AP Human Geo 1.1 to 1.7 Introduction to Maps Two Main Types of Maps Reference: General information about places. Political: Human-created boundaries.
AP Human Geo 1.1 to 1.7
Introduction to Maps
Two Main Types of Maps
Reference: General information about places.
Political: Human-created boundaries.
Physical: Natural features.
Road Maps
Thematic: Spatial aspects of information.
Choropleth: Uses colors/shades to show data distribution; darker color usually means higher statistical value.
Dot: Shows specific location and distribution of data; each dot represents a quantity.
Graduated (Proportional) Symbol: Uses different sized symbols to indicate different amounts.
Isoline: Uses lines to connect points of equal value; close lines mean rapid change.
Cartogram: Sizes of areas are shown according to a specific statistic.
Spatial Patterns: Maps show clustering (grouping) or dispersal (scattering) of a phenomenon.
Elevation: Represented by Choropleth and isoline maps.
Map projections: Showing curved surface on a flat surface, which leads to distortions.
All Maps Lie!
Maps contain distortions because you cannot represent a 3D Earth on a flat surface without distorting reality.
Any useful map is selective in what is included and omitted.
Map Projections
Mercator:
Advantage: Correct shape, used for navigation.
Disadvantage: Size distortion.
Goode’s:
Advantage: Minimizes size and shape distortion.
Disadvantage: Land masses appear large, not for oceanic travel.
Polar:
Advantage: Accurate polar regions, realistic continent size.
Disadvantage: Distortion increases away from poles.
Gall-Peters:
Advantage: Accurate land mass size, depicts developing countries accurately.
Disadvantage: Inaccurate shape.
Geographic Data
Geospatial Technologies:
Geographic Information Systems (GIS): Stores, analyzes, and displays information from digital maps. Each type of information can be stored in a layer.
Satellite Navigation Systems (GPS): Determines and records receiver's exact location using satellites.
Remote Sensing: Uses cameras on aircraft or satellites to collect digital images.
Online Mapping and Visualization: Websites providing maps and databases.
Sources of Spatial Information:
Written Accounts:
Field observation
Media reports
Travel narratives
Policy documents
Personal interviews
Landscape analysis
Photographic Interpretation
Field Observation: Data recorded on location through notes, sketches, measurements, and interviews.
Landscape Analysis: Studying the impact of humans on a landscape.
Photographic Interpretation: Examining aerial or ground-level photos to judge their significance.
The Power of Geographic Data
Geospatial and geographical data are used for decision-making by individuals, businesses, and governments.
Spatial Concepts
Spatial Concepts: Geographers analyze relationships between places.
Absolute and Relative Location
Space
Place
Distance Decay
Time-Space Compression
Pattern
Location:
Absolute Location: Precise spot that never changes (e.g., latitude and longitude).
Lines of Latitude: Run parallel, 0º at the equator, measures distance from equator east to west
Equator is a major line of latitude because it splits the earth into northern and southern hemispheres
Prime Meridian is a major line of longitude because it splits the earth into the eastern and western hemisphere.
Lines of Longitude: Meridians, 0º at Prime Meridian, meet at poles, time zones approx. 15 degrees apart, measures distance from prime meridian north and south.
Relative Location: Description of where something is in relation to other things; can change over time.
Space vs. Place
Space: Location with no cultural meaning.
Place: Specific human and physical characteristics; space evolves into place with cultural traits.
Place:
Site: Characteristics of a location (soil, climate, structures).
Situation: Synonym for relative location; can change over time.
Sense of Place: Emotional ties/feelings people have for a place.
Flows: Movement from one place to another becomes faster and less expensive with technology.
Distance Decay: Interaction decreases as distance increases.
Friction of Distance: Farther apart = less well connected.
Time-Space Compression: Shrinking “time distance” due to improved transportation and communication.
Pattern: Geometric arrangement of things (clustered, random, uniform).
Human Environmental Interaction
Sustainability: Meeting current needs without compromising future generations.
Natural Resources: Materials used for economic gain; overconsumption is a major threat.
Land Use: Reflects society’s use of land; some uses have major environmental impact (recreational, transport, agriculture, residential, commercial).
Human/Environmental Interaction Theories:
Environmental Determinism: Belief that landforms and climate are the most powerful forces shaping human behavior.
Possibilism: Acknowledges limits of natural environment; focuses on the role of human culture.
Scale of Analysis
Scales of Analysis: Hierarchy from smallest to largest (Local, Provincial, National, Regional, Global).
Scale of Data: May differ from scale of mapped area.
Regional Analysis
Regions: Geographers divide space into smaller units.
Three Types of Regions:
Formal Region: United by one or more traits; has a defined border (e.g., Sahara Desert, political boundaries).
Functional Region: Organized around a focal point/node (e.g., pizza delivery area).
Perceptual/Vernacular Region: Defined by informal sense of place; boundaries vary (e.g., “The South”). Defined by people's beliefs, perceptions, and feelings about the region, rather than by official boundaries
Regional Boundaries: Transitional, contested, and often overlap.
Regional Analysis: Occurs at multiple scales (global, national, local).
Subregions share characteristics with larger region but are distinctive in some way.
Carl Sauer: Argued that cultural landscapes should form the basic unit of geographic inquiry.
Eratosthenes - Father of Geography
AP Human Geo 2.1 - 2.12
Population Distribution
Population Distribution: Spread of people across the earth, highlighting clustering and dispersion.
Population Density: Average population per square mile or kilometer, measuring how crowded a place is.
Factors Influencing Population Distribution
Physical Factors: Climate, landforms, bodies of water.
Human Factors: Culture, economics, history, politics.
Physical Factors
Climate: Most people live in mid-latitudes (30° - 60° N and S) due to moderate climates and better soil.
Landforms: Most people live in low altitudes, with better soil and closer to oceans.
Fresh Water: Majority of people live near lakes and rivers, which are necessary to sustain life.
Human Factors
Cultural Factors: Populations concentrate in areas with access to education, healthcare, and entertainment.
