Discuss Development Geography in Todays Society

Geographers have always looked at spatial patterns that occur in the world at a variety of scales from local to global. Of particular interest are the enormous variations in the quality of life experienced by people living in different parts of the world. In attempting to understand and explain these differences, countries have often been classified as either ‘developed’ of ‘developing’.

Generally development is defined as a process of change that involves an improvement in the quality of life as perceived by the people undergoing change. It is usually focused on reducing poverty. However the nature of development will vary, depending of the context in which it is occurring.

Historically, the most commonly employed means of comparison used to measure the development of a nation is the use of a quantitive indicator. Quantitive indicators are usually giving a numerical value to something to be counted or quantitive. A variety of quantitive indicators have been used to measure development, with gross national income (GNI) per capita being the most commonly used measure of a country’s state of development. The higher the figure for income the wealthier the country. Other quantitive indicators could be literacy rates, life expectancy and physician density. However there are difficulties in comparing this way, for instances

 Purchasing power of money may vary from country to country, making it harder to compare.

 Also some positive attributes may not be measured. These are known as Qualitative Indicators, which include measures of social harmony and low stress levels.

Although it is important to remember that there is tremendous diversity between and within all countries, there are a variety of issues that more commonly confront developing countries than wealthier developed countries. To some extent, these issues can be regarded as defining characteristics of the world’s poorest countries.

 Poor Health and Low Access to Health Services (Generally low)

 Low...