Geo 2026: Location of economic activity and Nissan, Sunderland

Physical: natural resources (mines and farms must be near them), climate (coffee in the tropics, ski resorts in cold areas) and cheap, flat land for large factories.
Human and economic: labour supply and cost (skilled or unskilled), infrastructure and transport (roads, ports, airports) and access to markets (shopping centres near customers).
Political: government policies such as tax incentives and grants; stability (firms avoid war zones) and regulations.
Technology: fast internet is essential for quaternary firms and allows home working; automation means some firms can locate almost anywhere.

Primary: follows the resource and moves when it runs out.
Secondary: in the past near raw materials and power, such as coalfields; today near markets, transport links and cheap or skilled labour, often abroad.
Tertiary: near customers, in city centres and now in out-of-town retail parks and online.
Quaternary: near universities and science parks with skilled graduates and good connections.

Nissan, a Japanese car maker, built a factory at Sunderland in north-east England. It was officially opened in 1986 after an agreement with the UK government in 1984.
Why there: a large, flat site (a former airfield) offered cheaply as an incentive; a large skilled workforce after shipyards and coal mines closed; nearby ports on the Tyne and Wear and main roads (A1 and A19) for exports; and government support.
Impacts: thousands of jobs (about 6,000) and a multiplier effect as parts suppliers located nearby. It became one of the UK's largest car plants, making over 500,000 cars in its peak years (2012 and 2017).

The key idea is that each sector needs different things, so each locates in different places.
Primary has no choice: a mine must be where the mineral is, and a coffee farm must be in a tropical climate.
Secondary needs big, cheap, flat land, workers and transport to get goods to markets. In the past factories were near coalfields for power; today they choose good roads, ports and labour.
Tertiary goes where the customers are, such as shopping malls in or near cities.
Quaternary needs skilled graduates and fast internet, so it clusters near universities and science parks.
Example, Nissan in Sunderland: a car factory needs a huge site, so the flat former airfield was ideal. Shipyards and mines had closed, so skilled workers were available. Ports and the A1 and A19 roads helped export cars, and the UK government gave support. Each factor links to what a car factory needs.

Listing factors without linking them to the business: say why the factor matters, for example 'flat land, because a car plant needs a huge single site'.
Saying Nissan is British: Nissan is a Japanese company that chose to build in the UK.
Forgetting that location changes over time: factories once needed coalfields; now they need transport links and labour.
Ignoring impacts in case study answers: add the jobs and the multiplier effect from suppliers moving nearby.
Mixing physical and human factors: land and climate are physical; labour, transport and markets are human.

The best place for an activity does not stay the same. Five things make locations change:
1. Resources run out: a mine or oil field closes and primary activity moves to new deposits.
2. Transport and power improve: old factories had to be on coalfields for power; with electricity, roads and ports, factories moved to cheap, flat sites near transport links and markets.
3. Globalisation: firms move production to countries with cheaper labour, so factories in HICs such as the UK close.
4. Technology: fast internet lets quaternary firms and home workers locate almost anywhere; online shopping moves some retail from high streets to warehouses and delivery hubs.
5. Government and regulation: tax incentives and grants attract firms, while your notes say companies avoid unstable areas and places with strict environmental laws, because meeting the rules raises their costs.