AP Human Geography: Comprehensive Guide to Human Geography Models and Theories

Agricultural Theory and Cultural Landscapes

Von Thunen Agricultural Model * Description and Importance: This model explains the connection between various agricultural practices and the specific location of the market center. * Variables: It specifically accounts for the amount of land needed for different types of farming and the associated transportation costs to bring goods to market.
Culture: Carl Sauer * Cultural Landscape: Sauer proposed the concept of the Cultural Landscape, which posits that human activity superimposes itself upon the physical landscape. * Unique Imprints: He argued that each distinct cultural group leaves its own unique imprints on the environment. * Significance: This theory serves as the fundamental basis for the study of Human Geography.

Models of Global and Economic Development

Development: Brandt Line * Theorization: Proposed in 1980. * Function: The Brandt line serves as a geographic division of the world between the developed "North" and the less developed "South."
Development: Human Development Index (HDI) * Levels of Development: The index categorizes development into four tiers: 1. Very High Human Development 2. High Human Development 3. Medium Human Development 4. Low Human Development * Metrics: HDI measures development through three primary indicators: * Life Expectancy: Measures the longevity of the population. * Education: Assessed through the mean years of schooling and the expected years of schooling. * Gross National Income (GNI): Adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).
Development: Losch Model of Profitability * Core Principle: Manufacturing plants and businesses choose their locations specifically where they can maximize their overall profit.
Development: Rostow's Levels of Development * Stages of Economic Development: Rostow identified a progression through five distinct stages: 1. Traditional Society 2. Pre-conditions to Take-off: Characterized by activity in the Primary Sector. 3. Take-off: Characterized by the rise of industry. 4. Maturity 5. High Mass Consumption
Development: Wallerstein World Systems Theory * Unified System: This theory views the world as a single, unified economic system where different countries fulfill different roles and are interdependent. * Categorization: The world is divided into three tiers: 1. Core 2. Periphery 3. Semi-periphery

Industry, Services, and Industrial Location

Industry/Services: Clark’s Industrial Sectors * Primary Sector: Involves the extraction of natural resources. * Secondary Sector: Involves factories, manufacturing, and general industry. * Tertiary Sector: Involves the provision of services. * Quaternary Sector: Refers to activities engaged in the collection, processing, and manipulation of information. * Quinary Sector: Involves managerial or control functions associated with high-level decision-making in large corporations or by high government officials. * Importance: This model illustrates the division of labor into distinct sectors and responsibilities.
Industry/Services: Weber’s Least Cost Model * Core Explanation: This model explains the relationship between transportation costs and location. * Components: It balances the costs of transporting materials between centers of production and the distance to markets. * Industry Types: Distinguishes between bulk-gaining and bulk-reducing industries.

Theories and Laws of Human Migration

Ravenstein’s Laws of Migration * Spatial Trends: 1. Most migration occurs over relatively short distances. 2. Migration occurs in distinct steps. 3. Long-range migrants usually move toward urban areas. * Ft1low and Return: 4. Each migration flow produces a counter-movement in the opposite direction. * Demographics of Migrants: 5. Rural dwellers tend to be more migratory than urban dwellers. 6. Within their own country, females are more migratory than males; however, males are more migratory over long distances. 7. Most migrants are adults. * Urban Growth: 8. Large towns and cities grow more through migration than through natural increase. * Causal Factors: 9. Migration rates increase alongside economic development. 10. Migration is primarily driven by economic causes.

Political Geography: Boundaries and Morphology

Political: Evolution of Boundaries * Categories of Boundaries: Proposed by Richard Hartshorne, boundaries are categorized into four types: 1. Antecedent: A boundary drawn before the area was populated. 2. Superimposed: A boundary that does not take into account existing ethnic groups. 3. Subsequent: A boundary drawn after an area has been populated. 4. Relict: A boundary that no longer functions but whose imprint is still evident on the cultural landscape.
Political: Territorial Morphology * State Classifications: States are divided into five distinct categories based on their shape: 1. Compact 2. Prorupt 3. Elongated 4. Fragmented 5. Perforated

Population Dynamics and Growth

Population: Demographic Transition Model (DTM) * Dynamics: Explains the connection between a country's level of development and the corresponding changes in Birth Rate, Death Rate, and overall Population growth.
Population: Malthusian Theory * The Core Conflict: 1. Food production grows Arithmetically. 2. Population grows Exponentially. * Population Checks: Malthus proposed factors that limit population growth, categorized as: * Positive Checks * Negative Checks * Purpose: Explains population growth and its impacts regarding over-population.

