Unit 8 - Human populations and urban systems

What is Crude Birth Rate (CBR)?

The number of live births per 1,000 people in a population per year.

What is Immigration Rate?

The number of people entering a country to live per 1,000 population per year.

What is Crude Death Rate (CDR)?

The number of deaths per 1,000 people in a population per year.

What is Emigration Rate?

The number of people leaving a country to live elsewhere per 1,000 population per year.

What is Natural Increase Rate (NIR)?

The rate at which a population grows (CBR minus CDR), excluding migration.

What is Doubling Time (DT)?

The number of years it takes for a population to double at the current growth rate.

What is Total Fertility Rate (TFR)?

The average number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime.

What is Life Expectancy (LE)?

The average number of years a person is expected to live from birth.

What are Anti-natalist Population Policies?

Government policies to reduce birth rates and slow population growth.

Example: China’s One-Child Policy.

What are Pronatalist Population Policies?

Government policies to encourage more births and increase population.

Example: France’s family benefits and parental leave incentives

What is Urban Heat Island (UHI)?

An urban area much warmer than surrounding rural areas due to human activities like buildings and traffic.

What is Urbanization?

The growth in the number of people living in cities, caused by migration from rural areas and population increase.

What is Suburbanization?

Movement of people from city centers to outskirts (suburbs) for more space and better living conditions.

What is Urban Planning?

Designing and organizing cities’ layout, land use, transport, housing, and public services.

What is Urban Ecology?

Study and design of cities to support ecosystems and biodiversity, e.g., parks, canals, wildlife habitats.

What is Urban Farming?

Growing food within cities to improve local supply and reduce transport emissions, e.g., beekeeping, city farms.

What is Biophilic Design?

Designing buildings/spaces to connect people with nature using green walls, natural light, and plants.

What is Resilience Planning?

Urban strategies to help cities adapt to climate risks and disasters, like vertical farming or flood-resistant buildings.

What is Regenerative Architecture?

Building designs that restore the environment, e.g., air-purifying facades, rainwater harvesting, solar panels.

What is a Sponge City?

A city designed to absorb and reuse rainwater to reduce flooding using permeable surfaces, green roofs, wetlands, and rain gardens.

What are Primary Pollutants?

Pollutants released directly into the air from sources.

Examples: Carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxides (NOₓ), particulate matter (PM).

What are Secondary Pollutants?

Pollutants formed in the air by chemical reactions between primary pollutants and other substances.

Example: Ground-level ozone (O₃), smog, acid rain.

What is Particulate Matter (PM)?

Tiny solid or liquid particles in the air that can enter lungs and cause health problems.

What is a High Pressure Weather System?

An area where air sinks, causing clear skies and stable, dry, calm weather.

Air moves clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (anticyclone).

What is a Low Pressure Weather System?

An area where air rises, cools, and forms clouds, leading to rain or storms.

Air moves counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (cyclone)

What is Tropospheric Ozone?

Ozone (O₃) located in the lowest atmosphere layer near Earth’s surface.

What is Photochemical Smog?

Air pollution formed when sunlight reacts with vehicle and industrial emissions (nitrogen oxides and VOCs).

What is Acid Deposition?

Acidic substances from the atmosphere falling to Earth’s surface.

What is Acid Rain?

Rain with low pH (acidic) caused by dissolved sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) pollution.

What is Managed Retreat?

A planned process of letting coastal or flood-prone areas flood or erode naturally by relocating people, buildings, and infrastructure away.

What is Dependency Ratio?

The ratio of dependents (ages 0–14 and 65+) to working-age people (15–64), shown per 100 workers.

What is a Temperature Inversion?

A weather condition where a warm air layer traps cooler air close to the ground, often causing pollution buildup.