Economic Factors: Populations concentrate in areas with ports, good roads, railways, airports, industrialized zones, and developed tourism.
History: Populations concentrate in areas where life could be sustained.
Politics: Populations tend to grow in areas with political stability and opportunity.
Population Density Calculation Methods
Arithmetic Density: Total population / Total land area.
Physiological Density: Total population / Arable land; measures carrying capacity.
Agricultural Density: Number of farmers / Arable land; indicates farming efficiency.
Consequences of Population Distribution and Density
Political, economic, and social power is greater in areas with larger populations and higher densities.
Affects the environment and natural resources; growth and expansion alter landscape; increases resource use.
Carrying Capacity: The number of people a location can sustain without environmental degradation, can be increased or decreased by technologies or disasters.
Elements of Population Composition
Includes language, religion, ethnicity, age, and gender.
Population Pyramids
Used to assess population growth and decline and provides information about economic development as well as past events.
Visual representation of a country’s population structure based on age and gender data.
Males on the left, females on the right, shown in 5-year age groups (cohorts).
Analyzing Population Pyramids
Wide base and narrow top (evergreen tree): indicative of lesser developed countries, high birth rate, high death rate.
Vase shape: indicative of a developed country, low birth rate, low death rate, bulge in the middle represents workers.
Muffin shape (top heavy): indicative of a developed country, very low birth rate, a large number of elderly who need care.
Dependency Ratio
Compares the working (15-64) to the non-working (0-14 and 65+) parts of the population.
Historical Trends in Population Growth
Increased life expectancy, drop in infant mortality, better food production and nutrition, advances in public sanitation, and improvements in healthcare.
Demographic Factors
Fertility: Crude Birth Rate, Total Fertility Rate.
Mortality: Crude Death Rate, Infant Mortality Rate, Child Mortality Rate.
Migration: Immigration, Emigration.
Fertility
Crude Birth Rate (CBR): Number of live births per year per 1000 people, high CBR is in 30s, low CBR is in single digits.
Total Fertility Rate (TFR): Average number of babies a woman is expected to have during childbearing years (15-49), replacement rate is 2.1.
Mortality
Crude Death Rate: Annual number of deaths per 1000 people (all ages), high CDR is in the mid-teens, low CDR is in low single digits.
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): Number of deaths of infants under one year per 1000 live births, reflects the quality of the health system.
Child Mortality Rate (CMR): Number of children who die before age 5 per 1,000 live births, low number indicates access to good healthcare and nutrition.
Migration
Emigration: Act of leaving a location to settle someplace else, high rates in lesser developed countries.
Immigration: Act of migrating to a new location, destinations tend to be more developed.
Explanations of Population Growth and Decline
Rate of Natural Increase (RNI): (CDR-CBR).
Doubling Time: 70/RNI.
Demographic Transition Model
Explains population change over time.
Epidemiological Transition Model
Identifies predictable stages of disease and life expectancy countries experience as they develop.
Stage 1: Pestilence and Famine: parasitic or infectious diseases, accidents, animal attacks, and/or human conflicts cause most deaths; high death rate; low life expectancy.
Stage 2: Receding Pandemics: The number of pandemics declines as a result of improved sanitation, nutrition, and medicine; decreasing death rate; increasing life expectancy.
Stage 3: Degenerative and Human-Created Diseases: Infectious and parasitic diseases continue to decrease, but diseases associated with aging increase; low death rate; increasing life expectancy.
Stage 4: Delayed Degenerative Diseases: Age-related diseases are delayed through medical procedures; death rate reaches its lowest level and life expectancy reaches a peak.
Stage 5: Reemerging of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases: Infectious and parasitic diseases increase as some bacteria and parasites become resistant to antibiotics and vaccines; life expectancy decreases.
Malthusian Theory
Population grows exponentially while the food supply grows arithmetically.
Disease, famine, war, or intervention needed to prevent human suffering.
Neo-Malthusian Theory
Advocates for contraception and family planning to keep population low, protect resources, and prevent famine and war.
Population Policies
Pro-Natalist Policies: Policies promoting the birth of babies, examples include extended paid time off after giving birth and subsidies for childcare.
Anti-Natalist Policies: Policies discouraging women from having children, examples include countries promoting family planning and China’s one/two child policy.
Changing Role of Females
Empowering women through education lowers fertility rates.
Women are more likely to be international migrants and have opportunities as guest workers.
Aging Populations
Characterized by declining birth rate, rising life expectancy, and eventually rising death rate.
Political consequences: Governments developing pro-natalist policies.
Social consequences: Who will care for the aging?
Economic consequences: Non-dependent population must support them and there will be fewer workers leads to economic stagnation.
Causes of Migration
Push and Pull Factors: Push is negative circumstances at the point of origin, pull is a positive circumstance at the point of destination.
Intervening Opportunities: Something that diminishes attractiveness of sites farther away.
Intervening Obstacle: Something limiting human migration.
Ravenstein’s Laws of Migration
Most migrants travel short distances and usually settle in large urban areas.
Each migration flow produces movement in opposite direction.
Most migrants are aged 20 - 45.
International migrants are more likely to be male, and internal migrants are more likely to be female.
Intraregional and Interregional Migration
Interregional migration is the permanent movement of people from one region to another within the same country
Intraregional migration is the permanent movement within the same region of a country
Forced Migration
People relocate due to the threat of violence.
Refugees: People who cross international borders due to well-founded fear they will be harmed if they stay in their country of origin.
Internally Displaced People: Moving to another part of the same country for similar reasons as refugees migrate internationally.
Voluntary Migration
Transnational: Migrant crosses an international border.
Transhumance: Seasonal migration of livestock herders.
Guest Worker: Migrant that comes to a state as a temporary worker.
Step Migration: Migrants move in small steps to an ultimate large city destination.
Chain Migration: Migrant follows the path of a previous migrant.
Rural to Urban: People move from small villages and farming communities to large urban areas.
Effects of Migration
Political Effects: Immigrants often have different political beliefs than native-born Americans.
