Unit 6: Rural & Urban Geography

Agriculture

Growing and harvesting crops and raising animals- also known as livestock for human use (i.e. Farming)

Climate zone

A region with particular weather conditions

• Ex: temperature, wind velocity, precipitation

Tropical climate zone

Warm, usually moist climate zone near the equator

• Often lots of rain & high temps (Ex: Brazil's Climate zone)

Temperate climate zone

Cold winters and usually mild summers; between tropical and polar latitudes (Ex: Chicago's climate zone)

Polar climate zone

Very cold and dry all year, located at the poles

(Ex: Antarctica's climate zone)

Agricultural hearth

An area where people first domesticated certain plants and animals. Certain crops or livestock originated here before diffusing to other parts of the world.

Domestication

The process of selectively breeding wild plants and animals for human use

• Choose to grow/breed the plants/animals that have traits which are useful to humans

Agriculture Revolutions

Different stages of advancements and inventions within farming which made farming easier and more productive. Each stage has different key developments.

First Agricultural Revolution

Back around 10,000 B.C.E., this is when humans learned how to domesticate plants and animals = the start of Agriculture!

• Previously humans primarily used "hunting & gathering" to feed themselves

Second Agricultural Revolution

First developed in England in the 1700s, and then spread around the world into the early 1900s.

• Agriculture tools and equipment were modified, methods of soil preparation, fertilization, crop care, and harvesting improved

• Crops from Latin America come to Europe through colonization

• Better roads & railroads developed to transport food longer distances

• More food, at a higher speed of production than ever before is produced to feed workers in cities!

• The factory workers of the Industrial Revolution are fed!

• The jobs shift from farming to factory work. So people move from rural areas to urban ones!

Third Agricultural Revolution

Starting in the 1960s the goal of this revolution was to feed the world's booming population and increasingly urbanized world.

Part 1: the Green Revolution

• Goal = feed the world to avoid pain & suffering of mass starvation

• Scientists created Hybrid Seeds, more effective chemical fertilizers & pesticides, better irrigation technologies

Part 2: Large Scale Commercial Agriculture & Agribusiness

• Goal = feed more people to make more money

• Used the same science as the Green Revolution

• Developed more efficient machines to reduce labor & save on labor costs

• Created Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) to create bigger, faster growing, and hardier crops

Industrial Revolution

New scientific and technological inventions allow for faster transportation and the building of factories to mass produce products. Starts in Europe in the 1700s before spreading to the rest of the world.

• The economy changes shifts from primarily agriculture (primary sector) to manufacturing (secondary sector)

Columbian Exchange

• Colonialism leads to the diffusion agriculture

• The transfer of plants, animals, humans, diseases, and cultural ideas between the Old World (Europe, Asia, and Africa) and the New World (the Americas) following the voyages of Christopher Columbus in the late 1600s

Fertilizer

A chemical or natural substance added to soil or land to increase its fertility (manure or nitrates)

• Makes the soil more nutritious for the plants!

Pesticides

Chemicals used on plants that do not harm the plants, but kill pests and have negative repercussions on other species who ingest the chemicals.

Hybrid seeds

Seeds produced by artificially cross-pollinating plants. Hybrid seeds are created to help produce better quality plants, such as higher yielding or disease resistant plants. (Ex: Wheat/rice hybrid)

Irrigation

The process of supplying water to areas of land to make them suitable for growing crops.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Any plant, animal, or microbe whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques

Agribusiness

Large corporations that raise crops or livestock OR are involved in another part of the agriculture industry…

• Ex: tractor manufacturing, fertilizer production, seed distribution

• Found in developed countries.

• Trademark the seeds they bioengineer (Ex: Monsanto)

Subsistence Agriculture

Farming in which only enough food to feed one's family is produced

• Most common in developing, or less developed countries

Commercial Agriculture

The process of growing crops or raising animals to sell or trade (to make a profit)

Labor intensive

Production that uses a large amount of labor

(Subsistence Agriculture)

Capital intensive

Production that requires a large amount of capital (wealth) or "start up funds"

(Commercial Agriculture)

Outsourcing

A decision by a corporation to turn over much of the responsibility for production to independent suppliers - often to less developed countries where labor is cheaper

Globalization

The process by which our world has become increasingly connected and interdependent (economically, culturally, AGRICULTURALLY!)

Food waste

Any edible food that is discarded and not eaten

Obesity

Abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health.

Food security

People's ability to access sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.

Food desert

Urban and rural low-income areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious foods.

• These areas lack easy access to a grocery store, so people may resort to eating unhealthy food like fast food or processed foods that can be preserved on a shelf for longer but are less healthy than whole foods

Monoculture

Farming strategy in which large fields are planted with a single crop, year after year

• Leaches the soil of nutrients - can lead to desertification and soil degradation

• Allows specific pests that eat that crop to thrive, so farmers resort to using more pesticides

Desertification

The process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agricultural techniques such as monoculture

Deforestation

The removal of trees faster than forests can replace themselves.

