CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 4:
Fundamentals of Population Geography (de Blij & Murphy)
KEY POINTS:
1)
World’s
population is growing @ 90 million/yr., bulk is in poorer countries
2)
World’s
3 largest population concentrations in
3)
Population
data often are unreliable due to cost and organizational challenges of census
taking
4)
Population
density can be measured on the basis of several different criteria, revealing
contrasting aspects in demography
I) Population Geography – deals with growth, composition, and distribution of people in relation to spatial variations in physical and cultural geographic conditions.
Demography – study
of patterns and rates of population change, including birth & death rates,
migration trends, and evolving population patterns (population geography).
Today’s World Population
|
Region |
Area
(%) |
Pop
(%) |
|
29 |
61 |
|
|
20 |
13 |
|
| N.
Am. |
16 |
8 |
| S.
Am. |
14 |
6 |
|
9 |
0 |
|
|
7 |
12 |
|
|
6 |
0.5 |
II) Key Issues in Population Geography:
A)
Population growth
1)
Environments
and natural resources strained by needs of mushrooming population
2)
Population has increased fourfold
from its level a hundred years earlier
B)
Food
supply
1)
1960’s
– population growth outrunning rate of increase in grain harvests
(malnutrition & hunger seemed imminent)
2)
1970’s
– advances in technology; higher-yielding strains of rice, wheat,…
3)
1990’s – combination
of population growth and changing eating habits (more meat) could lead to a
global crisis (feed grains rather than food grains)
C)
Health
1)
Rapidly
growing populations can produce reservoirs
of disease (e.g. remote equatorial areas)
2)
Other
aspects (infant and child mortality rates) are matters of concern (mostly in
poorer nations)
-
Total Fertility Rate (TFR) – higher in poorer nations (further strains
economies, families)
D)
Status
of women
1)
Statistics
often fail to reflect differences between men and women. (
2)
When
governments that instituted measures to reduce population growth, the impact
fell disproportionately on females (e.g.
E)
Migration
1)
Immigration
sometimes adds more total population than natural increase
2)
Governments
have tried to limit immigration with meager success
3)
Major
population movements may occur within a
country (e.g. ethnic conflict, civil war, impovershment in rural areas,…)
F)
Reliability
of Data
1)
Census
and population data are based on careful assessments, yet are inherently
unreliable; cost, organization, and reporting are major obstacles
2)
Data collected by UN,
Census Bureaus, World Bank, Pop. Reference Bureau, …
III) Elements of Population Geography
A)
Population
and Space
1)
Humanity has always been
unevenly distributed over the land, contrasts have intensified (e.g.
2)
Mushrooming
urbanization (rural, farm-based areas transformed into urban, trade-based areas)
dominant theme of 20th century and beyond.
B)
Population
Distribution and Density
1)
Distribution
– the arrangement of something across Earth’s surface, where individuals or
groups (depending on scale) live
a)
Dot
Map – best representation
b)
No
country has an evenly distributed population
2)
Density
– number of people per unit area
a)
Arithmetic
population density – total number of people divided by the total land area
1)
US:
71/sq. mi.
2)
Subject
to error; does not take account of clustering
b)
Physiologic
density – number of people per unit of area of arable land (suitable for
agriculture)
1)
2)
Subject to error;
farmlands of different productivity
IV)
Major Population
Concentrations:
A)
1) One quarter of world’s population (~1.5 billion)
2) Pop. density declines from coastal zone toward interior
3) Ribbon-like extensions of dense population (clustered near rivers; majority of people are farmers)
B)
1) 1.5 billion
2)
Ribbon (finger)-like
extensions of dense population (e.g.
3)
Region marked by
physical barriers: Himalaya Mts., desert west of
C) Europe – third major concentration; Britain to Russia, including Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Netherlands, Belgium, parts of France, northern Italy
1) 700 million
2)
Ribbon-like extension
deep into
3)
Comparatively dense
populations in mountainous, rugged areas (
4)
Includes numerous cities
& towns (Industrial Revolution;
D)
1) <200 million
2)
Like
3)
Megalopolis – huge
urban agglomeration;
E) Other Concentrations and Considerations
1)
2)
a)
Pattern
of agglomeration resembles
3) Level of Technology – increases a country’s ability to support population
a)
b)
CHAPTER
5: Processes and Cycles of
Population Change
KEY
POINTS:
1)
The population explosion of the past 200 years has increased from 1
billion to 6 billion.
2)
Although hundreds of millions remain inadequately nourished, the threat
of global hunger has receded – perhaps temporarily.
3)
Rapid population growth varies over time and space.
