shaping places

Variation in economies and places 

classifying economic activity

These are four main sectors of economic sectors of economic activity;

-Primary activities include farming, forestry, fishing, mining and energy production (the common theme is making use of natural resources without adding extra value through processing or manufacturing). 

-Secondary industries are the manufacturing and processing activities that add value to raw materials. Manufacturing can be complex process using extensive supple chains.

-Tertiary services include office work and retailing. Increasingly, many services are delivered online (e.g. Amazon) rather than in real shops and offices.

-Quaternary activities include the research and development of new products, ideas and technologies. In reality there is plenty of overlap between tertairy and quaternary work (many service poviders are also innovators, such as software designers or theatre diectors).

Economic activities can also be classified according to whether it is full-time or part-time work (or zero hours employment) and formal or informal (unofficial or illegal work.

Spatial variations in economic activity 

Economic activity varies greatly from region to region in the UK and at more local level from place to place (different postcodes in an urban area). Difference can be identified using employment and output data (the contribution a place or region makes to the country's total GDP).

-A broad north-south divide exists in the UK; the output of the southeast has historically been…