HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

Introduction to Maps

  • Learning Target: Identify types of maps, the types of information presented in maps, and different kinds of spatial patterns and relationships portrayed in maps.

Geographic Data

  • Learning Target: Identify different methods of geographic data collection.

The Power of Geographic Data

  • Learning Target: Explain the geographical effects of decisions made using geographical information.

  • Census data: An official count of individuals in a population (in the USA, it happens every 10 years).

Spatial Concepts

  • Learning Target: Define major geographic concepts that illustrate spatial relationships.

  • Space: Extent of an area and can be in relative and absolute senses.

  • Pattern: The geometric or regular arrangement of something in an area.

UNIT ONE: THINKING GEOGRAPHICALLY

  • Reference Maps: Designed for people to refer to for general information about places.
      - Types of Reference Maps:     1. Political     2. Physical

  • Thematic Maps: Used as a communications tool to show how human activities are distributed.
      - Subtypes of Thematic Maps:
        - Cartogram
        - Choropleth
        - Dot Density
        - Isoline
        - Proportional Symbol

Spatial Patterns Represented on a Map

  • Absolute and Relative: Distance and direction.

  • Clustering: Bunched together.

  • Dispersal: Appears to be distributed over a wide area.

  • Elevation: Using levels of how high/low something is located on the land.

Map Projections (distortion in shape, size, distance, and direction)

  • Mercator Map: Shape and directions of countries are fairly accurate, but greatly distorted toward poles.

  • Robinson Map: Everything is distorted in small amounts.

  • Goode’s Homolosine: Continent sizes are accurately portrayed, but directions and distances aren’t accurate.

  • Gall-Peters: Shape of countries especially near the equator are distorted.

Geospatial Data

  • All information, including physical features and human activities.

  • Geographic Information System (GIS): A computer system for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on Earth's surface.

  • GPS (Geographic Positioning System): Uses data from satellites to pinpoint a location on Earth, helping people find their way to a destination.

  • Remote Sensing: The process of taking pictures of the Earth's surface from satellites (or earlier, airplanes), providing a greater understanding of Earth's geography over large distances.

  • Sources of Spatial Information: Written accounts like field observations, media reports, travel narratives, policy documents, personal interviews, landscape analysis, and photographic interpretation.

Geospatial Data Definitions

  • Absolute Location: The precise spot where something is located.

  • Relative Location: Where something is in relation to other things.

  • Place: Refers to the specific human and physical characteristics of a location.

  • Distance Decay: A geographical term describing the effect of distance on cultural or spatial interactions.

  • Time-Space Compression: An increasing sense of connectivity that seems to bring people closer together despite unchanged distances.

Human-Environmental Interaction

  • Learning Target: Explain how major geographic concepts illustrate spatial relationships.

  • Sustainability: The goal of achieving equilibrium with the environment; meeting present needs while leaving resources for future generations.

  • Natural Resources: Physical materials constituting part of Earth that people need and value.

Scales of Analysis

  • Learning Target: Define scales of analysis used by geographers and explain what scales of analysis reveal.

  • Scale: Relationship between the distance on the ground and the corresponding distance on a specific map; describes how "zoomed in" you are while studying a geographic trait. Types include:
      - Global (Globalization)
      - Regional
      - National
      - State
      - Local

  • Scale of Analysis: Degree of zoom when examining geographic data.

Regional Analysis

  • Learning Target: Describe different ways that geographers define regions.

Population Distribution

  • Learning Target: Identify factors influencing the distribution of human populations at different scales.

  • Learning Target: Define methods used to calculate population density.

  • Learning Target: Explain differences between methods used to calculate population density.

Consequences of Population Distribution

  • Learning Target: Explain how population distribution and density affect society and the environment.

  • Carrying Capacity: Maximum population size that the environment can sustain.

  • Overpopulation: When resources in an area are insufficient to support the population.

Population Composition

  • Learning Target: Describe elements of population composition used by geographers.