Urbanization and City Structure Models

African Model of Cities * Structure: Designed similarly to the concentric zone model with rings extending from a commercial center. * Periphery: Features slum-like settlements on the outskirts of the city.
Central Place Theory * General Principle: Explains the relationship between the location of businesses and the location of population centers. * Consumer Behavior: Based on the idea that people will travel short distances for essential products but are willing to travel further for consumer goods. * Administrative Principle: Discusses the problems of sharing centers; lower order centers are located entirely within the hexagon of higher order centers. * Marketing Principle: * The lower the order of the city, the more of them exist. * The larger the city, the larger the market area. * Example: There will be $3$ times more towns than larger cities, and the market areas for the larger cities will be $3$ times bigger. * Transportation Principle: Arrangement of cities to connect as many important places as directly and cheaply as possible. Lower order centers are located along the edges of the hexagons, not at the corners.
Concentric Zone Model * Assumptions: Based on the Central Business District (CBD) being the center of the city. * Value Trends: Home values and rents increase as the distance from the city center increases.
Eastern European Model of Cities * Historical Core: Features a historic center that has remained fairly unchanged. * Zoning: Elite residential and industrial centers are located around the city's periphery. * Retail and Tourism: Retail centers located near the historic center help expand the role of the city center as a tourist destination.
Galactic City Model * Structure: Consists of mini "edge cities" that are connected to a primary city by beltways or highways.
Gravity Model * Interaction Calculation: Interaction between urban centers is calculated based on their size and the distance between them. * Draw Power: Large cities have greater "draw power." * Inverse Relationship: Interaction decreases as the size of the centers decreases or the distance between them increases.
Latin America Model of Cities * Growth Pattern: The city grows around a historic city center with different sectors extending outward. * Socio-economics: Middle and upper-class housing sectors extend from the center. * Periphery: Slums and new developments, including modern industrial parks, are found on the periphery.
Multiple Nuclei Model * Modern Factors: Accounts for the growing importance of automobiles and commuting. * Structure: Involves the creation of different nuclei that provide mutual support to one another.
Peripheral Model * Components: Consists of an inner city surrounded by large suburban residential and business areas. * Connectivity: These areas are tied together by a beltway or ring road.
Primate City Rule * Definition: A primate city is one that is more than twice as large as the next largest city in terms of population and importance. * Usage: Used to explain urban relationships where one city is disproportionately larger than all others in the country.
Rank-Size Rule * Mathematical Distribution: If all cities in a country are ranked from largest to smallest, the population of a city at a certain rank is a fraction of the largest city's population: * Rank 1: Largest City (Population = $x$ ) * Rank 2: $\frac{1}{2}$ the number of people as the Rank 1 city * Rank 3: $\frac{1}{3}$ the number of people as the Rank 1 city * Rank 4: $\frac{1}{4}$ the number of people as the Rank 1 city * Rank 5: $\frac{1}{5}$ the number of people as the Rank 1 city * Core Idea: Each subsequent city in the ranking will have a population half the size of the preceding city (for the next rank).
Sector Model * Environmental Factors: Different areas attract different activities based on environmental factors. * Geometric Shape: Different sectors grow outward from the CBD in wedge-shaped areas.
Southeast Asia Model of Cities * Central Point: The model is centered around a port. * Zoning: Features specific Chinese, Indian, and Western zones. * Social Division: Clear divisions between elite residential areas, squatter settlements, and new industrial zones.
Western European Model of Cities * Historical Continuity: Features a historic center with relatively little change over the last hundred years. * Growth: Expansion extends from the city center, with industrial centers located on the periphery.