within a country or settlement
 Factors affecting development
 Development models
 Examples of development programmes within rural and urban communities
TABLE OF 2.
CONTENTS 1.

8.
3.
Factors
Affecting
Development
7.

4.

6. 5.
 1. ACCESS TO RESOURCES

• Development requires resources e.g., water, soil, coal, minerals, land,

people (labour)
• Development is affected if these resources are absent or must be outsourced
• If resources run out, certain development projects can be put at risk
• Even community-based development projects need resources and without
access to them development will fail
 2. ENERGY

• Development requires sources of energy e.g., electricity, machinery, animals,

fuel
• But sometimes energy can run out, become too expensive or not be available
at all which means development is affected
• An example of this is goldmining needing to be shut down after blackouts in
SA. Millions of rands were wasted because of this
 3. HISTORY

• Every country has a history which affects its present and future
• History gives us the opportunity to learn from past successes and failures
• Many development projects today could be influenced by events in the past
e.g., the development of technology for wars – digital photography was
developed drastically for spying via satellites
• FUN FACT – Duct tape was also a military invention used for sealing bullet
cases
 Trade imbalances occur when a country imports more goods than it
exports
 A positive trade balance is when a country exports more than it
imports which is beneficial for development because income is earned
 Negative trade balance happens when a country imports more than it
exports and even more so when a country exports raw materials and
imports manufactured goods. This will cost more and stunt
development – relying on other countries for important goods

4. TRADE IMBALANCES
 Developing countries usually have a faster growing population and a lot of young
people
 Growing populations lead to a growth in demand for goods and services. This
grows the market due to people buying and consuming more and creating a
larger labour force
 BUT this also causes strain on the environment and resources
 On the other hand, MEDCs have slower population growth rates (even declining
population rates) but this also affects development – Less demand for good and
services and less labour force
 BUT less strain on the environment and resources

5. POPULATION GROWTH
6. EDUCATION AND TRAINING

• The development of technology is a

relatively modern achievement
• People need to be educated on how to
use technology (e.g., computers,
machinery) as it develops to become
more and more complicated
• Therefore, there is a need for education
and training in order to further
development which is why schools and
universities are so important for
development
 Natural resources are essential for
development e.g., coal, gold, fish,
crops
 Countries with access to many
natural resources will develop at a
quicker rate
 Development boosted in South
Africa after the discovery of
diamonds and gold during the 1800s
• Saudi Arabia’s development is based on their
oil production
• Countries that do not have access to as many
natural resources have to base their
7. NATURAL RESOURCE
development on other sources such as imports
LIMITATIONS e.g., Singapore – very little land and natural
resources
 8. ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
 Oftentimes, development has an impact on the environment (but not
always)
 E.g., pollution of air and water sources from factories, deforestation for
agriculture, flooding of farmland from the development of dams and
degradation of the land due to mining
 Developments such as increased urbanisation and industrialisation impact
the environment quite negatively
 Due to the impact on the environment, most countries need an
Environmental Impact Assessment before development projects are able to
proceed
 What about green cities?
https://www.dezeen.com/2022/07/28/video-170-kilometre-skyscraper-the-l