4)
Keys to reduction of population growth rates include providing greater
access to education for women and securing their rights in society.
5)
The demographic transition model suggests that the world's population
will stabilize in the twenty-first century, but the model may not be universally
acceptable.
I)
Worldwide Population Trends
A)
World Growth Rate
1)
Adding about 80 million people every year; most increase is in areas that
are least able to support new arrivals
2)
Growth rate of world's population declined from 2.1% per year during
1965-69 to 1.6% during 1985-89. (Today = ~1.4%)
3)
Even while global population growth rate has continued to decline, the
reduction has been offset by the even larger total on which it is based.
4) Fastest growth in
Subsaharan Africa, South Asia & Muslim countries.
Smallest in
II)
Dimensions of Population
Growth
A)
Arithmetic
(linear) Growth
1)
Increases
occur in uniform amounts.
2)
Human
population has not expanded in a linear manner.
B)
Exponential
Growth
1)
Cumulative
or compound growth over a period of time.
2)
Human
population increases this way.
C)
Doubling
time (70/rate of increase)
1)
The
time required for a population to double in size.
2)
Rates of Population
Growth and Doubling Time:
|
Rate
of Increase (%) |
Doubling
Time (yrs.) |
Example
(1998) |
|
0.50 |
140 |
|
|
1.00 |
70 |
|
|
2.00 |
35 |
|
|
3.50 |
20 |
3) Population Explosion
a) History of humanity is one of growing numbers and even higher rates of increase
b) 2000 yrs. ago – 250 million: doubling time 16 centuries (1650)
c) 1650 – 500 million: doubling time 170 yrs. (1820) …
d) 2000 – doubling time reduced to 35 yrs. (>6 billion currently)
D) Stabilizing Population Level (SPL)
1) Theory that populations will stop growing (e.g. some Western European nations)
2) Population increase is a cyclic phenomenon – lags, spurts, regional disparities
III)
Population
Theories
A) Malthusian
1) 1798 – Thomas Malthus claims population increasing faster (geometric) than food production (arithmentic)
2) Did not foresee colonization, migration, Green Revolution, …
B) Boserupian
1) Technology will increase food production, counterbalance population increase
C) Cornucopian
1) Plenty of natural resources and food, world cannot become overcrowded
IV)
Population
Structures
A) Graphic representation (profile) of a population according to age and sex.
B) Age-Sex Pyramid – shows population composition (structure)
1) Graphic representation (profile) of a population showing the percentages of the total population by age and sex, normally in five-year groups (cohorts)
2) Sexes are placed on the left (males) and the right (females)
3) Broad bases = high fertility and mortality rates
4) Narrower bases = lower fertility and mortality rates
Source:
United Nations, World Population Prospects, The
1998 Revision.
V)
Demographic Cycles
A) Natural Increase = Crude Birth Rate (CBR) – Crude Death Rate (CDR)
1) CBR – not solely related to economic condition (e.g. poor countries have high birth rates)
2) CDR – (a.k.a. mortality rate) includes infant mortality (increases the rate)
B) Total Fertility Rate (TFR)
1) Number of children born to women of childbearing age
2) TFR usually reported as number of children per woman
3)
Generally,
the age at which a woman first marries is directly related to the number of
children she will bear because it affects the length of time she will be at risk
of becoming pregnant.
4)
Access
to contraception is an important contributor to the differences in the fertility
rates among countries, but culture and socioeconomics weigh heavily as well.
C) Population Changes
1) Limits on Population
a)
Epidemics, plagues (e.g.
1348-50
b)
Famines (e.g. 18th
& 19th c.
c) Wars (e.g. World Wars I & II)
2) Second Agricultural Revolution & Industrial Revolution
a) Farming methods improve, crop yields increase, improved storage capacities
b) Improved sanitation facilities, medical advancements (e.g. vaccination)
c) Increased migration – leads to colonization (widespread epidemics)
VI)
Demographic Change
A)
TP = OP + B – D + I
– E; takes immigration and emigration into account
B) Demographic Transition (Cycle)
1) Four Stages:
a) High stationary stage – high fertility and mortality, variable population, little long-term growth
b) Early expanding stage – high fertility, declining mortality
c) Late expanding stage – declining fertility, but as a result of already-low mortality, continuing significant growth
d) Low stationary stage – low fertility and mortality, very low rate of growth
2)
Based on the
European model (e.g.
3) Developing countries
a) Population base is larger,
b) Affected by 1st world nations
c) Signs that population “bomb” may be declining
CHAPTER
6: Where and Why People Move
KEY
POINTS:
1)
Factors
that stimulate migration: conflict,
economic conditions, political strife, cultural circumstances, environmental
change, and technological advances.