Economic Effects: Source countries may suffer brain drain, but will receive remittances.
AP Human Geo 3.1 - 3.8
Introduction to Culture
Culture:
Learned behaviors, actions, beliefs, and objects of a group.
Material Culture: Physical artifacts.
Non-Material Culture: Non-physical ideas and belief systems.
Three major types of culture:
Indigenous, Local, and Popular.
Types of Culture
Indigenous Culture: People native to an area.
Local Culture:
Homogenous group with strong beliefs and customs.
Rarely changes.
Tries to remain isolated.
Popular Culture:
Large, diverse, and heterogeneous group.
Heavily influenced by social media, television, and film.
Widespread and constantly changing.
Can lead to placelessness
EX - Pop Music
Spreads by hierarchical diffusion
Folk Culture: The traditions, beliefs, and practices of localized, homogeneous groups, often in rural areas, that are passed down through oral tradition.
EX - Traditional Clothing
Spreads by relocation diffusion
Cultural Traits
Single attribute of a culture; building blocks of culture.
Material (visible) traits: Food, clothing, land use, architecture, sports, and dance.
Non-Material (invisible) traits: Language, religion, family structure, and beliefs/practices.
Culture Region
Area of similar culture with common language, beliefs, behaviors, and artifacts.
Varies in scale from small (street) to large (region).
Attitudes Toward Cultural Difference
Cultural Relativism:
Cultures should not be judged based on another culture.
Beliefs/activities should be understood in their own cultural context.
Ethnocentrism:
Judging other cultures based on the rules of your own culture.
Belief that one's own culture is superior.
Can lead to racism.
Cultural Landscapes
Landscapes shaped by human involvement; visible reflection of culture.
Narratives of culture and expressions of regional identity.
Examples include:
National Parks - preserve unique environments
Bilingual Signs - reflect heritage retention
Gender-Segregated Schools - reflect attitudes toward gender roles
Skyscrapers - reflect economic power.
Characteristics:
Agricultural & industrial practices.
Religious & linguistic elements.
Evidence of sequent occupance.
Traditional & postmodern architecture.
Land-use patterns.
Characteristics of Cultural Landscapes
Agricultural Landscape: Use of traditional/modern techniques; influence of natural features.
Industrial Landscape: Large industrial presence indicates lack of transition to post-industrial economy.
Religious Characteristics: Houses of worship, cemeteries, food taboos.
Linguistic Characteristics: Visible signage
Cultural Landscapes and Cultural Beliefs
Sequent Occupance: Successive societies leave cultural imprints, contributing to the cumulative cultural landscape; shows the history of a location.
Traditional (Vernacular) Architecture: Use of local materials and knowledge; simple and practical.
Postmodern Architecture: Reaction against formality and lack of variety; started in the 1960s.
Cultural Attitudes: Impact on the cultural landscape (e.g., ghettos, ethnic neighborhoods).
Gendered Spaces: Areas considered appropriate for specific genders.
Cultural Patterns
Language: Mutually intelligible sounds and symbols used for communication; reflects and shapes culture.
Standard Language: Published, widely used, and taught.
Regional Patterns of Language: Contribute to sense of place and placemaking.
Regional Patterns of Language - Dialects
Variations of a standard language along regional or ethnic lines.
Spelling, vocabulary, syntax, pronunciation, cadence, and pace of speech.
Isogloss: Boundary between variations in word usage or pronunciations.
Regional Patterns of Religion
Christianity:
Three main branches: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox.
Shapes global cultural landscape and contributes to sense of place.
Christians bury the dead in cemeteries.
Roman Catholic churches tend to be ornate; Protestant churches are more modest; Eastern Orthodox churches have domes with a cross.
Islam:
Houses of worship are called mosques, generally have a dome and minarets.
Muslims bury the dead in cemeteries.
Judaism:
Houses of worship are called synagogues; look for the Star of David.
Jews bury the dead in cemeteries.
Buddhism:
Houses of worship are called temples; symbolize five elements.
Buddhists traditionally cremate the dead but may bury them in cemeteries.
Hinduism:
Communal houses of worship are called Mandirs.
Hindus cremate the dead.
Sikhism:
Houses of worship are called Gurdwaras.
Sikhs are generally cremated.
Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces
Centripetal Forces: Promote national unity and solidarity (e.g., common religion, language, ethnicity).
Centrifugal Forces: Divide a state from within.
Religion as Centripetal and Centrifugal Force
Religion as a Centripetal Force: Unites people sharing the same religion.
Religion as a Centrifugal Force: Divides people (e.g., religious hostilities, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia).
Ethnicity as a Centripetal and a Centrifugal Force
Ethnicity as a Centripetal Force: Uniting force when people share the same ethnicity.
Ethnicity as a Centrifugal Force: Ethnic conflict in heterogeneous populations.
Hanification in China: Diluting the power of minority ethnic groups by moving Han Chinese into minority ethnic areas.
Cultural Diffusion
The spread of cultural beliefs and social activities from one group of people to another.
Two main types: Relocation and Expansion.
Relocation Diffusion
Movement of people who bring an idea with them to a new place.
Example: Christianity brought to Africa by missionaries and colonists.
Expansion Diffusion
Idea or innovation spreads outward from the hearth (origin).
Contagious: Rapid, widespread diffusion of characteristics by direct contact; affects all areas uniformly.
Hierarchical/Reverse Hierarchical: Spreads to interconnected people or places first; may skip some people and places. Reverse Hierarchical - The idea spreads from rural to urban areas.
Stimulus: People adopt an underlying idea or process but modify the idea.
Example - McDonalds restaurants in India don’t sell hamburgers due to religious taboos.
Slowing/Preventing Diffusion
Time-distance decay: The farther away and the longer it takes for an idea to reach an area, the less likely it will be adopted.
Cultural barriers (taboos).
Cultural lag: When a social group is economically or psychologically unresponsive to change.
Historical Causes of Diffusion
Interactions between cultural traits lead to new forms of cultural expression.