  • Age/Sex Ratio: Comparison of numbers of males and females of different ages.

Geographic Determinism and Possibilism

  • Environmental Determinism: How the physical environment caused social development.

  • Possibilism: Physical environment may limit some human actions, but people adjust.

Region Definitions

  • Region: A place larger than a point and smaller than a planet, grouped by a common feature.
      - Formal Region: Based on quantitative data (e.g., WI's boundaries).
      - Functional Region: Based around a focal point or node (e.g., radio broadcast area).
      - Vernacular (Perceptual) Region: Shares qualitative characteristics based on perceptions (e.g., Middle East).

UNIT TWO: POPULATION & MIGRATION

  • Ecumene: Areas where people settle on Earth (e.g., near rivers, fertile land, coasts).
      - Physical Factors: People avoid too dry, wet, cold, or high areas.
      - Cultural Factors: Populations concentrate around education, healthcare, and entertainment opportunities.

  • Historical Factors: Areas where life could be sustained historically (historical flourishing areas).

Density Calculations

  • Arithmetic Density: Total number of objects in an area.

  • Physiological Density: Number of people supported by a unit area of arable land.

  • Agricultural Density: Ratio of the number of farmers to the amount of arable land.
      - Impacts: 1. Agricultural density reflects development. 2. Physiological density indicates overpopulation. 3. Arithmetic density offers less meaningful insight.

Political, Economic, and Social Impacts

  • Larger populations and density have greater political, economic, and social power:
      - Political: Greater influence over laws, policies.
      - Economic: Job concentrations, revenue generation.
      - Social: Better healthcare, education access, cultural diversity.

Environmental Changes

  • Expansion and population growth alter the environment and landscape.

  • Unique population structures influenced by history and conditions.

Population Composition Analysis

  • Population Pyramid: Graph showing population by age and sex; indicative of growth.

Population Dynamics

  • Learning Target: Explain factors resulting in population growth or decline.

  • Demography: The study of populations.

  • Crude Birth Rate (CBR): Number of live births per 1,000 people.

  • Crude Death Rate (CDR): Number of deaths per 1,000 people.

  • Doubling Time: Time required for a population to double.

  • Fertility: Number of live births in a population.

  • Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): Number of children surviving past their first year per 1,000 live births.

  • Mortality: Total number of deaths in a population.

  • Rate of Natural Increase (RNI): $( ext{Birth Rate} - ext{Death Rate}) / 10$; positive RNI indicates growth, negative indicates decline.

  • Total Fertility Rate (TFR): Average number of children a woman is expected to have.

The Demographic Transition Model

  • Learning Target: Explain population growth and decline theories.

  • Stages: 1. Pestilence and famine. 2. Receding pandemics. 3. Degenerative diseases. 4. Delayed degenerative (cardiovascular issues).

Malthusian Theory

  • Learning Target: Explain population growth and decline theories.

Population Policies

  • Learning Target: Explain the intent and effects of various population and immigration policies.

  • Antinatalist Policies: Incentives to decrease birth rates.

  • Pronatalist Policies: Incentives to increase birth rates.

Women and Demographic Change

  • Learning Target: Connections between changing female roles and demographic changes globally.

Aging Populations

  • Learning Target: Explain causes and effects of aging populations.

Causes of Migration

  • Learning Target: Explain factors inducing migration.

Forced vs. Voluntary Migration

  • Learning Target: Describe types of migration.

Effects of Migration

  • Learning Target: Explain geographic effects of migration historically and contemporarily.

  • Malthus Theory: Population grows geometrically, while resource growth is arithmetic. Neo-Malthusian focuses on resource pressures causing conflicts.

  • Immigration Policies: Creating frameworks for immigration (quotas, refugee policies).

