Human Geography
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Transcript Human Geography
Human Geography
Ch. 4
The Elements of Culture
Defining Culture
The total of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors
shared by and passed on by the members of a specific
group.
Includes all products of human work and thought
Technically it is a blueprint for how people should
behave if they want to fit in with the group.
It ties people together
Separates people from other groups
Culture involves the following:
Food
Shelter
Religion
Relationships to family and others
Language
Education
Security/protection
Political and social organization
Creative expression - arts
A society is a group that shares a geographic region,
a sense of identify, and a culture.
Ethnic groups
Refers to a group that shares a language, customs, and
a common heritage.
Their identities as a separate group of people within
the region where they live.
Culture Change and Exchange
Innovation
Taking existing technology and resources and creating
something new to meet a need.
Examples – baskets, clay pots
Could happen on purpose or by accident
Example – cooking meat
Diffusion
The spread of ideas, inventions, or patterns of behaviors
In today’s time this happens rapidly
Cultural hearths are the beginning sites of ideas,
materials, and technology that diffuse to other cultures.
Acculturation
Societal changes because it accepts or adopts an
innovation
Example – wearing jeans instead of traditional garments
Can have a positive or negative effect depending on
how the change comes
If forced, consequences would be negative
Individuals/groups accept the change, positive outcomes
Language
One of the most important aspects of culture
Allows communication
Language and Identity
Helps establish a cultural identify, unity among people
Can lead to nationalism
A strong feeling of pride in one’s nation
Can divide people
If multiple languages are spoken but one is favored this can
lead to conflict
Canadian – English and French in Quebec – French is the
dominant language
Language Families
3,000-6,500 languages are spoken in the world today
Dialects are versions of a language.
Reflects changes in speech patterns related to class,
region, or other cultural changes
Example – US – Northern vs. Southern
Language Diffusion
Follow trade routes
Can be invented
Blended languages develop to aid communication among
groups speaking several languages
Examples – Louisiana, presence of French, African, and
North American peoples resulted in Creole.
Migration
People carry language with them when they sometimes
take hold in that region.
Religion
Consists of a belief in a supernatural power or powers
that are regarded as the creators and maintainers of
the universe.
Three types
Monotheistic – belief in one god
Polytheistic – belief many gods
Animistic – belief in divine forces of nature.
Spread through diffusion and conversion
Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism actively seek to
convert people
Major religions
Judaism – Jewish
Christianity
Roman Catholic (Catholic)
Protestantism
Examples – Baptist, Methodist, Calvinism, etc…
Eastern Orthodox
Islam
Followers are called Muslims
Types – Sunni and Shia
Hinduism
Reincarnation
Buddhism
Other Asian Religions
Confucianism
Taoism
Shintoism
Creative Cultural Expressions
Performing arts – music, dance, theater, and film
Visual arts – architecture, painting, sculpture, textiles
Oral and written literature – poems, folk tales, stories
Population Geography
There are 7 billion people in the world.
To understand population growth geographers
calculate several different statistics
Birthrate – the number of live births per thousand
population.
Fertility rate – shows the average number of children
a woman of childbearing years would have in her
lifetime.
Mortality rate or death rate – the number of deaths
per thousand people
Infant mortality rate – shows the number of deaths
among infants under age one per thousand live births.
In the 1800s it was 200-300
21st Century has seen improved health conditions and
nutrition so the rate is lower.
Population pyramids are another way to analyze
populations
Graphic device that shows gender and age distribution
of a population.
Shows trends in countries
Wide bases have large % of young people and those
countries have a rapidly growing population.
Population Distribution
The 7 billion people on the planet are not evenly
distributed.
Some places not suitable for living
90% of the world’s population lives in the Northern
Hemisphere.
Lightly populated regions are in polar, mountainous,
or desert regions.
Half the world’s population lives in rural areas.
People are moving into the city at a rapid rate.
Urban areas include megacities
Cities with populations of 10 million or more
Tokyo – 35 million
Struggle with overcrowding, large demand for water,
sanitation issues
Migration on a large scale alters the distribution of
people
Push-pull factors contribute to these migrations
Push factors cause people to leave their homeland
Environmental, political
Pull factors draw or attract people to an area
Economics, climate
Population Density
Used to understand how heavily populated an area is.
Average number of people who live in a measurable
area, like a sq. mile
Reached by dividing the number of inhabitants in an
area by the total amount of land they occupy.
