Population Geography

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Population Geography

• Demography The study of Population and
  Population Change

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What factors influence population distribution?

• Environmental factors--
• What type of natural resources are in the area?
  Does it have oil, or arable land or access to
  water?
• What is the climate like?
• Does it have capital resources such as
  transportation and technology?

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• Economic factors--
• What is the economic development like?
• What are the resources like?
• Political factors--
• What is the government policy?
• Are there many conflicts?
• Is it a rural/urban area?

4
What are the characteristics of human
populations?

• Birth and Death rates-
• How many people per 1000 are born or die in a
  year?
• Age Distribution--
• How many people are in each age category?

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• Male/Female distribution--
• Are there more males or more females? Why?
• Life Expectancy--
• How old can you expect to live?
• Infant Mortality--
• How many children die before their second
  birthday?

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• Urban /Rural--
• Where do most people live? In the city/country?
• GDP--
• Is the countrys GDP high or low?
• Ethnicity--
• Does the population have one dominate ethnicity
  or many and do they get along?

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• Language--
• Do the people speak one language or do they have
  multiple languages?
• Religion--
• Do the people share the same religion or do they
  have multiple ones?
• Education--
• Are the people highly educated?

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What factors influence population growth rates?

• Does the country have modern medicine and hygiene
  practices?
• What is the level of the average education?
• Is the country industrialized and do the people
  live in urban areas?

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• What is the level of economic development? Does
  the country have a primary, secondary, or
  tertiary economy?
• What is the governments policy toward growth?
  Are there any restrictions?
• What role do women play in the society?

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Push factors of immigration

• Push factors are factors which force people to
  move.
• Overproduction
• religious persecution
• lack of job opportunities
• agricultural decline
• conflict

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• Political persecution
• Natural hazards--droughts, floods, famines,
  volcanic eruptions
• Limits on personal freedom
• environmental degradation (decline)

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Pull factors of immigration

• Pull factors attract people to an area
• Religion
• Economic opportunity
• Land availability
• Political freedom

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• Ethnic and family ties
• Arable land

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What is the impact of migration on regions?

• Language--multiple languages
• Religion and religious freedom
• Customs/traditions--exchanged
• Cultural landscape--diffusion
• Diffusion--is the spreading of ideas and traits

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What is some evidence of cultural interaction?

• The spreading (diffusion) of North American
  culture to other regions of the world
• Popularization of other cultures traditions in
  the North America

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Spatial Divisions as Forces of Conflict and
Cooperation

• Spatial divisions are regions of the Earths
  surface over which groups of people establish
  social, economic and political control. Spatial
  divisions may generate conflict and/or
  cooperation.

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Examples of Spatial Divisions

• Neighborhoods

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• School districts

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• Cities and Counties

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• Election Districts
• Political Caucases

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• Regional Districts

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• States or Provinces

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Reasons for Spatial Divisions

• Why are spatial divisions necessary at the local
  and regional levels?
• 1) Desire for government to be closer to home
• 2) need to solve local problems and
• 3) need to administer resources more efficiently

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Reasons for Conflict

• How do spatial systems generate conflict?
• 1) Citizens may argue over boundaries
• 2) Citizens may have low tolerance for
  different cultures

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• 3) Citizens may fight/compete over scarce
  resources and
• 4) Citizens and/or politicians may try to gain
  political advantage

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Political Advantage?

• Yes, spatial divisions can be created in order to
  manipulate an electoral area, usually by altering
  the boundaries. This is known as gerrymandering.
  This is done to gain an unfair political
  advantage in an election.

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Reasons for Cooperation

• 1) Natural disasters
• 2) Economic advantages (attracts new businesses)
• 3) Cultural similaritiesethnic backgrounds
• 4) Addressing regional issues like waste
  management, magnet schools and transportation.

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Urban Development

• Urbanization, or the growing of cities, was
  triggered by industrialization.
• Patterns of urban development occur according to
  site and situation.

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Site and situation

• Site and situation are important geographic
  concepts when studying the growth of cities.
• Site is the actual location of a city.

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• Situation is another name for relative
  locationthe location of a city with respect to
  other geographic features, regions, resources,
  and transport routes.

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Site

• Harbor Sites NY City, Alexandria, Egypt
  Istanbul Turkey
• Island sites Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore
• Fall line sites Richmond, VA
• Confluence sites Khartoum, Sudan Pittsburg, PA

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• Hilltop sites Rome, Athens, Jerusalem
• Oasis Sites Damascus, Syria
• Sites where rivers narrow London, Quebec City

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Situation

• IstanbulCommand of straits and land bridge to
  Europe
• Mecca, Saudi Arabia Varanasi (Benares),
  IndiaFocal point of pilgrimage
• Samarkand, Uzbekistan Xian, China Timbuktu,
  Mali SingaporeCities that grew up around trade
  routes

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• Capetown, S.AfricaSupply station for ships
• Omaha, Nebraska Sacramento, CaliforniaCities
  that grew up along the U.S. Transcontinental
  railroad
• Novosibirsk,Vladivostok-Cities that grew up along
  the Trans-Siberian Railroad

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Functions of towns and cities

• Security and defense
• Religious centers
• Trade centers (local and long distance
• Governmental administration
• Manufacturing centers
• Service centers

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Examples of a city changing functions over time

• Rio de Janeirowas the capital but now is a
  tourist attraction (Brasilia)
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaniaearly function was for
  frontier defense, then shifted to steel
  manufacturing, and now is the home to many
  diverse services

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• New York Cityhas changed from a center of
  coastal and transatlantic trade to a center for
  the Great Lakes and Erie canal region to
  worldwide trade and finances
• Mining towns once the resources were gone, many
  towns became ghost towns

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What influence does urban areas have on their
region and country?

• They are the home to monuments which help bring
  pride and develop nation-building.
• They are transportation and communication
  centers.
• They are natural attractions for immigrants.

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• They are the seed beds for new ideas and
  technologies.
• Their diversity helps lead to creativity in the
  arts.
• Many are the home to major Universities which
  provide educational opportunities.

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• They are the headquarters and regional outposts
  of major corporations.
• The major media outlets have their centers there
  (newspapers, radio, and television).

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What problems are associated with growth of urban
areas?

• Transportation problems, especially since the
  automobile.
• Rich and poor neighborhoods are usually isolated
  from one another.
• As overcrowding occurs, providing essential
  services (water, sewage, electricity) is a
  problem.

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• Air, water, and noise pollution
• Sprawl (spreading) of urban areas takes
  agricultural land out of production.
• Rapid migration results in shantytowns on the
  edge of Latin American, Asian, and African cities.

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• In developing countries, major cities are more
  connected to the outside world than to less
  developed regions in their own countries