Migration Concepts

  • Ravenstein’s Laws of Migration: A set of migration principles, including:
      1. Majority migrate short distances.
      2. Migration occurs step-by-step.
      3. Long-distance migrants go to metropolitan areas.
      4. Each migration stream generates a compensating counter-stream.
      5. Urban natives are less migratory than rural natives.
      6. Females migrate more locally, while males are more international.
      7. Young adults migrate more frequently than families.
      8. Large towns grow due to migration.
      9. Migration increases with infrastructure improvement.
      10. Major migration direction is rural-to-urban.
      11. Economic opportunities are primary migration drivers.

Dependency Ratio

  • Ratio of non-workers (dependents) to workers (producers); crucial for understanding economic pressures.

Life Expectancy

  • Average number of years expected for individuals born in a specific country.

Push vs. Pull Factors

  • Push Factors: Forces driving people away from a location.

  • Pull Factors: Forces attracting individuals to a location.

Migration Concepts (continued)

  • Intervening Opportunity: A nearby opportunity decreases the attractiveness of further options.

  • Intervening Obstacle: Factors that limit migration (borders, laws, geography).

  • Asylum Seekers: Individuals seeking residency due to persecution.

  • Chain Migration: A series of migrations within a social group initiated by one person.

  • Step Migration: Migration to distant locations gradually in stages.

  • Forced Migration: Involuntary movement often due to crises.

  • Guest Worker: Legal immigrant permitted temporary employment.

  • Internally Displaced Persons: Individuals forced to leave their homes yet remaining within their country.

  • Refugee: Individuals fleeing their country permanently due to threats.

  • Transhumance: Seasonal movement of livestock between pastures.

  • Transnational Migration: Crossing borders into another country.

  • Voluntary Migration: Migration by choice without coercion.

Political Impacts of Migration

  • Brain Drain: The emigration of skilled workers negatively affecting home regions.

Cultural Impacts of Migration

  • Impacts include both loss of indigenous culture and introduction of new cultures.

Economic Impacts of Migration

  • Vary based on the flow of migration, affecting income sources.

Introduction to Culture

  • Learning Target: Define the characteristics influencing geographic studies of culture.

Cultural Landscapes

  • Learning Target: Describe characteristics and implications of cultural landscapes.

  • Learning Target: Explain how features reflect cultural beliefs.

Cultural Patterns

  • Learning Target: Explain language, religion, ethnicity, and gender landscape patterns.

  • Religion: Belief in supernatural controlling power. (e.g., churches, mosques)

  • Ethnicity: Belonging to a group with shared traditions. (e.g., China Town)

Types of Diffusion

  • Learning Target: Define types of diffusion.

Historical Causes of Diffusion

  • Learning Target: Explain how historical processes dull current cultural patterns.

Contemporary Causes of Diffusion

  • Learning Target: Explain ongoing historical influences on cultural patterns.

  • Time-Space Convergence: Reduction of travel time due to technology.

UNIT THREE: CULTURAL PATTERNS & PROCESSES

  • Culture: Body of materials, beliefs, and traditions defining a group.

  • Material Culture: Physical elements of culture: tools, housing, clothing, etc.

  • Nonmaterial Culture: Traditions, beliefs, values, ideas.

Key Cultural Concepts

  • Cultural Relativism: Judging a culture based on its standards.

  • Ethnocentrism: Judging other cultures by one's own standards.

  • Taboo: Forbidden practices within a culture.

Cultural Landscapes

  • Definition: Forms imposed on the physical environment through human activity.

  • Examples: Streetlights, structures, spiritual places, etc.

Ethnic Neighborhoods

  • Regions distinct from surrounding areas in cultural aspects.

  • Indigenous People: Original inhabitants differing from dominant cultures.

  • Sense of Place: Strong identity felt by inhabitants/visitors.

Language and Gender

  • Language: Set of sounds and symbols for communication.
      - Example: Regional terms (soda vs pop).

  • Gender: Cultural differences in treatment of men and women.

Types of Cultural Diffusion

  • Relocation Diffusion: Ideas transmitted by carriers moving to new areas.

