AP Human Geography Review

Maps and Spatial Data

• Thematic vs. Reference Maps: Analyze patterns, scales, and interpret data.

• Map Projections: All projections have distortion in shape, area, distance, or direction. Mercator map is accurate in direction but distorts other properties, used for naval expeditions.

• GIS (Geographic Information Systems): Layers data on maps to reveal spatial relationships.

• Data Analysis: Qualitative (attitudes, beliefs) and quantitative (census data, numbers) research is used by governments and businesses for decision-making.

• Individual Use: People use spatial data to inform decisions like where to live based on crime rates and school availability.

Spatial Concepts & Environmental Interaction

• Technology & Communication: Reduced distance decay, increased global interconnectedness.

• Sense of Place: Unique cultural landscapes created by patterns and space.

• Environmental Determinism: Environment restricts societal development.

• Environmental Possibilism: Society modifies the environment to suit its needs.

Scale and Regions

• Scale of Analysis: How data is organized (national vs. local).

• Scale: Small scale maps (world map) show less detail, large scale maps (county map) show more detail.

• Functional/Nodal Regions: Organized around a central node (e.g., airport, delivery range).

• Perceptual/Vernacular Regions: Based on beliefs and attitudes (e.g., The Middle East).

• Formal/Uniform Regions: Defined by common attributes (e.g., state boundaries).

Population Distribution

• Factors: People live where there are economic, social, political, and environmental opportunities.

• Urban vs. Rural: Urban areas offer more opportunities, while rural areas offer quieter lifestyles.

• Population Density: Arithmetic (people per land), physiological (people per arable land), and agricultural (farmers per arable land) densities.

Population Data & Demographic Transition Model

• Vocabulary: CBR (Crude Birth Rate), CDR (Crude Death Rate), NIR (Natural Increase Rate), doubling time, dependency ratios.

• Population Pyramids: Wide base indicates early stage, top-heavy indicates later stage.

• Demographic Transition Model:

  • Stage 1: High CBR and CDR, low growth.

  • Stage 2: CDR falls due to industrial/medical revolution, high population growth.

  • Stage 3: CBR declines with urbanization, moderate growth.

  • Stage 4: Low CBR and CDR, zero population growth (ZPG).

  • Stage 5: CDR rises above CBR, population decline.

Epidemiological Transition Model

• Follows Demographic Transition Model: Focuses on causes of death in each stage.

• Stage 5 Variants: Differences in causes of death.

Population Policies

• Pronatalism: Policies to increase birth rates.

• Antinatalism: Policies to decrease birth rates.

Malthusian Theory

• Malthus: Population grows exponentially, food arithmetically, leading to catastrophe.

• Neo-Malthusians: Consider all resources, believe Earth's carrying capacity will be exceeded.

Migration

• Push and Pull Factors: Political, economic, social, environmental reasons. Economics is the primary driver.

• Forced vs. Voluntary Migration: Forced due to life-threatening events, voluntary by choice.

• Ravenstein's Laws: Migration leads to counter-migration; connected places influence each other.

• Migration Consequences: Diffusion, acculturation, assimilation, cultural resistance.

Culture and Cultural Landscape

• Cultural Relativism: Viewing a culture through its own perspective.

• Ethnocentrism: Judging a culture based on one's own standards.

• Cultural Landscape: Land use patterns reflecting cultural practices (agriculture, architecture, religion, language).

• Cultural Forces: Centripetal (unifying) and centrifugal (dividing) forces create identity.

Diffusion

• Relocation Diffusion: Trait moves, hearth shrinks.

• Expansion Diffusion: Trait spreads.

  • Hierarchical: Top-down through a system of structures.

  • Contagious: Spreads in all directions.

  • Stimulus: Trait adapts to the new culture.

• Historical Diffusion: Colonialism, imperialism (spread of English), religion.

• Modern Diffusion: Urbanization, globalization, internet, transportation.

