People, Patterns and Processes Lecture Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering human activity, settlement evolution, agricultural patterns, cultural integration, global population trends, and demographic policies.

Extreme poverty (Global Scale)

A condition affecting $9.2\%$ of the world’s population (almost $720$ million people) who still struggle with survival challenges.

Megacities

Cities with a population of $10$ million or more, with the highest concentrations currently found in India and China.

Mesopotamia

The region where the first cities developed in the $3-4th$ millennium BC within river valleys, stretching across modern-day Iraq, Syria, Turkey, India, China, and Egypt.

Infrastructure

All public and private structures associated with utilities, including water, electricity, telecommunications, transport (rail, road, air, water), schools, and hospitals.

Agriculture

The practice of cultivating crops and raising livestock for subsistence (supporting oneself) or for profit.

Intense subsidence agriculture

Effective and efficient use of small areas for maximum crop yield, requiring high amounts of labour and fertiliser; common in Asia, India, and China.

Pastoralism

Traditional practices of managing domesticated livestock by breeding and herding them in areas too cold or dry for subsidence agriculture, such as savannas or steppes.

Extensive agriculture

A farming system with less reliance on labour per unit of land, often using large-scale machinery over large, flat areas with easier soil management.

Intensive agriculture

A capital-intensive farming enterprise that requires smaller areas of land but produces much higher yields in the short term.

Culture

The way of life of a group of people, including elements such as traditions, customs, languages, belief systems, art, and food.

Cultural integration

A form of cultural exchange where one group adopts or adapts the beliefs and practices of another culture, resulting in a blending of the two.

Cultural diffusion

The dispersal or spread of different cultural elements between countries.

Cultural adoption

The process of accepting or integrating different cultural elements into one’s own culture.

Cultural adaptation

Modifying one culture specifically to incorporate and suit aspects of another culture.

Aviation technology

Developments such as the Boeing $747$ ($1969$) and Boeing $787$ Dreamliner ($2011$) that lowered transport costs and increased international tourism and trade.

TNCs (Transnational Corporations)

Key players in the global economy that operate through global supply chains, often starting as domestic firms before expanding overseas through joint ventures or franchising.

World cities

Defined as 'command-and-control centres' of the global economy that possess economic and cultural authority, acting as innovation hubs rich in human capital.

Dominant world cities

The highest tier in the global hierarchy, consisting of New York, London, Tokyo, and Paris.

Tourism

The temporary movement of people to destinations outside their normal place of work and residence, contributing roughly US $\$11.1$ trillion to global GDP in $2024$.

Population

The total human inhabitants of a specified area, such as a city, country, or continent, at any given time.

Population density

A measurement of the number of people per unit area, calculated as $\frac{\text{Total Population}}{\text{Total area (sq. km)}}$.

Birth rate

The number of births during a period, expressed per $1000$ people in a population per year.

Death rate

The number of deaths during a period, expressed per $1000$ people in a population per year.

Natural rate of increase

The value determined by subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

The average number of children born to a woman of child-bearing age, used to predict future fertility trends.

Population replacement fertility

The TFR level required to maintain a stable population, specifically set at $2.1$.

China's Planned Birth Policy

A policy introduced in $1979$ (phased out in $2015$) to limit population growth by restricting couples to one child, resulting in a TFR drop from over $7.5$ to $1.2$ by $2022$.

Desertification

The loss of land productivity due to climate change, prolonged drought, or human activities that expose topsoil.

Land degradation

Any adverse trend in the condition of the land caused directly or indirectly by human activity, such as agriculture, reducing economic productivity.

Guest Workers

People permitted by governments to enter a country for a specified period to fill jobs that the local population is unwilling or unable to do.

Pro-natalist perspective

A viewpoint supporting policies that encourage more children to increase the workforce, fund pensions, and support economic growth in ageing populations.

Anti-natalist perspective

A viewpoint arguing that high population growth pressures resources and the environment, advocating for smaller families to improve living standards.