  • Expansion Diffusion: Ideas spread substantially among populations.
      - Subtypes of Expansion Diffusion:
        - Contagious: Rapid, close contact spread.
        - Hierarchical: Spreading through a hierarchy of connections.
        - Reverse Hierarchical: Spread from small places to larger.

        - Stimulus: Adaptation through the introduction of cultural traits.

Language Concepts

  • Creole Language: Combination of languages becoming a primary language.

  • Lingua Franca: Common language for speakers of different native languages.

Colonialism and Imperialism

  • Colonialism: Establishing settlements and imposing principles.

  • Imperialism: Extending influence through power.

Globalization

  • Definition: Integration among people, companies, and governments.
      - Factors in Globalization:
        - Media: Exposure to media and Western culture.
        - Technology: Access to communication advancements.
        - Politics: Spread of democratic ideals, e.g., Arab Spring.
        - Economics: Role of trade in changing cultural dynamics.
        - Social Relationships: Push for equal rights via interaction.

Diffusion of Religion and Language

  • Learning Target: Factors influencing the diffusion of religions.

Effects of Diffusion

  • Changes within the cultural landscape due to cross-cultural interactions.

Introduction to Political Geography

  • Learning Target: Define types of political entities in global maps.
      - State: A recognized political unit with population and boundaries (e.g., USA, Ghana, Australia).

Political Processes

  • Learning Target: Explain the processes shaping political geography.

Political Power and Territoriality

  • Definition of Concepts:
      - Cultural Convergence: Cultures acquiring common traits and similarities.
      - Cultural Divergence: Regions exposed to differing influences becoming dissimilar.

Language Concepts in Politics

  • Indigenous Language: Languages originating from indigenous groups.

  • Language Extinction: Languages no longer spoken officially.

  • Dialect: Variants within a single language based on regional use.

  • Language Family: Languages deriving from a common origin.

Theories of Language Diffusion

  • Nomadic Warrior Theory: Language spreads through conquest.

  • Sedentary Farmer Theory: Language spreads through agriculture.

Religious Definitions

  • Ethnic Religion: Focused on a specific ethnic group (e.g., Hinduism, Judaism).

  • Universalizing Religion: Appeals to a global audience (e.g., Christianity, Islam, Buddhism).

Cultural Processes and Transitions

  • Acculturation: Adoption of traits from another culture.

  • Assimilation: Loss of distinct cultural traits due to dominance.

  • Multiculturalism: Coexistence without sacrificing identities.

  • Syncretism: Blending traits from different cultures forming new traits.

UNIT FOUR: POLITICAL PATTERNS & PROCESSES

National Identity and Movements

  • Nation: A group with a shared culture, history, and desire for independence.

  • Nation-states: A state with a single nation (e.g., Japan).

  • Stateless Nations: Nations lacking an independent state (e.g., Palestinians).

  • Multinational States: A state containing multiple nations (e.g., USA, China).

  • Multistate Nations: Nations existing across multiple states (e.g., Koreans).

  • Autonomous Regions: Self-governing areas not fully independent (e.g., Greenland).

  • Semi-autonomous Regions: Have limited control in specific areas (e.g., U.S. Indian Reservations).

  • Sovereignty: Authority over a territory with defensive rights.

  • Self-Determination: The right of a group to form their own governance.

  • Independence Movements: Regions seeking sovereign status.

  • Devolution: Transfer of power to lower governmental tiers.

Political Boundaries

Definition and Classification

  • Learning Target: Define political boundary types.

Functions of Political Boundaries

  • Internal Boundaries: Define territories within a state’s borders.

  • International Boundaries: Separate different countries.
      - Example: South China Sea and maritime resource disputes.

Internal Boundaries

  • Learning Target: Explain internal boundary functions.

Forms of Governance

  • Federal States: Share power between national and regional governance (e.g., USA).

  • Unitary States: Central government holds primary authority (e.g., UK).

Choke Points and Geopolitical Strategies

  • Choke Point: Narrow passage vital for transportation (e.g., Panama Canal).