• Space-Time Compression: Reduced impact of distance.

• Cultural Changes: Resistance, acculturation, assimilation, syncretism, multiculturalism.

• Cultural Preservation: Folk and indigenous cultures protect identity.

Religion

• Universalizing Religions: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism (seek converts).

• Ethnic Religions: Judaism, Hinduism (protect identity).

• Focus: Hearth, diffusion, major beliefs, impact on landscape.

Language

• Language Families: Origin, diffusion, dialects, impact on landscape.

Political Geography: Nations vs. States

• Nation: Shared history, culture, self-determination.

• State: Permanent population, sovereign government, recognized.

• Nation-State: Homogeneous state with one nation.

• Multinational State: Multiple nations coexist.

• Multistate Nation: Nation exists in multiple states.

• Stateless Nation: Nation without a state (e.g., Kurdish nation).

Political Organization & Boundaries

• Autonomous/Semi-Autonomous Regions: Varying degrees of self-governance.

• Self-Determination: Nation's right to govern itself.

• Colonialism/Imperialism: Boundary creation, military conquest, diffusion, territoriality.

• Shatterbelt Regions: Caught between external powers.

• Neocolonialism: Economic or political control.

Political Boundaries

• Relic Boundaries: No longer exist but impact landscape (e.g., Berlin Wall).

• Antecedent Boundaries: Existed before settlement.

• Subsequent Boundaries: Based on ethnic groups.

• Consequent Boundaries: Divide to accommodate cultural differences.

• Superimposed Boundaries: Created by foreign states (e.g., African countries).

• Geometric Boundaries: Straight lines.

• Law of the Sea: Territorial waters (12 nautical miles), contiguous zone (24 miles), Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) (200 miles).

Gerrymandering and Political Power

• Gerrymandering: Redistricting to favor a party.

• Unitary vs. Federal States: Unitary concentrates power, federal shares power.

• Centripetal vs. Centrifugal Forces: Unifying vs. dividing forces.

• Devolution: Transfer of power to regional governments.

State Sovereignty

• Challenges: Devolution, technology, foreign interference, supranational organizations.

• Supranational Organizations: EU, NATO, UN; give up some sovereignty but gain benefits.

Agricultural Practices

• Intensive: Near population centers, maximizing output (plantation farming, mixed crop/livestock, market gardening).

• Extensive: Far from population centers, more land needed (shifting cultivation, nomadic herding, ranching).

Subsistence vs. Commercial Agriculture

• Subsistence: Feeding family/community, not for profit.

• Commercial: For profit, larger scale, more technology.

Settlement Patterns & Survey Methods

• Clustered: High density, homes close.

• Dispersed: Low density, homes spaced out.

• Linear: Along transportation routes.

• Survey Methods: Meets and bounds (short distances, geographic features), long lots (narrow parcels, transportation access), township and range (longitude/latitude grids).

Agricultural Origins & Diffusion

• Hearths: Fertile Crescent, Indus Valley; diffusion through events like the Columbian Exchange.

Agricultural Revolutions

• First: Neolithic, sedentary agriculture.

• Second: Industrial Revolution, new technologies (seed drill), increased food output.

• Green: GMOs, hybrid plants, chemical fertilizers, higher yields.

Modern Agricultural Practices

• Monocropping: Growing same crop each year.

• Monoculture: Growing one crop at a time, rotating after each harvest.

• Economy of Scale: Larger farms produce cheaper crops, favoring corporations over family farms.

• Value-Added Specialty Crop: Crops increasing in value as processed (wheat to flour).

Debates in Agriculture

• Genetically modified food, chemical fertilizers (impacts on environment, health, workers).

• Counter Movements: Organic farming, local food movements, free trade, urban farming, community-supported agriculture.

Women in Agriculture

• Developing Countries: Higher percentage of subsistence farmers, informal economy, lower wages, discrimination.

• Developed Countries: More roles in agriculture, but equality increases with overall development.