2)
Migrants
move on basis of their perceptions of particular destinations; distance affects
accuracy of perception.
3)
Migration
usually takes place in stages. Rural-to-urban
movement occurs in steps, often from smaller to larger centers.
Migrants tend to relocate repeatedly after reaching their destination.
4)
Voluntary
migrants are stimulated by “pull” as well as “push” factors.
5)
Forced
migrations result from the imposition of power by stronger peoples over weaker
ones.
I. Perception and Migration
A. Absolute and relative distance
1. Absolute distance can be read on a map or globe
2. Relative distance can be changed by using an alternate route to get someplace—time factor
3. People's perceptions of both distance and direction are often greatly distorted
II. External and internal migration
A. Migration defined as: the long-term relocation of an individual, household, or group to a new location outside the community of origin
1. In the United States, natural increase of population is substantially lower than the overall growth which includes immigration from other countries
2. When migrants move from country to country, they become part of the vital statistics
B. Countries experience well-defined streams of internal migration that change over time
1. In the United States, African-Americans moved north during the early twentieth century
2. The attraction of the “sunbelt” in the United States
3. In China workers migrate from rural areas to cities of the Pacific Rim
III. Theories about migration
A. Ravenstein’s “laws” of migration
1. Net migration amounts to a fraction of the gross migration between two places
2. The majority of migrants move a short distance
3. Migrants who move longer distances tend to choose big-city destinations
4. Urban residents are less migratory than inhabitants of rural areas
5. Families are less likely to make international moves than young adults
B. Gravity model defined
IV. Catalysts of migration
A. Economic conditions
1. Poverty
2. Perceived opportunities in destinations
B. Political circumstances
1. Oppressive regimes
2. Cuba
3. Vietnam's "boat people"
4. Uganda
C. Armed conflict and civil war
1. Three million people driven from their homes in former Yugoslavia
2. Civil war in Rwanda
D. Environmental conditions
1. Potato famine in Ireland in the 1840s
2. Major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
3. Many emigrants return home after the crisis is over
E. Culture and tradition
1. Muslims migrated out of India when it was partitioned
2. Jews left the former Soviet Union for Israel
3. Whites left South Africa during the turbulent political transition of the 1990s
F. Technological advances
1. Modern transportation makes migration easier
2. Air conditioning reduced return migration from the Sunbelt back to the north
G. Flow of information
1. Fast transmission of information by television, radio, and telephone
2. Allows people to migrate where jobs are available
3. Examples: Turks, Algerians, Haitians
H. "Push" and "pull" factors
1. Usually push and pull factors are combined in a person's decision to migrate
2. Push factors
a) Likely to be more accurately perceived
b) Include individual and personal considerations
3. Pull factors
a) Likely to be more vague
b) Many move on the basis of excessively positive images and expectations
I. A Sense of Scale box: Factors Influencing Migration
J. Distance decay (Figure 6-1)
1. Migrants more likely to have an accurate perception of nearer places
2. Less certainty about further away places
3. Step migration
a) Migrants may move to a near place first than move farther as they learn more about a location further away
b) Movement may be to a village, then a town, and finally a city
c) At each step new pull factors come into play
K. Intervening opportunity
1. Migrants may find opportunity before reaching their original destination
2. This happens to the majority of migrants around the world
3. Tourists (temporary migrants) also respond to this factor
a) May choose a closer place to vacation because of travel costs
b) A constant worry of long-range travel resorts
V. Voluntary and forced migrations
A. Luxury of choice and fear of compulsion
1. Distinction not always clear-cut
a) Potato famine in Ireland
b) British colonial rule over Ireland
B. Forced migrations
1. The Transatlantic Slave Trade
a) Estimated 12 to more than 30 million Africans removed from their homes (Figure 6-2)
b) Largest number were brought to plantations in the Caribbean and eastern South America
c) African slaves were brought to the United States in far fewer numbers
d) By 1800 the black population in the United States was just 1 million (misprinted in the text as 1900)
e) Nothing in human history compares to the Transatlantic Slave Trade
2. Convicts shipped from Britain to Australia beginning in 1788
3. In the 1800s, thousands of Native Americans were forced onto reservations
4. Forced migration during Stalin's ruthless rule in the former Soviet Union
a) Millions of non-Russians sent to Central Asia and Siberia
b) Accused of treason or obstruction of the communist grand design
5. Forced migration exists today in the form of counter-migration, when governments send back migrants caught entering their countries illegally
C.&nb