  • Neocolonialism: Indirect control through economic or cultural pressure.

  • Shatterbelt: Region under continuous external tensions (e.g., Israel/Palestine).

Territoriality Explained

  • Definition: Connection of people/culture to land.

  • Boundary: Official line defining jurisdiction.

Boundary Types

  • Relic Boundary: No longer a functioning border, remnants remain.

  • Superimposed Boundary: Drawn by outsiders without cultural considerations.

  • Subsequent Boundary: Evolves with changes in cultural landscape.

  • Antecedent Boundary: Pre-existing natural boundaries before population arrival.

  • Geometric Boundary: Formed through straight lines.

  • Consequent Boundary: Aligns with cultural groups (e.g., India and Pakistan).

Phases of Boundary Establishment

  1. Definition: Negotiation and legal description.

  2. Delimitation: Drawing boundaries on a map.

  3. Demarcation: Erecting physical markers (e.g., walls).

  4. Administration: Enforcing and maintaining boundaries.

Demilitarized Zones

  • Areas of removed military presence following conflicts (e.g., Korea).

Berlin Conference

  • Meeting division of Africa among European nations.

Maritime Boundaries

  • Defined extensions of national territory into oceans (e.g., Territorial Sea, Exclusive Economic Zone).

Voting Districts

  • Subdivisions for electing legislative members.
      - Redistricting: Re-drawing voting districts based on population shifts.
      - Gerrymandering: Manipulating district boundaries for political advantage.

UNIT FIVE: AGRICULTURE & RURAL LAND-USE PATTERNS & PROCESSES

Agriculture Definition

  • Modifying the environment for raising plants/animals for food.

  • Mediterranean Climate Characteristics.

  • Tropical Climate Characteristics.

Types of Agriculture

  • Market Gardening (Intensive):
      - Climate: Warm Mid-Latitude.
      - Crops: Fresh produce (e.g., fruits, vegetables).

  • Plantation Agriculture (Intensive):
      - Climate: Tropical.
      - Crops: Commodity crops (e.g., coffee, sugarcane).

  • Mixed Crop/Livestock (Intensive):
      - Climate: Mid-latitude.
      - Crops: Feed for animals.

  • Shifting Cultivation (Extensive):
      - Crops: Rice, corn.

  • Nomadic Herding (Extensive):
      - Climate: Drylands.
      - Livestock: Cattle, goats.

  • Ranching (Commercial): Grazing of animals for slaughter.

  • Commercial Grain Farming (Extensive): Crops for human consumption (e.g., wheat).

Settlement Patterns

  • Clustered: Farms located near each other.

  • Dispersed: Farms spread out over a larger area.

  • Linear Settlement: Aligns along a resource (e.g., river).

Surveying Methods

  • Metes and Bounds: Describes land using natural features and distances.

  • Long Lot System: Divides land into long strips along waterways.

  • Township and Range System: Divides land into squares based on latitude/longitude.

Agricultural Origin and Diffusion

  • Fertile Crescent: Site of early agriculture emergence.

  • Columbian Exchange: Transference of species and cultures post-Columbus.

Agricultural Revolutions

First Agricultural Revolution

  • Domestication of plants and animals, allowing sedentism.

Second Agricultural Revolution

  • Coincided with the Industrial Revolution.

  • Innovations increased food production; led to urbanization.

Enclosure Movement

  • More prominent farms led to fewer farmers and migration to cities.

Agricultural Challenges and Sustainable Practices

  • Green Revolution: Spread of technologies improving food supply in developing nations, presenting both benefits and ecological challenges.

  • Biotechnology: Modifications enhancing agricultural efficiency.

  • Commercial vs. Subsistence Agriculture: Profit-driven vs. self-sustaining.

  • Monoculture & Mono-Cropping: Growing single crops for economic efficiency.

Environmental Impacts

  • Pollution, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, soil salinization, and desertification.

UNIT SIX: CITIES AND URBAN LAND-USE PATTERNS

Urbanization Origins

  • Movement from rural to urban areas due to agricultural advancements.