Causes:

• Expansion of subsistence & commercial farms

• Expansion of urban areas - urban sprawl

Overfishing

Capturing fish faster than they can reproduce - can cause certain fish species to go extinct

Climate change

Refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Such shifts can be natural, due to changes in the sun's activity or large volcanic eruptions. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.
Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun's heat and raising temperatures.

• Impacts on society: Drought can harm food production and human health. Flooding can lead to spread of disease, death, and damage ecosystems and infrastructure. Human health issues that result from drought, flooding, and other weather conditions increase the death rate, change food availability, and limit how much a worker can get done, and ultimately the productivity of our economy.

Sustainability

Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Organic farming

An approach to agriculture that emphasizes natural processes and minimizes the use of synthetic inputs like pesticides or genetic modification

Instead…

• Plant a diversity of crops - no monoculture!

• Crop rotation = change up what crops you plant each year

• More labor, smaller farms, higher cost

City

A human settlement of substantial size - greater than a town or village

Components:

• Elected officials = Responsible for providing essential public services (water, electricity, police, education etc.)

• Officials collect taxes to pay for services the city provides

Urban area

Consists of a central city and its surrounding suburbs

Ex: Chicago (central city), Naperville (suburb) - both are part of an "urban area"

• "Chicagoland region"

Suburb

A a smaller community next to a large "central city"

• It is within "commuting distance" of the central city & is largely residential

• EXs: Suburbs of Chicago - Skokie, Oak Park, Orland Park, Lisle, Naperville, Aurora, Geneva, Elgin

Metropolitan area

Includes an urban area with at least 50,000 people

• Includes the county where the central city is located and nearby counties with a high population density

• Ex: the "Chicagoland region" is a metropolitan area w/ 9.5 million people

Rural area

All population and territory outside urban areas

• "Countryside"

Public service

An service that is used collectively, such as a transportation and national defense

• Provided by the government & paid for by tax dollars

• Goal is for government to take care of citizens

Private service

A service that, when consumed by one person, cannot be used by another at the same time

• Usually paid for by individuals

• Goal is for corporations to make a profit

Zoning

A planning tool used by governments - dividing an area into zones or sections reserved for different purposes such as residence and business and manufacturing etc.

Zoning ordinance

A law which determines the kind of building, residences, or businesses that are allowed to be built and used in different parts of a town or city.

Central Business District

An area in side a city that has a cluster of services - often the "downtown"

• Less than 1% of the land area but contains a large percent of the public & private services

• Usually the center of the regions transportation network (roads, trains etc. lead here)

• Services want to be in this location because of its accessibility to consumers

• Cost of property is highest near the CBD

Urbanization

the process of a growing number of people moving from rural areas to cities

• Big wave in England 1st

• Then as other countries experience their own 2nd Agricultural & Industrial Revolutions they experience urbanization too!

Urban sprawl

the unrestricted growth in many urban areas of housing, businesses, and roads over large expanses of land, with little concern for urban planning

• Often an issue in areas that sees a rapid population boom (EXs: Phoenix, AZ & Los Angeles, CA)

• Negative consequences: traffic, pollution, general lack of infrastructure to support the population - might not be a store or restaurant close by, or sidewalks (have to drive to get to anything)

Infrastructure

Fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or area

Ex: transportation and communication systems, power plants, and schools

Mixed-use zoning

A zone where the gov't allows a mixture of housing & service types

Ex: In downtown Naperville you can find houses, apartments, private business (stores) & public businesses (library)

Ex: 5th Avenue Station building has apartments, office space & businesses next to train station

New Urbanism

A movement to create walkable neighborhoods with a diversity of housing and jobs.

• Mixed use zoning & development

  = Services & houses are closer together so most can access them on foot

Redlining

To refuse (a loan, insurance, or services) to someone because they live in an area deemed to be a poor financial risk.

• In the 1930s, the government deemed those areas occupied by minorities or mixed races as poor financial risk.

• They circled these areas on the map in red pen and shared these maps with institutions like banks who used them to deny loans to people from minority or mixed neighborhoods

Blockbusting

A process by which real estate agents convince white property owners to sell them their houses at low prices because of fear that persons of color will soon move into the neighborhood

White Flight

The move of white city-dwellers to the suburbs to escape the influx of minorities.

Racially restrictive covenants

Contractual agreements among property owners that prohibit the purchase, rental, or occupation of their premises by a particular group of people.

Gentrification

The process of repairing and rebuilding homes and businesses in a deteriorating area (such as an urban neighborhood) accompanied by an influx of middle-class or affluent people

• Most often done by double income household w/no children

• Changes the identity of the neighborhood

• Impact for the local community is complex

informal settlements

Settlements built by people who do not hold legal claims to the land their homes are built upon and often do not follow the government's construction rules and regulations.

• Also known as: slums, squatter settlements, shanty towns, favelas (in Brazil)