Land Use and Location

• Bid Rent Theory: Land prices decrease further from urban areas.

• Von Thunen's Model:

  • Market: Center for sale of goods.

  • Dairy and Horticulture: Close to the market.

  • Forest: Wood for cooking and heating.

  • Grain and Field Crops: Easily transported.

  • Livestock: Furthest, needs most land.

  • Wilderness: Outermost area.

Site and Situation

• Site Factors: Unique local attributes (climate, resources).

• Situation Factors: Connections between places (rivers, roads).

• Settlements and Connectivity: Increased connections via technological advances.

Urban Settlements

• World Cities: Diffusion of cultural trends.

• Gravity Model: Likelihood of interaction between two places.

• Central Place Theory: Larger settlements have a larger range, illustrating urban hierarchy.

Settlement Size and Distribution

• Primate City Rule: Largest settlement is twice the population of the second largest.

• Rank-Size Rule: Population is proportional to rank (largest is half the size of the next).

Urban Models (Developed Countries)

• Burgess Concentric Zone: Cities grow outward in rings.

• Hoyt Sector: Cities develop in wedges, around transportation.

• Harris and Allman Multiple Nuclei: Multiple CBDs, each attracting certain people/jobs.

• Galactic (Periphery): Expansion of multiple nuclei, edge cities form.

Urban Models (Less Developed Countries)

• Latin American City: Spine connecting CBD to wealthy district, disamenity zone (high poverty).

• Sub-Saharan African City: Three CBDs, informal settlements (squatter settlements) around urban area.

• Southeast Asian City: Port-based, government zone overlooks trade.

Urban Density Gradients

• High Density (Near CBD): Vertical buildings.

• Medium Density: Single/multifamily homes, limited space.

• Low Density (Suburbs): Large yards, more space.

Urban Sustainability

• Sustainable Cities: Investing in infrastructure, public transportation.

• Smart Growth Policies, Urban Growth Boundaries, New Urbanism, Green Belts: Promoting sustainability.

Urban Policy and Challenges

• Controversies: Segregation, unequal development, loss of historical neighborhoods.

• Redlining and Blockbusting: Discriminatory practices, segregation, unequal development.

• Gentrification: Rising property values, increased wealth, displacement of residents.

Government and Urban Planning

• Impact of Different Levels of Government: Federal, regional, state, local, city, counties.

Globalization and Economic Sectors

• Globalization theme: Significant changes since the Industrial Revolution.

• Formal Economy: Regulated jobs.

• Informal Economy: Unregulated jobs.

• Economic Sectors:

  • Primary: Natural resources.

  • Secondary: Manufacturing.

  • Tertiary: Service jobs.

  • Quaternary: Information gathering.

  • Quinary: Decision-making.

Economic Shifts and Policies

• International Division of Labor: Core countries have tertiary jobs; semi-periphery and periphery countries have primary and secondary jobs.

• Offshoring: Moving jobs overseas for cheaper labor.

• Manufacturing Zones: Incentives for corporations in developing countries.

• Multiplier Effect: Ripple effect of original investment.

• Neoliberal Policies: Free trade agreements (NAFTA) and organizations (WTO, IMF).

Trade and Economic Indicators

• Trade benefits and resistance: Isolationist policies, tariffs.

• Comparative Advantage: Specializing in production.

• Gross Indicators: GDP (economy's temperature), GNP, GNI (standard of living).

• Social Progress Indicators: Gender inequality index, human development index.

Theory and Stages of Development

• Rostow's Stages of Economic Growth:

  • Traditional Society: Subsistence agriculture.

  • Preconditions for Takeoff: Demand for raw materials.

  • Takeoff: Urbanization, secondary sector growth.

  • Drive to Maturity: Specialization, global trade.

  • Age of Mass Consumption: Tertiary sector, consumer wants.

• Wallerstein's World System Theory: Core and periphery relationships, dependency theory, commodity dependence.