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Regional Geography: European Peripheral Region: The Mezzogiorno - Coggle…
Regional Geography: European Peripheral Region: The Mezzogiorno
The Mezzogiorno
Home to 22 million people
Nearly 65 per cent of its population live in rural areas
One of the poorer regions of the EU
Population density is low, 40 people per km2
An Objective 1 Region according to the EU
Receives funding under the European Development Fund
Physical processes
Climate
Warm temperate oceanic, Mediterranean climate
Hot, sunny, dry summers, averaging 29°C
Influenced by high pressure belt from the Azores, dry stable weather conditions
Rainfall is low, dry north-east trade winds, high evaporation rates
Winters warm, mild and damp, averaging 11°C
South-west winds bring depressions
Rainfall averages 500–900 mm annually
Rain shadow effect of the Apennine Mountains
Convectional rain in the summer can lead to flash flooding and landslides
Extreme south influenced by the hot Sirocco wind and Sardinia is affected by the cold Mistral wind
Soils
Poor thin upland soils as half the land is mountainous
Richer soils found in the densely populated fertile plain of Campania
Deep layer of alluvial and volcanic soils, e.g. Mount Etna
Most common soil terra rossa, soils prone to erosion
Relief and drainage
85 per cent of the region is upland, Apennines 1,050 km long, Alpine fold mountains
Coastal plain on either side and the Puglia lowlands the most productive areas
Some lowland areas contained swamps and marshes, malaria a problem
Region is tectonically active, earthquakes, e.g. L’Aquila, 2009, killing 308 people, volcanoes and mudslides
Region covered in permeable limestone, Apennines has karst features
Primary economic activities
Removing resources from the earth
Only 1 in 9 people employed in this sector in the Mezzogiorno due to mechanisation
Agriculture
Climate limiting factor, irrigation needed
Tree crops, e.g. olives
Sheep are grazed in upland areas
10 per cent of the workforce is employed in agriculture
Higher dependency on EU grants
Farm incomes 50 per cent lower than EU average
Half those employed in agriculture in Italy work in the Mezzogiorno
Until 1950s land divided in landlord estates called latifundia, only 25 per cent of people owned their own land
Land was subdivided, 70 per cent of land less than 3 hectares, led to overgrazing and overcultivation
Cassa per il Mezzogiorno
Introduced by Italian Government in the 1950s to reform the area
Positive effects
Land reform
New farming techniques
Mechanisation
Irrigation schemes
Co-operatives set up, improvements to infrastructure, Autostrada del Sole
Upgrading of communication links and services
Malarial swamps drained
Agricultural output increased ten fold
Mezzogiorno one of the main producers of citrus fruits and olives for the EU market.
Negative effects
Mainly benefitted the coastal plains
Widened the income gap
Seasonal overproduction of crops, e.g. tomatoes
Irrigation systems expensive
New farming practices are limited in the region
Forestry
Mixed hardwoods, e.g. oak and scrub vegetation
Cleared for farming and settlement, soil exposed to erosion
Secondary economic activities
Raw materials are processed further
24 per cent of people in the Mezzogiorno are employed in this area
Manufacturing activities
Region did not experience the Industrial or Agricultural Revolution due to:
Poor uneducated workforce
Poor local market, upland terrain and peripheral location
Lack of natural resources
Limited range of agricultural products
Cheap mass-produced goods, could not compete
Long distance from EU markets
Little local capital
Brain drain
Before the 1950s 17 per cent of industrial workforce and output in the region
Cassa per il Mezzogiorno
Positive effects
€2.3 billion invested over the next 25 years, Vanoni Plan
Grants, subsidies and tax relief to private companies
Law requiring 40 per cent of all new state-owned companies to locate in the region
New industrial estates, tax exemptions and transport subsidies, fund for training
New international airport at Calabria
Development of Autostrada del Sole
Heavy industries 60 per cent of new investment in the south
Four growth poles, e.g. industrial triangle of Bari-Brindisi-Taranto
Improved ports
Labour-intensive industries became the focus from the 1970s, e.g. fruit canning
Cassa disbanded in 1984, 1989–1993 EU structural funds developed the area
Workforce tripled since the 1960s to 1.4 million people, industry more diversified now, e.g. traditional industries
Negative effects
Very little spin-off employment
Industries highly mechanised, created few jobs
Polluted the environment
2 million jobs lost in agriculture due to mechanisation
Overreliance on state investment
Unemployment rate high at 20 per cent
Spread of industries not even
Infant mortality rate of the region is high, four times that of northern Italy
Housing is substandard
24 per cent school dropout rate after primary education
Influence of the Mafia
Infrastructure lags behind the north
Tertiary economic activities
Provision of services
67 per cent of the population employed in this sector
Developed due to funding from the Cassa and the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund)
Jobs are seasonal, dependent on tourist trade
17 million visitors annually
Tourism
Beautiful coastline, ancient ruins, volcanic landscape, cheaper and less crowded, guaranteed sunshine
Package holiday, in the 1950s growth of tourism in the region
Limited to coastal region due to infrastructure
15 per cent of Cassa allocated to tourism
Communication links improved
New airport and ferry links
Developed 25 areas for tourism in the south with both direct and indirect employment
Tourist industry is seasonal, brings noise and environmental pollution, inflated prices, strained water supply
Mass tourism a problem
2013 Italian government spoke of untapped potential in the south
Transport
Poorly developed
€2.5 million of Cassa funds directed to the south’s infrastructure
2007–2013 a further €10 billion was spent, two main motorways and to upgrade the region’s ports
1995 container port of Gioia Tauro in Calabria developed
Calabria still has a GDP of 75 per cent less of EU average
Transport links were not integrated
Roads not able to take huge trucks needed to transport goods in large volumes
Human processes
Population dynamics
Life expectancy 76 years for men and 82 years for women, healthy lifestyle
Roman Catholicism dominant religion, traditional
Birth rate higher than EU average, 9.4 births per 1,000 per year, in Campania it is as high as 13.2 births per 1,000 per year
Birth rate declining with education and urbanisation
22 million people, unevenly distributed
Low stationary stage, natural increase is low
Major problems: organised crime, political corruption, outward migration, unemployment rate 20 per cent, slow economic growth, low income levels, low literacy rates, high dependency rate, poor healthcare system
Urban development
Largest urban centres Bari, Naples and Taranto
Most small to medium towns on hilltops as easy to defend
Traditional industries based here
Outward migration from these areas continuing
The growth of Naples, an urban centre
Third largest city, population of 3 million people
Major port, many petrochemical industries
Governmental investment to modernise city, new high-rise CBD
Controlled by Camorra
High unemployment and poor housing conditions
19 per cent of rubbish recycled
Close to Mount Vesuvius and Bay of Naples but hard to market to tourists due to the city’s many urban problems
Migration
Invaded many times, Greeks, Romans and Arabs
Mediterranean looking and speak many different dialects
1980s experienced outward migration, 1951–1981 4 million people left
More recent migrants from Eastern Europe, Adriatic Coast and Africa
Many illegal immigrants, up to 50,000 per year
Many were needed as agricultural labourers but numbers now far exceed this
Italian Government have introduced quotas
2015 refugee crisis 70,000 migrants, 90 per cent from Libya, Dublin Regulation failed, increased pressure on the Mezzogiorno