Urban Concepts

  • Site: Settlement's absolute location.

  • Situation: Describes its relative location.

  • Micropolitan Area: Population between 10,000 - 50,000.

Suburbanization

  • Shift towards low-density areas surrounding cities, creating sprawl.

Global Cities and Urbanization

  • Megacities: Over 10 million inhabitants.

  • Megalopolis: Multiple large cities interconnected.

Urban Hierarchy and Distribution

  • World City: Control centers of global economy (e.g., New York).

  • Urban Hierarchy: Ranking urban areas based on size and services.

Urban Models

  • Multiple Nuclei Model: Cities contain several nodes of activity.

  • Concentric-Zone Model: CBD explodes as concentric circles.

  • Sector Model: Zones expand along transportation lines.

  • Galactic City Model: Inner city surrounded by suburbs and nodes of economic activity.

Urban Challenges

  • Infiltration: Process of increasing density in urban centers.

  • Urban Sustainability Issues: Availability of affordable housing and urban design initiatives.

Urban Infrastructure and Sustainability

  • Essential for economic connections; developing countries struggle with developments.

Urban Design Initiatives

  • Smart Growth: Sustainable urban planning practices.

  • New Urbanism: Compact, pedestrian-friendly developments.

  • Greenbelts: Undeveloped areas surrounding urban spaces.

Urban Inequalities and Challenges

  • Redlining & Blockbusting: Discriminatory practices in real estate.

Disamenity Zones and Urban Decay

  • Disamenity Zones: Areas of poverty and neglect.

  • Gentrification: Wealthier people moving into and upgrading communities, causing displacement.

Food Access and Insecurity

  • Food Deserts: Areas with inadequate access to nutritious food.

Local Movements and Urban Renewal

  • Movements toward producing food locally.

  • Efforts to revitalize areas facing economic decline.

UNIT SEVEN: INDUSTRIAL & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS

The Industrial Revolution

  • Overview: Transition to machine manufacturing starting in mid-1700s in England.

Economic Sectors

  • Classification of Economic Sectors:
      - Primary: Raw materials (e.g., farming).
      - Secondary: Manufacturing (e.g., textile production).
      - Tertiary: Services (e.g., healthcare).
      - Quaternary: Research and development.
      - Quinary: High-level decision-making positions.

Site Factors

  • Factors Influencing Industrial Location:
      - Land: Proximity to transport routes.
      - Capital: Investment availability.
      - Labor: Availability and skills of workforce.

Weber’s Least Cost Theory

  • Strategies to minimize transportation, labor, and agglomeration costs

Measures of Development

Indices of Economic Development

  • Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Total economic output.

  • Gross National Product (GNP): Overall economic output including foreign incomes.

  • Gross National Income (GNI): Includes net income from abroad.

  • Human Development Index (HDI): Composite measure combining income, health, and education indicators.

  • Gender Inequality Index (GII): Measures gender inequality relative to empowerment and participation.

Dependency and Wallerstein’s World System Theory

  • Explains dependence of LDCs on MDCs in a global framework.

International Trade Impacts

Causes of Economic Changes

  • Outsourcing: Shifting production to lower-cost sources.

  • Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs): Emerging economic leaders (e.g., BRIC).

Economic Changing Factors

  • Global Financial Crises: Impacting international trade relationships.

  • Microlending: Small loans promoting small business developments.

Sustainable Development Overview

  • Definition: Meeting current needs without compromising future generations' ability to meet their own.

  • Ecotourism: Economic activity sustaining environments while benefiting local communities.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

  1. Eradicate Extreme Poverty & Hunger.

  2. Ensure Universal Primary Education.

  3. Promote Gender Equality & Women's Empowerment.

  4. Reduce Child Mortality.

  5. Improve Maternal Health.

  6. Combat Diseases.

  7. Ensure Environmental Sustainability.

  8. Foster Global Partnerships for Development.