Human Geography Unit 2 Vocabulary

A comprehensive collection of key terms and definitions for Human Geography Unit 2 covering population dynamics, demographic models, and migration patterns.

Dispersed Population

Population spread out widely across a landscape, common in rural agricultural areas.

Population Distribution

The pattern of where people live across a region, continent, or the world.

Climate

The long-term weather patterns and atmospheric conditions of an area.

Temperate Climate

A climate with moderate temperatures, neither extremely hot nor cold, with distinct seasons.

Landforms

Natural physical features of the Earth's surface, such as mountains, valleys, and plains.

Human Migration

The permanent or semi-permanent movement of people from one location to another.

Population Density

The measurement of the number of people living per unit of area.

Arithmetic Density

Total population divided by total land area; shows average population concentration.

Physiological Density

Total population divided by arable land area; measures pressure on farmable land.

Arable Land

Land that is capable of being farmed and used to grow crops.

Agricultural Density

Number of farmers divided by arable land area; measures agricultural efficiency and technology.

Subsistence Agriculture

Farming focused primarily on producing food for direct consumption by the farmer's family.

Carrying Capacity

The maximum population size that an environment can sustainably support.

Dependency Ratio

Ratio of dependents (youth and elderly) to the working-age population.

Sex Ratio

The number of males per 100 females in a given population.

Dependant

An individual outside working age (youth under 15 and elderly over 65) relying on others.

Demographic

Relating to the statistical characteristics and structure of human populations.

Fertility

The actual production of offspring or childbearing within a population.

Crude Birth Rate (CBR)

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

Crude Death Rate (CDR)

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

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

The average number of children a woman is projected to have during her childbearing years.

Mortality

The incidence or rate of death in a population.

Infant Mortality Rate

The number of deaths among infants under one year old per 1,000 live births.

Life Expectancy

The average number of years a newborn is expected to live under current conditions.

Population Pyramid

A bar graph showing a population's age and sex distribution.

Rate of Natural Increase (RNI)

The percentage by which a population grows annually, excluding migration.

Doubling Time

The number of years required for a population to double in size.

Urbanization

The increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas.

Overpopulation

When a population exceeds its environment's carrying capacity.

Malthusian Theory

Theory that population growth outpaces food supply, leading to catastrophe.

Neo-Malthusian

Advocacy for population control to address resource depletion and overpopulation, while also expressing concern about nonrenewable resources.

Demographic Transition Model (DTM)

A model showing how birth and death rates change over time with the development of an area.

Stages of the DTM

Stage 1: High Stationary, Stage 2: Early Expanding, Stage 3: Late Expanding, Stage 4: Low Stationary, Stage 5: Declining.

Epidemiological Transition Model (ETM)

A model tracking shifts in the primary causes of death.

Stages of the ETM

Stage 1: Pestilence and Famine Stage 2: Receding Pandemics Stage 3: Human Created Illness Stage 4: Delayed degenerative disease Stage 5: Re-emerging Diseases.

Antinatalist

Policies or beliefs that discourage couples from having children.

Pronatalist

Policies or beliefs that encourage couples to have more children.

Land Degradation

The decline in land quality and agricultural productivity over time.

Mobility

The general term for all types of movement from one place to another.

Circulation

Short-term, repetitive movement that occurs on a regular, daily, or seasonal basis.

Emigration

The act of migrating out of a particular location or country.

Immigration

The act of migrating into a new location or country.

Net Migration

The difference between the number of immigrants and emigrants in a population.

Gravity Model

A model predicting interaction between places based on population and distance.

Push Factor

A negative condition that drives people away from a location. (Encourages them to migrate.)

Pull Factor

A positive condition that attracts people to a new location. (Encourages them to migrate.)

Voluntary Migration

Migration based on the free choice and personal initiative of the individual, usually for economic or better lifestyle opportunities.

Transnational Migration

A form of population movement in which a person regularly moves between two or more countries, maintaining cultural and economic ties to both.

Chain Migration

The migration of people to a specific location because relatives or members of the same nationality previously migrated there.

Step Migration

Migration to a distant destination that occurs in stages, such as moving from a farm to a village, then to a town, and finally to a city.

Guest Worker

A temporary laborer permitted to work in another country, often under a legal program, to fill labor shortages.

Forced Migration

Permanent movement compelled usually by cultural, political, or environmental factors rather than personal choice.

Refugee

A person forced to migrate to another country and unable to return due to a well-founded fear of persecution.

Internally Displaced Person (IDP)

Someone who has been forced to migrate for political or environmental reasons but has not crossed an international border.

Asylum Seeker

A person who has migrated to another country in the hope of being recognized and protected as a refugee.

Transhumance

Moving between borders due to the movement of livestock.

intervening obstacle

An environmental, cultural, or political feature that hinders migration.

Brain Drain

the loss of highly educated and skilled workers to other countries

Internal Migration

Permanent movement within the same country.

friction of distance and ravenstien

The idea that migrants will choose a location closer rather than farther if all other factors are roughly the same

intervening opportunity

The presence of a closer opportunity that greatly diminishes the attractiveness of farther sites.

Circular Migration (Circulation)

A repetitive migration between two or more places. It can be daily, monthly, yearly, etc.

human trafficking

The illegal movement of people, typically for forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation.

Interregional Migration

Permanent movement from one region of a country to another.

Intraregional Migration

Permanent movement within the same region of a country.

Quotas

Government limits on the number of immigrants who can enter a country annually.

Kinship Links

Family or relative connections that influence people to migrate to a specific location.

Skills Gap

A difference between the skills that employers need and the skills that workers possess.

Remittances

Money sent by immigrants back to family members in their home country.

Relocation Diffusion

The spread of a feature or trend through the bodily movement of people from one place to another.

Population Density and Services

High-density areas have more accessible, concentrated services, while sparsely populated areas have fewer, more distant services.

Population Distribution and Tax Spending

Taxes in dense areas fund public transit and urban infrastructure, whereas sparse areas require funding for more expensive infrastructure

Key Strategy to Decrease Birth Rates

Increasing female education and economic opportunities, as educated women tend to delay marriage and have fewer children.

Demography

The study of population characteristics.

Ecumene

Permanently inhabited areas of the earth's surface or areas that can be inhabited.