Pidgin: Simplified grammar and vocabulary for specific functions like trade; not a native language.
Creolization: Language resulting from mixing a colonizer's language with the indigenous language.
Creole: Pidgin language that evolves to become more complex and primary language.
Lingua Franca: Language spoken between speakers of two different languages for commerce or trade. EX - English
Shaping the Patterns and Practices of Culture
Colonialism and Imperialism: One nation assumes control over another; policy extending a country's power and influence through force.
Trade: Ideas and goods move across space.
Contemporary Causes of Diffusion
Urbanization and Globalization: Both cause cultural change.
Globalization: Intensified interaction among people, governments, and companies of different countries.
Urbanization: Product of rural to urban migration.
What influences cultural change today?
Media.
Technological Change.
Politics.
Economics.
Social Relationships.
Communication Technologies and Cultural Change
Time-Space Convergence: Caused by technological changes in transportation and communication (the internet); accelerates interactions and cultural change, absolute distance between places shrink.
Cultural Convergence: Two cultures become more alike as their interactions increase.
Cultural Divergence: When a culture separates or isolates itself.
Diffusion of Religion and Language
Language Divisions:
Language family.
Language branch.
Language group.
Language.
Dialect.
Accent.
Religious Branch, Denomination, and Sect
Religious Branch: Large and fundamental division within a religion.
Religious Denomination: A division of a religious branch that unites a number of local congregations in a single legal and administrative body.
Religious Sect: Relativity small religious group that has broken away from an established denomination
Language Families, Branches, and Groups
Language Families: Related languages derived from an earlier common language.
Language Branch: Languages derived from a common family, but split into individual languages.
Language Group: Several languages sharing a recent common origin.
Origin of Indo-European Languages
Germanic, Romance, Balto-Slavic, and Indo-Iranian languages stemmed from Proto-Indo-European.
Nomadic Warrior Theory: Kurgans (nomadic pastoralists and warriors) spread the Proto-Indo-European language through migration.
Sedentary Farmer Theory: Proto-Indo-European speakers in Eastern Turkey spread language and agricultural practices.
Diffusion of Indo-European Languages
Most spoken language family.
3. 5 BILLION people speak an Indo-European language.
Four Main Branches: Germanic, Romance, Indo-Iranian, Balto-Slavic.
Origin of English
Evolved from language spoken by Germanic tribes.
Viking invasion from Norway.
Norman (French) invasion.
Diffusion of English
British colonialism.
English is the official language in many former British colonies.
Diffusion of Language - Toponyms
Toponyms: Place names.
Migration.
Changes in power and influence.
Colonial renaming of local places.
Post-colonial independence.
Indigenous People.
Religion.
Two Main Types of Religion
Universalizing Religions:
Faiths that claim applicability to all humans.
Open to anyone willing to commit.
Individual Founder.
Relatively recent origin.
Holidays based on events in founder’s life.
Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and Buddhism.
Ethnic Religions:
Strong territorial and cultural group identification.
Do not proselytize.
Adherents tend to be spatially concentrated.
No known founder.
Holidays based on local climate and agricultural practice.
Shinto, Hinduism, Taoism, and Judaism.
Diffusion of Universalizing Religions
Christianity:
Hearth: Middle East.
Missionaries diffused the religion worldwide (Relocation and Expansion Diffusion)
Islam:
Hearth: Middle East.
Relocation and Expansion Diffusion.
Buddhism:
Hearth is in South Asia.
Relocation and Expansion Diffusion.
Sikhism:
Hearth: Punjab in Northern India.
Relocation and Expansion Diffusion.
Diffusion of Ethnic Religions
Judaism:
Hearth: Middle East.
Relocation Diffusion due to persecution.
Jews clustered in the USA and Israel today.
Hinduism:
Hearth: South Asia.
Hindus are clustered in India.
Effects of the Diffusion of Culture
Diffusion causes changes to the cultural landscape.
Acculturation: Adopting practices of a larger group while maintaining elements of own culture.
Assimilation: Total loss of culture due to contact with a more dominant culture.
Syncretism: Mixing of religion and cultures to create unique rituals, artwork, and beliefs.
Multiculturalism: Coexistence of several cultures in one society.
Race vs Ethnicity vs Nationality
Race is a division of people based on physical characteristics.
Ethnicity is a categorization based on language or common ancestry.
Nationality refers to citizenship in a particular nation.
AP Human Geo 4.1 - 4.10
Political Geography: Key Concepts
Types of Political Entities
State: Political unit with permanent population, sovereign territory, recognition, effective government, and economy.
Nation: Group sharing culture, loyalty, homeland, and desire for self-determination.
Nation-State: Country with a culturally homogeneous population (e.g., Japan, Iceland).
Stateless Nation: Nation without sovereignty over its land (e.g., Palestinians, Kurds).
Multinational State: State containing multiple nations, potentially leading to separatism.
Multistate Nation: Nation living in multiple states (e.g., Koreans, Germans).
Autonomous Region: Area with high self-government degree (e.g., Greenland, Native American Reservations).
Semiautonomous Region: Area with some self-governance but not complete power (e.g., Hong Kong, Wales).
City-State: First states to evolve in Mesopotamia and ancient world-sovereign state that comprises a town and the surrounding countryside.
Balkanization: Political process by which a state may break up into smaller countries
Empire: Extensive group of states, EX: Roman
Colony: Territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state, rather than being completely independent.
Types of States
Compact State: A state where the distance from the center to any edge is about the same
Prorupted State: A mostly compact state with a long extension (or arm) sticking out
Elongated State: A long and narrow state, much longer in one direction than the other
Fragmented State: A state made up of several pieces that are not connected, often separated by water or another country
Perforated State: A state that completely surrounds another country
Landlocked State: A state that has no coastline or access to the ocean
Political Processes
Sovereignty: Full governing power without external interference.
Self-Determination: Right to choose sovereignty without interference.
Colonialism: Nation assuming control over another.