Many not be evenly distributed across a land
Certain areas may be densely (have a lot) populated
while others are quite thin.
Example – US
Changes over time.
Political Geography
Nations of the World
A state is an independent unit that occupies a specific
territory and has full control of its internal and external
affairs.
Often “country” is used in place of state
A nation refers to a group of people with a common culture
living in a territory and having a strong sense of unity.
Types of Governments
Democracy – citizens hold all of the power.
Example - US
Monarchy – ruling family headed by a king or queen hold
political power and may/may not share
United Kingdom (Great Britain)
Types of Governments continued
Dictatorship – An individual or group holds complete
political power.
Example – North Korea
Communism – Government and economic system nearly
all political power and means of production are held by the
government in the name of all the people.
Example – Cuba
Geographic Characteristics of Nations
Size
Shape
Relative Location
Size
Contributes to the power of a country because of
resources and people
Shape
Compact, long, fragmented
Can impact how easily it can be governed
Movement of goods
Relationship with neighboring countries.
Location
Landlocked (surrounded by other land and no direct
outlet to the sea) countries must build connections
with other countries to get goods in and out of
country.
Access to ports and trade around the world
Protection and security
National boundaries
These set limits of the territory controlled by a state.
States/Nations can collect taxes, set laws, etc… within
borders.
State/nations are protective of their borders.
Types
Natural boundaries
Based on physical features of the land, like rivers, lakes, or
mountains.
Artificial boundaries
Fixed line generally following latitude or longitude lines.
Regional Political Systems
Countries are often divided into smaller units to make
governing more efficient.
Most common smaller unites are cities, towns, villages
Smaller political units can combine to form larger
units like counties provinces, or states.
Countries may join with each other to form
international political, military or economic units
United Nations (UN)
NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization
European Union (EU)
OAS – Organization of American States
Urban Geography
Much of the population lives in cities.
Cities are centers of business and culture
Urban Areas
Develops around a central city
May include suburbs – units touching the borders of the
central city or other suburbs that touch the city.
Within commuting distance of the city
Mostly residential
Central city, suburbs and outside areas are called
metropolitan areas.
Urbanization
The dramatic rise in the number of cities and the
changes in lifestyle that result
City Locations
Common Characteristics
Allow for good transportation
Easy access to natural resources
Land Use Patterns
Basic land use patterns found in all cities
Residential - housing
Industrial – goods manufacturing
Commercial – private business and retail
The core of a city is almost always based on
commercial activity
Central business district (CBD)
The Functions of Cities
Shopping
Entertainment
Government services
Educational and cultural activities
Libraries and museums
Manufacturing
Wholesale (Warehouses)
Residential
Recreation
Religious
Social
Mass transit systems
Bus
Subways
Trains
Interstates/Highways
Economic Geography
Economy consists of the production and exchange
of goods and services among a group of people
Operate on local, regional, national, or global level
Types of economic systems – The way people produce
and exchange goods and services.
Traditional – barter system
Command – production of goods and services is
determined by a central government which owns the
means of production (land, capital, labor)
Production does not reflect consumer demand
Market – Production of goods and services is
determined by the demand from consumers.
Mixed – combination of command and market
economies provides goods and services goods and
services so that all people will benefit.
Economic Activities
Farming – Subsistence; market oriented
Industries
Levels of Economic Activity
Primary – gathering raw materials
Secondary – manufacturing
Tertiary – business or professional purpose
Quaternary – provide information, management, and
research services
The Economics of Natural Resources
Natural resources – materials on or in the earth that
have economic value.
Abundant but are not distributed equally around the
world.
3 types of natural resources
Renewable – resources that can be replaced
Non-renewable – Can’t be replaced
Inexhaustible energy sources - used for producing
power
Example – Sun, wind, etc…
Economic support systems
Infrastructure consists of the basic support systems
needed to keep an economy going
Power
Communications
Transportation
Water
Sanitation
Education system
The more sophisticated the infrastructure the more
developed a country is
Measuring Economic Development
Per Capita Income – the average amount of money
earned by each person in a political unit.
GNP (gross national product) – the total value of all
goods and services produced by a country over a year
or some other specified time period.
GDP (gross domestic product) – the total value of all
goods and services produced within a country in a
given period of time.
Development levels
Developing nations
Low GDP
No industries
Struggle to provide people items to meet basic needs
Developed nations
High per capita income
Varied economies
Nations in transition (Middle income countries)
Development level is between developing and developed
They have some of both