Your name April 6, 2022

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Territorial Morphology Assignment

Your second writing assignment is to do an analysis on the territorial morphology of selected Southeast

Asian states. Boundaries define and delimit states. They also create the mosaic of often interlocking territories that

give individual countries their shape. This shape or territorial morphology can affect a state’s condition, even its

survival. There are 5 dominant state territorial configurations; all but one of these shapes is represented in Southeast

Asia.

1) COMPACT STATES: have territories shaped somewhere between round and rectangular, without major

indentations. This encloses a max amount of territory within a minimum length of boundary (Cambodia).

2) PROTRUDED STATES (EXTENDED): have a

substantial, usually compact territory from which

extends a peninsular corridor that may be landlocked

or coastal (Thailand and Myanmar).

3) ELONGATED STATES (ATTENUATED): have

territorial dimensions in which the length is at least 6

times the average width, creating a state that lies

astride environmental or cultural transitions (Laos

and Vietnam).

4) FRAGMENTED STATES: consist of two or more

territorial units separated by foreign territory or by water. Subtypes are mainland-mainland, mainland-island, and

island-island (Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines).

The shape of the state affects the locations of cities, the spatial extent and reach of the hinterlands as well as

modes of transportation and networks. Other implications of the shape include political control, economic activities

and distribution of resources. For this assignment we will focus on the locations of cities and transportation

networks. Select a sample state for each shape. Since Southeast Asia only has one compact shape state your choice

for Compact state is limited to Cambodia. You have options for the other three shapes. I have provided a library of

maps for this assignment on Beachboard. Select the suitable maps for each of your countries from this library. Then,

obtain the following information from the 2022 CIA World Factbook for each country:

Your name April 6, 2022

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 Population

 Land area

 Real GDP – per capita

 Number of airports with paved runways

 Number of registered air carriers (RAC)

 Annual passenger traffic on RAC

 Railways – total km

 Roadways (paved) – total km

 Roadways (unpaved) – total km

 Waterways – total km

Calculate the following ratios: 1) population/land area, 2) number of airports/land area, 3) railways

(km)/land area, 4) paved roadways (km)/land area, and 5) waterways (km)/land area. Create a table for the data you

collected from the CIA Factbook and the ratios you calculated. Begin your analysis by evaluating the data on the

table and then ranking each country separately by the following criteria: Real GDP per capita, airport ratio, railways

ratio, paved roadways ratio, and waterways ratio. Based on these rankings, which country appears to be the most

developed? Second most developed? Third most developed? Last place? Now examine the maps. Does the

territorial morphology (shape) of each state appear to have any impact on your rankings?

Write up your findings in a report. Your introduction should detail the assignment and explain the

methodology. Write a separate section for each country. Give a general overview of each country’s economy and

level of development. Next, explain whether you think the development trajectory as measured by GDP and

transportation infrastructure is affected by its territorial shape. Your conclusion should summarize your findings for

the all four countries. Your paper should be at least eight pages in length (4,000 – 4,500 words). Include your

table and maps in your document. Do not cite outside material for your paper. Use only data from 2022 CIA World

Factbook and the textbook.

Please format your paper in the following manner:

 Cover sheet, folder or binder – NO

 Ink color – black

 Margins – 1” all sides

 Font – Times New Roman

 Font size – 10 point

 Line spacing – double

 Paragraph indent – .5 inches

 Running header left – your name

 Running header right – date

 Page numbers – centered at bottom

 Word count – enter at the end of your

document (Word Count = xxxx)

Begin your paper at the top of the first page. This paper is due on May 6 and is worth 80 points. Please

submit a copy in Microsoft Word (.docx format) in the Dropbox on Beachboard by 11:59 P.M. that evening.

TERRITORIAL

MORPHOLOGY

ASSIGNMENT
Southeast Asia

Spring 2022

STATE TERRITORIAL

MORPHOLOGY

 Shapes of States
 Compact – Cambodia

 Protruded – Burma, Thailand

 Elongated – Laos, Vietnam

 Fragmented – Malaysia, Indonesia,
Philippines

 The impact of shape?
 Urban centers

 Transportation networks

 Economic activities

 Distribution of resources

 Political control

SHAPES OF STATES

Cambodia

 A state that has a circular,

oval, or rectangular

territory where the

distance from the center to

any point on the boundary

is the same

 Encloses the maximum

amount of territory in the

minimum length of

boundary

COMPACT STATE

CAMBODIA TRANSPORTATION MAP

POPULATION OF CAMBODIA

Population: 16,449,519 (2018)

Urbanization rate: 23.4%

Urban population: 3,849,187

Rural population: 12,600,332

Major city: Phnom Penh

Population: 1,952,000

Thailand
 A type of territorial shape

that exhibits a narrow,
elongated land extension
leading away from the main
body of the territory

 Protrusions often suffer
from isolation from
investment and political
power

 Thailand and Myanmar are
excellent examples

PROTRUDED STATE

Vietnam
 A state whose territory is

decidedly long and narrow; its
length is at least six times
greater than its average width

 Elongated states often have
regional concentrations of
population and economic
activity and investment

 Vietnam and Laos are both
elongated states

ELONGATED STATE

VIETNAM

TRANSPORTATION

MAP

 A state whose territory
consists of several
separated parts, not a
contiguous whole

 The individual parts
may be isolated from
each other by the land
area of other states or
by international waters

 Capital of Malaysia:
Kuala Lumpur

 Philippines and
Indonesia are also
examples

FRAGMENTED STATE

2022 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK DATA

 Population

 Land area

 GDP – per capita (PPP)

 Number of airports with paved runways

 Number of registered air carriers (RAC)

 Annual passenger traffic on RAC

 Railways – total km

 Roadways (paved) – total km

 Roadways (unpaved) – total km

 Waterways – total km

CALCULATED RATIOS

 Population/land area: also known as Raw Population
Density

 Number of airports/land area: also known as Airport
Density – an important consideration is the
technological sophistication and runway capacity

 Railways (km)/land area: also known as Railway
Route Density – importation distinctions are the
number of tracks available on each line

 Paved roadways (km)/land area: also known as Road
Density – may be misleading if the lane density is not
considered

 Waterways (km)/land area: also known as Shipping
Potential – an important consideration is the channel
depth for commercial vessels

WHAT SHOULD YOU WRITE ABOUT?

 The primary objective of this assignment is to evaluate if

the physical shape of a state influences development and

political control

 If parts of a country are undeveloped as measured by

transportation infrastructure it may be due to distance

from the political capital (where spending decisions are

made) and core area (where most of the population and

businesses are located)

 Lack of development in one part of a country may be due to

other factors such as deserts or mountainous terrain which

is not covered in the scope of this assignment

 For the country sections of this assignment describe the

development conditions of each state and the spatial

locations of the population and infrastructure