Imperialism: Policy of extending power through force, driving colonialism.
Independence Movements: Efforts to gain political independence.
Devolution: Transfer of power from central to subnational government levels, driven by various factors.
Neo-colonialism: Practice of using capitalism, globalization, and cultural imperialism to influence LCDs instead of previous direct colonial methods.
Political Power and Territoriality
Political Power: Control over people, land, resources.
Authoritarian: Strong central power, no accountability, few freedoms (e.g., dictatorships).
Republic: Power resides in voting citizens, exercised by elected representatives (e.g., US, Germany).
Colonialism: Historical expansion for religious, economic, and political influence.
Neocolonialism: Indirect control over developing countries via economic/political pressure.
Shatterbelts: Unstable regions between differing areas (e.g. Balkans, Caucasus).
Choke Points: Strategic, narrow passages, control is critical (e.g., Strait of Malacca, Strait of Hormuz).
Territoriality: Connection of people/culture/economy to land, desire for ownership and defense of space.
Defining Political Boundaries
Boundaries reflect negotiated or imposed power balances.
Definition: Described in a legal document.
Delimitation: Line drawn on map.
Demarcation: Altering the landscape.
Administration: How the boundary is maintained.
Natural Boundaries: Follow natural landscape (e.g., rivers, mountains).
Geometric Boundaries: Straight lines without regard to physical/cultural features.
Relic Boundaries: No longer function but leave cultural imprint (e.g., former East/West Germany).
Superimposed Boundaries: Imposed by outside powers, ignoring cultural patterns (e.g., Partition of India).
Subsequent Boundaries: Accommodate existing cultural differences.
Antecedent Boundaries: Existed before cultural landscape emerged. Boundary given to a region before it has a population so it does not have much significance until it is populated. EX - US and Canada.
Consequent Boundaries: Drawn to accommodate cultural differences (cultural boundaries).
Militarized Boundaries: Heavily guarded.
Open Boundaries: Unimpeded crossing (e.g., Schengen Zone).
Frontier Boundaries: A zone where no state has complete political control, often characterized by shifting borders and a mix of cultures.
Function of Political Boundaries
International boundaries define sovereignty limits, can cause disputes.
UNCLOS: Establishes states' rights/responsibilities concerning seas.
Territorial Sea: 12 NM, sovereignty.
Contiguous Zone: Additional 12 NM, enforce laws.
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): 200 NM, control economic resources.
High Seas: Beyond EEZ, open to all states.
Internal Boundaries
Apportionment: Distribution of House seats based on state population.
Reapportionment: Adjusting seat numbers every 10 years after census.
Redistricting: Redrawing district boundaries for equal population.
Gerrymandering: Manipulating district boundaries for political advantage.
Forms of Governance
Unitary States: Centralized power, uniform policies (e.g., China, France).
Federal States: Shared power between central and local governments (e.g., US, Germany, Canada).
Devolutionary Factors
Devolution: Transfer of power from central government.
Factors: Physical geography, ethnic separatism, ethnic cleansing, terrorism, economic/social problems, irredentism.
Irredentism: A political movement that seeks to reclaim or claim territory that is considered a lost or unredeemed part of a nation's past.
Challenges to Sovereignty
Devolution can challenge state sovereignty when:
States grant autonomy.
Subnational units are created.
States disintegrate.
Supranational Organizations: Organizations of three or more states for mutual benefit, limiting state sovereignty (e.g., UN, NATO, EU).
Centrifugal and Centripetal Forces
Centripetal Forces: Promote state unity (e.g., education, legal system, infrastructure).
Centrifugal Forces: Pull states apart (e.g., uneven development, minority concentration, ineffective government), can lead to failed states or separatist movements.
Theories
Organic Theory: Believed that nations must expand their land base in order to maintain vibrancy. Disbanded after Hitler used this to expand Germany.
Heartland Theory: The great geographical pivot point of all human history was in Northern and Central Asia, the most populous landmass on earth, and he who rules heartland, rules the world.
AP Human Geo 5.1 - 5.12
5.1 Introduction to Agriculture
Agricultural practices are influenced by the physical environment and climate.
Mediterranean Climate:
Hot/dry summers, mild winters, hilly terrain.
Crops: Figs, dates, olives, grapes, tomatoes
Tropical Climate:
Hot, humid year-round, rainforests.
Crops: Cassava, banana, sugar cane, sweet potato, papaya
Intensive Farming:
High inputs of capital and labor relative to land.
Examples: Market gardening, plantation agriculture, mixed crop/livestock.
Extensive Farming:
Fewer inputs of capital and labor relative to land.
Examples: Shifting cultivation, nomadic herding, ranching.
Subsistence Farming :
Focuses on producing enough food to feed a family or local community, with little to no surplus for sale
Commercial Farming :
a large-scale agricultural system focused on producing crops and livestock for profit in the market
Grain Farming:
Crops grown primarily for consumption by humans rather than livestock
Live Stocking Ranching:
Commercial grazing of livestock over an extensive area
Shifting Cultivation:
Land is cleared, farmed for a short period, then abandoned to allow the soil to recover
Plantation Farming:
Use large farms that specialize in 1 or 2 crops such as cotton, sugarcane, rubber, and palm oil. Import large labor force.
5.2 Settlement Patterns and Survey Methods
Rural Settlement Patterns:
Clustered: Homes close together, common in Europe.
Dispersed: Homes spread out, common in North America.
Linear: Buildings in lines along a geographical feature.
Rural Survey Methods:
Metes and Bounds: Uses physical features to define land, irregular shapes. Land survey method used for the original 13 colonies.
Township and Range: Rectangular grid system. Public land survey system divides land into 6 mile square townships.
Long-Lot: Narrow parcels stretching from rivers/roads. Less interested in farming and more interested in fur trading so needed lost that touched the river and road.
5.3 Agricultural Origins and Diffusions
First Agricultural Revolution:
Early hearths: Fertile Crescent, Indus River Valley, Southeast Asia, Central America.
Early Diffusion:
Roman Empire: Wheat from England to Africa & SW Asia.
Silk Road: Silk, rice from Rome to China.
Global Diffusion:
Columbian Exchange: Exchange of plants, animals between Europe, West Africa, and the Americas.
5.4 The Second Agricultural Revolution
Coincided with the Industrial Revolution.
Advances:
Seed Drill: Shortened planting time.
Crop Rotation.
Enclosure Movement: Land privatized.
Results:
Increased food production, better diets, longer life spans, population increase, urbanization.
Urbanization caused more demand for food, mechanization helped reduce human hands with agricultural technology, transportation was made easier.
5.5 The Green Revolution
Using higher yield seeds, chemicals, and mechanized farming to increase production.
Focus on grains: Rice, wheat, maize.
Higher yield seeds: Genetically modified, seed hybridization.
Use of Chemicals: Fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides.
Mechanized Farming: Machines replace labor.
Positive Aspects:
Increased food production, reduced dependency on imports, adequate diets.
Negative Aspects:
Environmental damage, dependency on chemicals, marginalized women, expensive farming.
5.6 Agricultural Production Regions
Subsistence Agriculture:
Products consumed by farmer/village, little technology.
Examples: Shifting cultivation, intensive subsistence.
Commercial Agriculture:
Products sold, machine powered, high tech.
Examples: Mixed crop & livestock, dairy, grain, ranching, Mediterranean, commercial gardening.
Land costs influence practices.
Sustainable Agriculture: Preserves and enhances environmental quality. Includes sensitive land management, limited use of chemicals, integrated crops, and livestock.
5.7 Spatial Organization of Agriculture
Economic forces influence agricultural practices.
Increased intensive land use due to population growth.
Increased global demand for cash crops.
Large-scale commercial operations replacing family farms.
Agribusiness:
Integration of food-processing steps.
Vertical Integration.
Farming as part of a larger food-production system
Commodity Chains: Link production and consumption.
Technology increased economies of scale and carrying capacity.
5.8 Von Thunen Model
Assumptions: Farmers seek profit, one market, horses/carts, flat land, uniform fertility.
Emphasizes transportation costs relative to the market. Compares cost of land and cost of transporting products to markets vs value of yield per hectare.
Bid-Rent Curve: Willingness to pay for land at various distances.
Rings:
First: Market-oriented gardens and milk producers (Dairy).
Second: Woodlots (Timber).
Third: Crops and pasture.
Fourth: Animal grazing.
Modifications: Improved transportation, multiple markets, non-isotropic features.
5.9 The Global System of Agriculture
Food production and consumption are part of a global supply chain.
Interdependence among regions.
Luxury crops produced in developing countries.
Issues in Developing Countries:
Farmers can't afford what they produce, decreased local food supply.
Political Relationships: Neocolonialism.
Infrastructure: Subsidies distort global food supply.
5.10 Consequences of Agricultural Practices
Environmental Effects:
Pollution: Chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fossil fuels.
Land cover change: Loss of natural areas.
Desertification: Transition to desert.
Soil Salinization: Accumulation of salts.
Conservation efforts.
Agricultural Practices Alter Landscape:
Shifting Cultivation (Slash and Burn).
Terraced Farming.
Irrigation.
Deforestation.
Draining of Wetlands.
Pastoral Nomadism.
Societal Effects:
Changing Diets: Increased demand for meat and processed food.
Role of Women: Significant labor force, especially in LDCs.
Economic Purpose: Cash crops for MDCs, illegal drug trade.
5.12 Women in Agriculture
Women are a large percentage of the agricultural labor force.
Productive capability is often limited in LDCs.
Women in MDCs have opportunities in agribusinesses.
AP Human Geo 6.1 - 6.11
The Origin and Influences of Urbanization
Urbanization:
Shift from rural to urban population.
Driven by migration for better jobs and living conditions.
Site and Situation:
Site: Physical attributes of a place.
Situation: Location relative to other places.
Influences on Urbanization:
Transportation and communication changes.
Population growth, migration, economic development, and government policies.
Cities Across the World
Megacities and Metacities:
Populations over 10 million (Mega) or 20 million (Meta).
Increasingly common in less developed countries (LDCs).
Micropolitan and Metropolitan:
Micropolitan: An urbanized area of between 10,000 and 50,000 inhabitants
Metropolitan: Central City of at least 50,000 population
Megalopolis: A large, densely populated urban area formed by the merging of several smaller, previously independent cities and their surrounding areas. EX - BosWash Corridor.
City: Urban settlement that has been legally incorporated into an independent, self governing unit.
Suburbanization:
Movement from cities to outskirts.
Driven by post-WWII economic expansion, car-centered lifestyle, highways, and racial tensions.
New Land-Use Forms:
Edge Cities: Economic nodes on the periphery.
Exurbs: Residential districts beyond suburbs (counter-urbanization).
Boomburbs: Rapidly growing suburban communities (over 100,000 residents).
Boomburb: Municipality of more than 100,000 people that has been growing at a double digit pace for 3 consecutive decades.
Cities and Globalization
Cities Embody Processes of Globalization:
World Cities drive globalization.
Media hubs, financial centers, corporate HQs.
Examples: New York, London, Paris, Tokyo.
Seven Types of Global Cities:
Global Giants, Asian Anchors, Emerging Gateways, Factory China, Knowledge Capitals, American Middleweights, International Middleweights.
Size and Distribution of Cities
Urban System:
Interdependent set of cities.
Models of Distribution and Interaction:
Rank-Size Rule: Nth largest city is 1/N the size of the largest.
Law of the Primate City: Largest city is more than twice the size of the next largest.
Threshold: Minimum number of people needed to support the service.
Gravity Model: Interaction depends on distance and population.
Christaller’s Central Place Theory: Explains distribution of city sizes; evenly distributed settlement sizes.
Central place provides goods/services (hamlets, villages, towns, cities).
Assumptions: isotropic region, different services require different thresholds.
Market areas are hexagonal; range is the distance people travel. Surrounds the central place, for which it provides goods and services and from which it draws population.
The Internal Structure of Cities
Internal Structure Models:
Burgess Concentric Zone: A city grows outward from a central area in a series of concentric rings, like the rings of a tree. Usually the CBD, the zone of transition, some of working class homes, zone of better residence, computer zone.
Hoyt Sector: City developed in a series of sectors, certain areas of the city are more attractive for various activities. As the city grows, activities expand outward in a wedge or sector from the center.
Harris & Ullman Multiple Nuclei: Explains urban land use by suggesting that cities have multiple growth centers
Harris Galactic City: A urban model depicting a decentralized city structure with a central business district (CBD) surrounded by suburban areas and edge cities
Latin American, SE Asian, and African urban models.
Functional Zonation:
Urban areas have specific purposes.
Central Business District (CBD): Commercial heart with high land values.
US Models:
Concentric Zone: Zones in rings around CBD.
Based on Bid-Rent Theory.
Hoyt Sector: Sectors grow outward from CBD along transportation routes.
Multiple Nuclei: Functional zonation around multiple centers.
Galactic (Peripheral): Cities spread outward with edge cities.
World Models:
Latin America (Griffen-Ford): Two-part CBD, spine, periferico (poor outer ring), disamenity zones.
Southeast Asia (McGee): Colonial port, alien commercial zone, market gardening belt.
Sub-Saharan African: 3 CBDs (traditional, colonial, market), residential zones by ethnicity, informal settlements.
Density and Land Use
Urban Planning:
Promotes growth and controls change.
Zoning: Residential, commercial, industrial.
Residential Density Gradient:
Density declines with distance from CBD (US).
European Cities:
Dense mix of commercial/residential, narrow streets, height restrictions, higher suburban density.
Smart Growth: Legislation and regulations to limit suburban sprawl and preserve farmland.
Infrastructure
Basic physical systems: Transportation, communication, sewage, water, electric grid, internet.
Economic development depends on infrastructure quality.
Political decisions affect spatial patterns of development.
Urban Sustainability
Sustainable Initiatives:
Mixed Land Use, Walkability, Transportation-Oriented Development, Smart Growth (New Urbanism, Greenbelts, Slow-Growth Cities).
Smart Growth Policies:
Concentrates growth in walkable centers to avoid sprawl.
New Urbanism: Mixed-use neighborhoods, diverse housing, town center, connected streets.
Greenbelts: Undeveloped land around urban areas.
Slow-Growth Cities: Limit growth to improve sustainability.
Urban Data
Quantitative Data:
Census and surveys; population, income, etc.
Qualitative Data:
Narratives and field studies; residents’ feelings.
Challenges of Urban Changes
Social Challenges:
Housing Discrimination: Redlining, Blockbusting, Affordability.
Lack of Access to Services: Food Deserts.
Economic Challenges:
Underclass trapped in hardship cycle.
Responses:
Inclusionary Zoning, Local Food Movements, Urban Renewal, Gentrification.
Inclusionary Zoning: Zoning regulations that require developers to include affordable housing units in new developments.
Gentrification: The process where wealthier residents move into and renovate low-income areas, often leading to the displacement of the original residents.
Environmental Challenges:
Environmental Injustice: Pollution near low-income communities.
Political Challenges:
Infrastructure Demands, Informal Economy, Governmental Fragmentation.
Challenges of Urban Sustainability
Challenges Include:
Sprawl, Sanitation, Climate Change, Air/Water Quality, Large Ecological Footprint, Energy Use.
Limiting Sprawl:
Greenbelts (Europe), Smart Growth (America).
Ecological Footprint:
Measure of demand on natural capital.
Effects of Deindustrialization:
Brownfields: Abandoned factory sites.
Responses:
Regional Planning, Brownfield Remediation, Urban Growth Boundaries, Farmland Protection Policies.
AP Human Geo 7.1 - 7.8
Origins of Industrialization
Industrialization began in England due to:
Availability of natural resources
Flow of money from colonies
Invention of the steam engine
Building of railroads
Diffusion of Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution (IR) led to improvements in farm machinery and increased agricultural productivity.
More food production and population increase.
Machines replaced people and animals, displacing agricultural workers to cities.
Growth of Industry
Increased demand for raw materials and new markets led to colonialism and imperialism by industrial powers.
Colonies provided raw materials, labor, new markets, ports, and profits for the Mother Country.
Economic Sectors
The different economic sectors include:
Harvest or extraction
"Value added" industries
"Service-sector" industries
"White-collar" information services
High-level decision making
Different economic sectors are characterized by distinct development patterns.
Primary: Production and retrieval of raw materials such as coal, iron, and wood. EX: Mining, fishing, and agriculture, which includes both subsistence and commercial, grazing, hunting and farming
Secondary: Involve the transformation of the raw material into the finished or manufactured goods.
Tertiary: Service sector, which involves the giving away direct services to its consumers.
Quaternary: The services involved in this type of economy are outsourced in varied forms as the doctor’ services, elementary schools and university classrooms, theaters, and brokerage firms. The workforce well-educated, and people are earning well
Quinary: “Gold collar”, Highly paid professionals, research scientists, and government officials. The people are designated with high positions and powers, and those who make important decisions
Location of Manufacturing
Factors influencing manufacturing location include labor, transportation, break-of-bulk points, resources, and markets.
Least Cost Theory is used by businesses to decide whether to locate in a core, semi-periphery, or periphery location.
Labor
Companies minimize labor costs, considering the skill level of the labor force.
Transportation
Heavier items cost more to transport.
Bulk-Reducing (Resource Oriented) Industries: locate near raw materials (e.g., Copper). Final product, after processing, is lighter or less bulky than the raw materials used to make it.
Bulk-Gaining (Market-Oriented) Industries: locate near market (e.g., Soft Drinks).
Break-of-Bulk Points
Sites where goods are transferred from one transportation form to another (e.g., ports).
Resources
Early factories located on rivers for water power.
Later, factories were located near coal sources because coal was bulky to transport.
Electricity is mobile, making the location of energy sources less important.
Least Cost Theory - Alfred Weber (1909)
Predicts manufacturing site location relative to raw materials and market.
Focuses on minimizing transportation and labor costs, and maximizing agglomeration.
Weber’s Assumptions include:
An isotropic plain (Reality - mountains DO affect transportation costs!).
Sufficient and immobile labor (Reality - Labor is mobile).
Raw materials in fixed locations (Reality - Substitution Principle allows alternative inputs).
One product, one market (Reality - products are sold in multiple locations).
Transportation costs related to distance and weight (Reality - Tapering Principle).
Economic factors dominate (Reality - Emotional factors play a role).
Measures of Development
Economic measures are usually displayed per capita and in US dollars.
Focus is on types of jobs, income, and economic output.
Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) makes monetary values equal across countries.
Economic measures include:
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Total value of goods and services in a country in one year.
Gross National Product (GNP): Value of goods and services produced by a country's citizens, domestically and abroad.
Gross National Income (GNI): All income earned by a country's residents, businesses, and earnings from foreign sources.
(Personal Consumption + Business Investment + Government Spending + Net Trade).
Sectoral Structure of an economy, Consumption per capita, Income distribution, Energy use per capita
International Monetary Fund: Provides loans to countries experiencing balance of payment problems that threaten expansion of international trade.
Gini Coefficient (Gini Index)
Measures income distribution (0 = perfect equality, 1 = absolute inequality).
MDCs have lower Gini Coefficients than LDCs.
Social Measures of Development
Focus on conditions in which people live (health care, education, equality).
Ways to measure social development include:
Life Expectancy
Access to Healthcare
Literacy Rate
Fertility Rate
Infant Mortality Rate
Use of Fossil Fuels and Renewable Energy
Gender Inequality Index (GII)
Composite index of gender disparity considering reproductive health, female empowerment, and labor market participation.
Human Development Index (HDI)
Combo of one economic measure with many social measures.
Shows spatial variation in levels of development.
Women and Economic Development
Women's roles change as countries develop economically.
There are more women in the workforce, but without equity in wages or employment opportunities.
Microloans provide opportunities for women to create small local businesses.
Changing Role of Women
Expanded employment & increased educational opportunities.
The Glass Ceiling
Women rarely obtain upper-level jobs, and a pay gap exists.
Microloans
NGOs provide small loans to women who don’t qualify for credit.
Enables women to start businesses, common in South America and South Asia.
Theories of Development
Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth (aka Modernization Model).
Wallerstein’s World Systems Theory (aka Core-Periphery Model).
Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth
Assumes all countries want to modernize.
Traditional Society: Local/regional political power, subsistence farming, low technology.
Pre-Conditions to Take Off: Leadership invests, small-scale trade, urbanization begins, shift to secondary sector.
Take Off: Major export industry, urbanization, full industrialization.
Drive to Maturity: Growth declines, specialization of industry, skilled workers, investment in social infrastructure.
High Mass Consumption: Decline in population, mostly tertiary sector, spending on nonessential goods.
Criticisms of the Rostow Model
Based on industrialized, capitalist, democratic countries, and doesn't account for scale & uneven development, linear progression, equal potential to develop, sustainability, or legacy of colonialism.
Wallerstein’s World Systems Theory
Dependency model: countries are interdependent.
Core: Economically and politically dominant, strong military.
Semi-Periphery: "Middle Income" countries with aspects of both core and periphery.
Periphery: Less wealth and education, export natural resources, weak infrastructure.
Criticisms of Wallerstein’s World Systems Theory
Downplays culture, outdated (based on industry), doesn’t say how countries can change status, doesn’t recognize NGOs.
Changes as a Result of the World Economy
Outsourcing and economic restructuring have led to a decline in jobs in core regions and an increase in jobs in newly industrialized countries (NICs).
Offshoring
Companies move operations to countries with lower costs.
Outsourcing
Contracting work out to other companies to save money and increase efficiency.
Economic Restructuring
Shift from industry-based economy to service-based economy.
Result of Economic Restructuring
Deindustrialization: Post-industrial economies no longer employ large numbers in factories.
Growing Interdependence in the World Economy
Growth of industry outside the core has led to new manufacturing zones.
Special Economic Zones (SEZs)
Free Trade Zones (FTZs)
Export Processing Zones (EPZs)
Special Economic Zones (SEZs)
Areas with tax and investment incentives to attract foreign businesses.
Free Trade Zones (FTZs)
Areas where trade barriers between countries are eliminated.
Export Processing Zones (EPZs)
Industrial areas with specialized policies to attract businesses.
New International Division of Labor
Developed Countries rapidly adding quaternary sector jobs emphasizing R&D
Developing Countries (Mexico, China, Indonesia) manufacture goods (secondary) that were developed in MDCs, export the finished goods
LDCs have large primary sectors, export natural resources used in manufacturing
Transformation of the Contemporary Economic Landscape
Post-Fordist Production, Multiplier Effects, Economies of Scale, Agglomeration, Just-in-Time Delivery, Growth Poles
Post-Fordist Production
Flexible production, teams, outsourcing, automation, skilled labor.
Multiplier Effect
Potential of a job to produce additional jobs.
Economies of Scale
Competitive advantage for large entities due to bulk production.
Agglomeration
Companies and industries in close proximity for cost reductions and efficiency.
Just-in-Time Delivery (JIT)
Inputs arrive when needed, reducing inventory costs.
Growth Poles
Concentrated high-value economic development attracting more development (e.g., Technopoles).
Sustainable Development
Meeting present needs without compromising future generations.
Sustainable Development policies attempt to remedy problems stemming from:
Natural resource depletion
Mass consumption
The effects of pollution
The impact of climate change.
Ecotourism
Tourism in natural environments threatened by industrialization, providing jobs and protecting the environment.
UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
17 goals to end poverty, improve health and education, reduce inequality, spur economic growth, tackle climate change, and preserve oceans and forests.